If you've ever driven around Phoenix, these mottos are likely etched in your brain:
"No. 1 in the U.S for innovation."
"ASU ahead of MIT and Stanford."
It's even become a bit of a joke on campus, as students try to understand how innovation can be measured across other universities, but when it comes to breakthroughs in business, ASU’s success is certainly notable.
Eric Heimbecker, the assistant director for special projects at the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute, said entrepreneurship and innovation are "primary design principles of the University."
Edson EI serves as a strategic connector that builds entrepreneurial ecosystems in both the ASU community and communities across different states and countries. They aim to empower and give access to entrepreneurs who are interested in building businesses, non-profits and social enterprises in an inclusive way.
"Entrepreneurs can be artists, they can be scientists, they can be all kinds of people as long as they are bringing an idea out of their head and into reality," Heimbecker said.
Edson EI hosts events for entrepreneurs, such as Demo Day, a bi-annual pitch competition for ASU and Maricopa County Community College students. The institute provides capital to student entrepreneurs looking for investment in their business.
Students across ASU use the vast amount of resources provided to kick-start their entrepreneurial journeys and build skills, make connections and utilize resources to grow their careers — all of which might contribute to the University’s innovative reputation.
There’s always something new
As assistant director of special projects, Heimbecker works to create, pilot and launch new innovative initiatives and programs at Edson EI.
"I also do a lot of our global work. We are a great expression of the ASU charter. Everywhere ASU has a presence we take our program to," he said.
Heimbecker believes ASU goes "above and beyond" when it comes to prioritizing entrepreneurship. "It’s a mindset, a skill set that you can leverage in anything that you are doing," he said.
ASU's program, Blackstone LaunchPad, works to foster entrepreneurial skills with students who can be successful in more traditional careers. Venture Devils is another program offered by Edson EI where ASU students can pitch their ideas to judges in an effort to win funding.
Heimbecker encourages every student to try out entrepreneurship or come to an entrepreneurial event. "Use some of these tools, and you would be blown away by how powerful and how flexible they are," he said.
Building the business
Chase Winkelmann is a junior studying mechanical engineering with a minor in business. Winkelmann began his entrepreneurial journey alongside his younger brother. Together, they own a car detailing business named Winks Washes, where they provide various car detailing services.
"We do everything from interior details to paint corrections, ceramic coatings, waxes, pet hair removal, stain removal, the whole nine yards," Winkelmann said.
Wanting to make some extra cash on weekends, Winks Washes started out of Winkelmann's Honda Accord and with about $1,000 worth of supplies.
As a first-generation business owner, Winkelmann expressed the journey as "treacherous" at the start. "We re-searched a bunch, what we thought was a bunch, but really it wasn't enough," he said.
After doing research on various detailing services, Winkelmann invested in supplies and began detailing the cars of friends and family for free in order to gain experience and build rapport. Once they established themselves they advertised their business on Facebook and Instagram.
"We did not pay ourselves, me and my brother, for 16 months," Winkelmann said. "It was all sent back to the business, every penny we made." The discipline and investment paid off when Winkelmann was able to invest in a van to help grow the business.
But growing the business is not the Winkelmann brothers' only priority. They pride themselves on being a Hispanic and family-owned business. "I wouldn't want to do business with anyone else other than family," he said.
Giving back to the local community is also important to Winks Washes. They even use a portion of their revenue to fund a scholarship called "The Pursuit of Knowledge Scholarship."
"I don't see any benefit of running a business that is strictly for profit," Winkelmann said. "If you don't have any aspirations other than solely making money, that business, in my mind, it's doomed to fail."
Similarly, Stephen Ebersole, a junior majoring in finance, also started a car detailing business.
"We had a whole bank account and everything, but I think we got too ahead of ourselves," he said. When the pair caught up with academic and social commitments, they wound down. But over the summer break, Ebersole reignited his entrepreneurial spirit.
"I've always had that entrepreneurial mindset. Growing up, I was that kid with the lemonade stand, I walked dogs around the neighborhood, I made flyers, I did housesitting," he said.
While building his own car and adding modifications to it, Ebersole realized that it was hard to find genuine reviews for companies that sold the parts he needed. Even with thousands of vendors and reviews online, he didn't know where to look. Together with his uncle, a web developer, he created an online website called Autoficial, where users could compare different companies that sold modified car parts.
