UA News

University of Arizona alumni Jeffrey Kaiserman ('03) and Stephen Ochoa('03), creators and owners of Tucson's 'Frost, A Gelato Shoppe,' will bethe first recipients of a new entrepreneurship award given at the Richard Ellis/McGuire Entrepreneurship Business PlansCompetition and Year End Celebration April 28.

"Clearly destined for entrepreneurial greatness" is the primary selection criterion for the Emergent Entrepreneur's Award, which is the newest McGuire Center Award in Entrepreneurship.

"The award is designed specifically to capture and celebrate dynamic,visionary, entrepreneurs on the rise," said Sherry Hoskinson, director ofthe McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship. "We are seeing incredible successamong a number of the region's emerging entrepreneurs, and decided that weshould be celebrating their stories."

Kaiserman and Ochoa developed the idea for a gelateria when they weretraveling in Italy. The recent UA graduates were in the Italian equivalent of an ice cream parlor when they discovered a different type of frozen confection – gelato, which was first brought to the U.S. by Italian immigrants, but eventually evolved into ice cream.

Kaiserman and Ochoa returned to the United States, developed a plan, studied atGelato University, imported the Italian equipment and products needed tocreate an authentic product and launched the company in May, 2005.

"We wentto 'Gelato University' back East to learn the basics," Kaiserman told areporter from the Desert Leaf. "We researched it so we understood what itwould involve."

The business partners are now looking to expand beyond their one location.They are doing the critical research to select the next location for their nextretail enterprise.

The CB Richard Ellis/McGuire Entrepreneurship Business Plans Competition andYear End Celebration begins at 12:30 p.m. Friday, April 28 in McClelland Hall, on the UA campus.

Kaiserman and Ochoa will receive the EmergentEntrepreneurs Award during the closing ceremonies, scheduled to begin at about 4:00p.m. in the Estes Atrium. A reception will follow.

All activities are free and open to the public.

The Eller College of Management at The University of Arizona is internationallyrecognized for pioneering research, innovative curriculum, distinguishedfaculty, excellence in entrepreneurship and social responsibility and itstop-five MIS program. Forbes ranks the Eller MBA full-time program among thetop 50 nationwide, and the college leads the nation's business schools ingenerating grant funds for research.

In addition to a full-time MBA program,the Eller College offers a part-time MBA program, the Eller Executive MBA,and the ability to combine an MBA with graduate studies in science,engineering, law, pharmacy, finance, MIS, international management andentrepreneurship. The Eller College of Management supports more than 4,500undergraduate and 600 graduate students on the UA campus.