Frequently Asked Questions

Joining OWOB as a student

What are the requirements to join OWOB as a student?

You may join OWOB if you are a student at the university level. In order to participate in projects and apply for resources, you will need to have a faculty advisor and be able to work on projects as part of a course, independent study, internship or club.

What types of students usually join OWOB?

Most of the students joining OWOB are university business students. They are usually in their final years of undergraduate school or in graduate school and are interested in small or medium sized businesses that provide products, services, or employment to the developing sector. However, other students may join as well and become members of teams.

If my university is not a member of OWOB can I still join?

Yes, you may join and form a team.  However, you will only be able to post projects and apply for resources when your university is also a member.

How do I get my university to join OWOB?

The first step is to register and provide a contact at your university. Your contact should be a faculty member or administrator who can sign your university up as a member and pay the annual OWOB membership fee. Provide information to this contact person about your desire to participate in OWOB and follow up to make sure they sign up as a member university.

If membership is free, why do I need to renew my membership annually?

Membership must be renewed annually so that active membership can be identified for working on teams and projects.

What if I leave my university?

When you leave your university you can may continue to participate in teams as long as you renew your membership annually and the team faculty advisor approves your membership.

Joining OWOB as an educator

Who are considered educators?

Educators are those who are employed by a university in the capacity of faculty or administrator, either full or part time. 

What capabilities do educators have on the OWOB network?

In addition to being able to initiate teams and projects, educators can act as advisers to both teams and projects.

Do educators typically post teams and projects?

Teams and projects are most often posted by students; however, there are times when a faculty member has an upcoming course or independent study and would like to post a prospective team or project that they will assign to a student team.

Do I need to use an official university email address if I am an educator?
Yes, educators should use an email address when they join OWOB that is recognized as being from their university.

Joining OWOB as an institution

What kind of institutions can join OWOB?

OWOB is looking for institutes of higher learning that have courses, independent studies, or interns relating to the development of small to medium sized businesses in developing areas of the world including the United States. Predominantly, these institutions will be universities; however, there may be other types of institutions that also meet these requirements and they are also welcome to join OWOB.

What is the advantage of an institution joining OWOB?

An institution that joins OWOB can have all of its students, faculty and administrators get full access to the OWOB network of members, partner teams and resources. OWOB member institutions are the primary source of revenue for OWOB and enable the network to grow and expand. Without the support of OWOB member institutions OWOB would not be able to provide the quality network it is known for.

Our institution is very large; does a single institutional membership cover everyone at our institution?

Everyone in one physical location is covered by a single membership. If your institution is located in multiple locations, then each location needs to join OWOB.

Why are the fees different for institution inside the United States and outside the United States?

OWOB wants to encourage international participation in the OWOB network so that OWOB members can have access to the best teams and resources anywhere in the world.

Joining OWOB as a partner

What types of OWOB partner members are there?

Basically, there are two types of resource partners, those who provide their resources for free and those that charge for their resources.

What types of resources can be provided?
There are no restrictions on the types of resources a partner can provide.  Some possibilities are: consultation, grants, loans, products, services, technology and businesses.

Can a small/meduim sized business join OWOB as a resource partner?
Yes.  A small/medium sized business that wants a team to work with them can join as a resource partner and post their business as a resource.  Teams can then post a project and apply for the business as a resource.

How do partners decide who should get their resources?

Partners post their resources on the OWOB network and indicate the requirements for applicants and can specify questions they want applicants to answer. Teams that have an approved project posted on the OWOB network may apply for these resources, Partners examine the applications and the associated project to decide if they want to accept an application or not. Partners can accept an application and then still require the applicant to provide additional information before making a final decision.

To whom do partners provide their resources?

Resources are typically provided to the faculty advisor for the project; however, resource partners can make other arrangements if they desire.

Is OWOB involved in providing the resources to the applicants?

No. Providing resources is done outside of the OWOB network using whatever means the resource partner selects. OWOB’s function is to establish the connection between the applicant and the provider.

