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Photo of Best Dam Tape products in a hockey rink

Hockey, Sticking

Hockey, Sticking

Question: What do hockey and entrepreneurship have in common?

Answer: Logan Cuvo, a lifelong hockey player and junior Entrepreneurship and Innovation major in the Chambers College.

Those two passions are why Cuvo started Best Dam Tape, a hockey tape distributor that’s sold over $50,000 of product since its establishment in 2023.

“In the past year, Best Dam Tape has achieved major partnerships with teams like the Anaheim Ducks and Ohio State,” Cuvo said. “We have also started to introduce new, innovative tape options and eco-friendly wax. Having expanded across North America, the brand has become a trusted name for players of all levels."

His success was made possible by his passion for hockey, his education at WVU and the support he received from Chambers College outreach center Vantage Ventures, which gave him the tools needed to grow.

“Vantage Ventures provided essential capital, mentorship and strategic guidance to scale operations and expand the brand’s reach,” Cuvo said. “They also facilitated key introductions and helped create a scalable growth strategy which supported our market success.”

Do you have an entrepreneurial idea you want to pursue? Apply to the spring cohort of Vantage Ventures’ startup accelerator by December 15!

Fans Arrive Like Butterflies

Large, one-off events such as music concerts can create economic impacts not seen from professional sports, suggests rockin’ research by Joshua Hall, chair and professor of economics. Hall and Justin Parker, a 2020 Ph.D. economics graduate, found that Pearl Jam’s Seattle “Home Shows” in August 2018 generated $58 million in additional hotel revenue and $9 million in hotel tax revenue. That dwarfs Seattle Mariners baseball games ($140,000 in additional hotel revenue on game days). Their research was published in the Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights.

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Embodying the Mountaineer Spirit

Congratulations to marketing student Madison Bowers, who was named a Mountaineer of Distinction this fall. The award was presented during WVU’s Mountaineer Week in October 2021 and recognizes exemplary academic achievement and extracurricular involvement. Way to go, Madison! “As someone who is from a tiny town in Coal County, West Virginia, winning this award meant the world to me. I firmly believe that it takes a village to raise a kid and I am endlessly thankful to my family, friends, community, and Chambers College family, for their help along the way. Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer.” 

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Tipping Points

Here’s a tip for New York City taxi drivers seeking bigger tips: Pick up tourists. Adam Nowak, associate professor of economics, and Amir B. Ferreira Neto, ’19, PhD Economics, studied data on yellow taxis in the Big Apple to see if tourists tipped more than locals. They do. Furthermore, theatergoers tip more than non-theatergoers, based on their findings that zeroed-in on drop-offs and pickups near Broadway. These differences between tourists and locals may affect the allocation of taxis throughout the city, conclude Nowak, Neto and Amanda Ross, of the University of Alabama.

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Goal!

Management Information Systems alumnus Jack Elliott helped the Philadelphia Union win the Supporters Shield, given for finishing first in the Major League Soccer regular season. Elliott, who played for the WVU soccer team from 2013 to 2016, plays as a defender. 

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Chambers' Campus Cameo

Our business students were energized by College namesake and proud West Virginia native  John Chambers, who visited campus with his wife, Elaine earlier this semester. He inspired our Entrepreneurship classes and student fellows by sharing his lessons learned from 20 years of leading Cisco Systems as CEO.

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