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A marketing mogul

By Margaret Wade '08
May 14, 2008

When Rich Cahoon '98 wanted a few ideas for marketing his company, he turned to St. Olaf College senior Andrew Foxwell. A public relations whiz, Foxwell founded a marketing company with the help of a Finstad Entrepreneurial Grant and has used his expertise in marketing strategy and graphic design to build an impressive client list.

FoxwellAndrew
Foxwell
He helped Cahoon's business, United Endoscopy Midwest, develop a new website, a marketing campaign and a media strategy. The entire plan was designed to help the company, which provides hospitals with surgical assistance and equipment rental for on-site laparoscopic and arthroscopic surgeries, solidify its position in the market and expand its business. Cahoon was impressed, noting that Foxwell's work "helped in firming the foundation my company has in its particular industry."

Foxwell founded his business, dubbed Modica Marketing, last year and has increased his client base from primarily campus organizations to include businesses in the surrounding community. In just one year he's taken an idea backed by a $3,000 grant and transformed it into a business that is on track to make $10,000.

"The key ingredient in any successful venture is the entrepreneur's drive, passion and willingness to make it work," says Sian Muir, associate director of entrepreneurial studies and visiting assistant professor of economics. "These are key attributes that Andrew has in spades. His creativity and tireless energy is what makes Modica easily the most financially successful Finstad Grant we have had to date."

A modern plan for marketing
The idea for Modica Marketing got off the ground when Foxwell, a Menomonie, Wis., native majoring in political science and management studies, took an Interim course titled "Entrepreneurship and New Venture Formulation." Muir led the class, which gave students the opportunity to create a real business plan for a local entrepreneur or to develop an idea of their choice. They worked in teams to identify a market need, design a strategy and analyze the feasibility of their projects.

Foxwell recognized a need for a marketing business on campus to serve campus offices, student organizations and academic departments. He created a 35-page business plan with teammates Drew Hoffman '07, Mike Getter '08 and Dan Nemcek '08. Foxwell named the company Modica, which means "modern" in Latin.

"Modica fills the gap in the marketplace for affordable but professional marketing," Muir says. "It really is a polarized market where either some schlep prints up their own materials on their PC or you have to go to an agency and pay a hefty premium for their expertise. Modica gives these students the opportunity to flex their creative muscles and get paid in the process, so it's a huge win-win."

Foxwell's initial teammates have moved on, but he is dedicated to the business and has brought new student employees on board to help. They set their prices low to acknowledge that they are college students who can only work part-time and may not be available every second of the day. "You're not going to choose us because we're the best, but we have an edge as college students because we know what's cool," Foxwell says.

That's what sold Cahoon. "Young people possess great technical skills to build websites and have creative approaches to developing marketing materials and strategy," Cahoon says. "As a small business owner, I'm constantly dealing with the day-to-day operations or driven in so many directions that I don't often have the time to focus on what needs to be done to expand my business."

The future of Modica
Next year, Foxwell will be working at MSI Systems Integrators as a consultant. In the near future, he plans to continue running Modica Marketing on the side with two or three employees. One day he would like to turn it into a full-time business.

In addition to his interest in marketing, Foxwell also has an avid interest in politics. He hopes to expand Modica Marketing to include more of a political focus and to cover statewide legislative races. After studying the caucuses and primaries for this year's presidential election and completing an independent study class on political marketing and branding with Associate Professor of Political Science Dan Hofrenning, Foxwell is eager to tap into what he calls an "underserved market."

The most important lesson Foxwell says he's learned by setting up his own company is that doing what you love can pay off. "If your heart's in it, the opportunity is there to make money and learn a lot," he says.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.