Do all partners have to pay an annual fee to post their resources on the OWOB network?

No. Partners that provide free services or products do not have to pay any fees. Only partners that provide products or services for a fee, or are businesses requesting teams to work with them on their projects need to pay the annual fee.

Why are the fees different for partners inside the United States and outside the United States?

OWOB wants to promote a global network of resources.

Joining OWOB as a supporter

What is a supporter of OWOB?

A supporter of OWOB is someone who donates money to OWOB to be used to provide grants to student teams that OWOB decides are most likely to benefit people in developing areas. OWOB may also use donated funds to sponsor the membership or a university in a least developed area.

How do I support OWOB?

Supporters can click on how to contribute and provide a donation through our Facebook Cause. Or they can send their donation to OWOB via regular mail.

Are donations to OWOB tax deductable?

Yes. OWOB has been determined by the IRS to be a 501(c)(3) organization so all contributions are tax deductible.

Can I donate anonymously?

Yes, but if you want to receive a letter acknowledging your donation for tax purposes you will have to supply your contact information.

How do teams work?

What role do teams play in OWOB?

Teams are groups of students that either are starting their own businesses, supporting an exiting business, or are supporting other teams. Teams are the only ones who can utilize the full OWOB global network.

What if I already have a team?

If you already have a team, select the team's primary contact, have the primary contact post your team profile on the OWOB network indicating the objectives of your team, then have your team members join OWOB and add them to your team.

What if I want to form a team?

If you don’t have a team and want to form one, you can either form it outside of the OWOB network at your university as part of a course or independent study or you can search through the OWOB membership to find people with similar interests and contact them to see if they are interested in joining your team. The primary contact should first post a team profile and then add members as they are found.

Who can post a team profile?

One person is selected to be the primary contact for the team and that person can post the team profile even before all members have been identified.

What if I don’t want to be on a team but am interested in working with a team?

You can post yourself as an intern (a team of one) so that teams can contact you or you can contact them to see if you want to work together.

Can my team work alone or do we need to find a partner team?

Your team can work alone; however, there are many advantages of working with other teams. Other teams that are in a different part of the world can do research and find contacts for you in their location. They can be a big help with logistics if you travel to their area. Another reason for partnering with another team is that they may have expertise that can help you advance your business or the business you are supporting.

How can I find other teams to work with?

Once you post your team profile, your team is available on the OWOB network and you can search for other teams with certain characteristics such as region of interest and field of interest. Once you have searched the network and found a team, you can contact them to see if they are interested in working together with you.

How many members does a team need?

Teams can be of any size but should be limited to a size that can be effectively managed. Teams can also have only one member and in this case the single member would act as a resource to support another team.

How do teams coordinate their work, is OWOB involved in this?

Teams use commonly available collaboration tools such as Google Groups, Google Sites, Skype, email, etc. to coordinate their efforts. OWOB is planning to provide additional features for coordinating teams in the future.

How do projects work?

What role do projects play in the OWOB network?

Projects define how a team will implement it's idea, goals and objectives

Who can post a project on the OWOB network?
Only teams of OWOB members with an OWOB faculty advisor may post a project.

If my team has established its objectives, why do we need to define a project?

Projects are defined to have a schedule and specific tasks. This is necessary to determine the resources that will be needed to achieve the projects objectives. A project is the way that a team indicates how the resources will be used.

How can I fit all of the things my team will do to start or support a business into a single project?

It is not necessary to fit everything into a single project. You can define several projects of different types either in succession or in parallel with each other.  On the other hand, you have the option of defining one project to include all of your teams goals and objectives if you believe this is the best approach.

What are the typical types of projects that are defined?

The three main types of projects are: research, planning, and implementation. A typical sequence would be for a team to first define a research project to determine market potential, industry analysis, funding sources, technology availability, competitive analysis, or any other type of research that will help in the planning. The second project would be to develop a plan based on the research, for example, a business plan. Finally, projects can be defined to implement all or parts of the business plan. It is not necessary to define multiple projects since in many cases the research has already been done, or possibly all that is needed is some research to complement an existing plan.