"It was a live site, functioning in under a year, and then I started getting some affiliate sponsorships," he said.
Autoficial reviews what Ebersole calls "seven key policies of the brand." These include shipping time, return policies, guaranteed fit, warranty and more.
Ebersole believes resources such as those provided by Edson EI can be really helpful for students looking to build businesses. While many entrepreneurs may feel determined to "make it on their own," having mentors and experienced entrepreneurs to guide you through the roadblocks can be pivotal to your journey.
What not to do
Juanxi Wu is a junior studying supply chain management. In 2024, Wu founded the Student Entrepreneurship Organization at ASU, whose mission is to help students understand what entrepreneurship looks like in real life.
"We're not trying to teach people the entrepreneurship mindset," he said. "We're trying to show them how the work looks and how a real startup is operating, what is the problem that will occur at every startup and how the founders solve those problems."
Wu said he believes that the core of any entrepreneurship venture starts with finding a real problem and creating a real solution for it. Many startups lack this core foundation, leading to a short life span. "When you're not solving a real problem, when you're not creating a value to a problem, no one's going to pay for you and you’re not going to find your customers," Wu said.
SEO sees the AI boom as a way to further inspire and help entrepreneurs begin their ventures.
"When AI was coming, we saw a freak out. Everyone was like, 'OK, am I really going to lose my job or not?' We [SEO] see another potential where AI can help students to [overcome] their learning curve," Wu said.
Many startup founders choose to find partners who diversify the company's set of skills and talents. With AI, founders can learn more skills at a faster pace than ever before.
Wu said ASU fosters more of an entrepreneurial spirit than most other universities. With an alumni network of over 600,000 people, Edson EI and millions of dollars in funding, ASU encourages students to use its resources to embark on an entrepreneurial path.
However, despite an abundant amount of resources, Wu noted one significant problem with them: a lack of connection.
"They [different founders] always say that if you're a business student, you will get connected with a new ventures program. But, you might not be made aware of other resources that are also hosted by different organizations," Wu said.
For example, a business student might come across Venture Devils, but they may be left in the dark about other resources like Sky Song or Edson EI. Students in the engineering school may participate in a mentorship program for engineers, but they might not be connected with business school students who could join in their startup.
"Students aren't aware of all the resources at ASU. If you compare it to other universities, they also have different colleges that host different programs, but somehow they are organically connected," Wu said.
The business entrepreneurship major
ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business offers a business entrepreneurship major where students are "prepared to identify, evaluate, and develop entrepreneurial opportunities in existing companies or through new ventures." Rivadavia Drummond is a professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. Drummond spent much of his career working for multinational companies before he started his entrepreneurial journey.
"I decided to quit and get together with some old friends, and I started a business. I tried 11, 12 times. None of the companies worked. We failed miserably. But then I got together with some other folks I met called Anima. This company worked after a lot of hardship and struggles," Drummond said.
Anima is an educational organization listed on the B3 Stock Exchange under the name "ANIMA3.SA." Drummond’s experience with entrepreneurship allowed him to leave students with many lessons learned through trial and error. For example, he urges all business partners, even family or friends, to draft a business contract before starting any venture.
Drummond takes on a unique classroom formula where he tries to foster innovation in his students. First, he assigns students various readings. Then, they come to class where he does a mini lecture on his applied experience before they do a case study on a specific topic. Lastly, he has his students do field work, and they are required to make two pitches in the classroom each semester.
Drummond said he believes entrepreneurship requires discipline, something he instills in his students through required reading, attendance and an on-time class start requirement.
He said that too often, students start with solutions before they’ve even identified a problem. For example, many will build an app before they’ve even done research on the problem their app is meant to solve.
"So there's a methodology, and that’s a lean innovation process they have to follow. So never start with the solution," Drummond said.
Edited by Leah Mesquita, Natalia Jarrett and Abigail Wilt. This story is part of The Best of ASU, which was released on April 29, 2026. See the entire publication here.
Reach the reporter at jbanihan@asu.edu
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Jude is a junior studying finance. This is her second semester with The State Press.
