Author: Neil Schoenherr

The right pricing strategy can keep the cash register full.Determining the right pricing strategy can make or break the overall profitability of a firm, especially during the all-important December holiday season. One such strategy, dynamic pricing, long practiced in the airline and hotel industries, is showing promise and profitability in the world of retail. When applied to products sold over a short sales season — new toys, skiwear, and the like — dynamic pricing can boost profits for a firm, say two professors of the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.

The John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis on Dec. 2 awarded a total of $70,000 in seed investment capital to two startup businesses in its annual Olin Cup entrepreneurship competition. The Olin Cup, along with $50,000 in seed money, went to Luminomics, a biotechnology company that develops regenerative drug therapies for degenerative diseases. An award of $20,000 went to The Blessing Basket, a not-for-profit company that imports baskets made by weavers in undeveloped countries. Honorable mention was given to Core Devices, maker of a portable anesthesia machine.

Beirne previously worked at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania as director of career development and placement.

A St. Louis-area native, he was a 2001 graduate of Chaminade College Preparatory School and lived in University City.

Photo by Mary ButkusSeveral traditional Thanksgiving dinners were held on campus to celebrate the holiday.

James J. Beirne has joined the Olin School of Business as the associate dean and director of the Weston Career Resources Center effective Nov. 29.

Kevin Louis Sobol, a senior in the Olin School of Business, died Saturday, Nov. 27 in a one-car accident in St. Charles County. He was 22. A St. Louis area native, Sobol was a 2001 graduate of Chaminade College Preparatory High School and lived in University City.

The winners of the 2004 Olin Cup Entrepreneur Competition will be announced Dec. 2 from a pool of five finalists chosen Oct. 29. The finalists are competing in a yearlong competition for $70,000 in investment capital provided by Washington University’s Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.

The main role of the residential peer mentors is to provide resources to help create a successful academic community in the South 40.

Photo by Kevin LowderThe Give Thanks Give Back program hopes to adopt 185 families this year; it held a gift-wrapping party Nov. 13.