How do I post a project on the OWOB network?

The primary contact of a posted team will be the primary contact for the project. The project primary contact fills out the project form with the information about the project.

How does a project get approved so it can access resources?

A project must be approved by its faculty advisor and OWOB. The faculty advisor will see a list of their projects on their welcome screen when they log in and can then approve the project. OWOB will approve the project once it is approved by the faculty advisor as long as it meets the OWOB guidelines.

Accessing resources

How do I access resources?

First, you must be member of OWOB. Next, you need to belong to a team and post a team profile. Once you have a posted team profile you can then define and post a project indicating the type of resources you will need to implement the project. Once the project is approved, you can then apply for resources from the OWOB network.

Do the resources applied for need to match the needs of the project that has been approved?

Yes

What if I need more resources for the business we are supporting than are needed for the project?

In this case, you can define additional projects for the additional resources.

What types of resources are available?

There are many types of resources such as consulting, grants, technologies, products, services, loans, and many others. Resources for the OWOB network are selected with small to medium sized businesses and student teams in mind. New resources are continuously being added as the OWOB network grows. To see the resources currently available, if you are not a member, log in as a guest.

Can I apply for any of the resources on the network?

Any project can apply for any resource that is currently active. There are times when a resource provider will make the resource inactive during which no applications will be accepted. These resources will become available again at a later date.

Once I apply for a resource how will I know if my application was accepted?

Resource provider partners have agreed to respond quickly to applications, usually within a week. They will indicate whether your application has been accepted or not and why. You can view the status of your applications from your welcome screen.

Once my application has been accepted, how do I actually get the resource?

When your application is accepted, the resource provider partner will send you the information you need to obtain the resources. The activities to get the resource take place outside of the OWOB network usually via email, Skype, or Google Groups.

Can I apply for more than one resource?

Yes.

Selecting businesses

Our team is not planning to start a business, how can we find a business to work with?

There are several ways this can be done:

  • Your team can post a research project to find a local business to work with
  • You can search for another team that has selected a business to partner with
  • You can look for businesses that have posted themselves as resources on the OWOB network
Does our team need to be working with a business before we post a project?

No. Your team can post a project to research a business to work with. Once a business has been selected, either your team or another team at your university should continue to work with them on planning and implementation projects.

What types of businesses does OWOB support?

OWOB supports small to medium sized businesses that provide products, services, or employment to the developing sector. The developing sector is usually areas where the income is below average for their region. Businesses supported by OWOB also need to be responsible citizens in their communities and the world.

Can our team form its own business?

Yes. This is a very common for teams on the OWOB network.

Do the businesses have to be working outside of the United States?

No. There are many businesses working within the United States that target customers in developing regions of the US with products, services, or employment. There are also businesses based in the United States that sell there products or services overseas to developing areas. Both of these types of businesses meet the OWOB objectives.

What is the OWOB Research Library?

Who can contribute to the OWOB research library?

Teams that have completed research projects can contribute the research reports to OWOB. In addition, any member of OWOB that wants to provide a link to a site with significance for small to medium sized businesses can submit it to OWOB.

What is the purpose of the OWOB Research Library?

The main purpose is to help teams define better projects by learning from results of previous work that is similar.

General

Will the OWOB network be available in other languages besides English?

Yes. The first language besides English will be Spanish. Other languages will follow over time as the network grows.

How will the OWOB network change over time?

OWOB is committed to grow the network by continuously adding new university and partner members and to expand the research library.

Competition

What is the OWOB business team competition?
OWOB periodically sponsors competitions for its members so that they can win prizes and have access to experts who provide feedback on their projects.

Do I have to join the competition to join OWOB?
No. If you are not prepared to meet the requirements for the competition you can join OWOB and when you form a team, indicate that you do not want to join the competition. You may still post projects and apply for resources.

How do I join the competition?
First, read the Contest Rules under the "What's New" menu.  If you meet the requirements and want to enter the competition, enter Yes to the question on joining the competition when you post your team profile.