- Date published
Inside ECRI’s semester of creative momentum.
When ECRI founder Kevin Wyas signed up for the efactory’s Entrepreneurship Intern Pilot Program, he wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. As a family-run operation with a newly expanded product line, he knew he needed support.
The most glaring gap? He especially needed help in the world of social media, a place he cheerfully admitted the company had “done zero” with for years.
Molly Whalen, a student at Missouri State University studying public relations with double minors in marketing and psychology, joined ECRI after looking for her first internship. She arrived ready to learn, experiment, and build something meaningful. Now she’s walking away with a semester full of creative wins, a new product launch, and a wildly colorful MiniGame that transformed ECRI’s social media strategy.
A Perfect Match at the Perfect Time
For Kevin, the program filled a gap he wasn’t sure how to bridge on his own.
“I haven’t had an employee with this company before… it’s been real good all around,” he said. “I didn’t have to go through the effort of trying to hire and hope for the best. This really worked out.”
For Molly, it was the kind of hands-on, real-world experience that classrooms can’t fully replicate.
“I was intimidated at first,” she admitted. “But this internship has turned out better than I could’ve hoped, I was matched with a company I work so well with! I love getting to learn something in class and then come in the next day and actually do it.”
Her first big challenge was to get ECRI’s social presence caught up to its ambitious new chapter. During the semester, ECRI launched a new product line, the Freedom Module, for newer Jeep models.
Molly jumped in headfirst: writing a press release, planning promotional content, and scripting and filming instructional and launch videos. She even roped Kevin into acting.
“He’s our actor,” Molly laughed. “And he has really taken off in that role.”
Creating a MiniGame That Became a Big Deal
As part of their Great Game of Business capstone project, Kevin and Molly developed a MiniGame designed to transform ECRI’s social media habits into consistent, strategic action.
They made a game board, the kind that deserves wall space. It’s tricked out with point markers, milestone icons, and celebratory rewards…everything from Sonic drinks to a team lunch at Greek Belly to, most recently, earning more than 1,000 points and unlocking a brand-new tripod (plus a well-earned meal at Jose Loco).
Molly, armed with social media experience and a healthy dose of enthusiasm, built the point tracking system from scratch.
“Each big line is 100 points, and the small ticks are 50,” she explained during the interview, showing off her work. “It’s fun to see everything add up.”
But the power of the MiniGame wasn’t just in the colors. The board gave the team a structure to follow and removed the guesswork from content decisions.
The 3 of them even spent hours in a conference room brainstorming more than 30 post ideas, so that they would have enough to fuel the whole semester.
“We wanted to remove the roadblock of not knowing what to post,” Kevin said. “That early planning made creating the game easier, and we all had a cohesive plan to follow.”
The Support System Behind the Scenes
Both Kevin and Molly were quick to point out something else: how supported they felt throughout the entire process.
From brainstorming MiniGame mechanics and strategy with business consultant Amy Jackson, part of the Missouri SBDC at MSU team at efactory, to quick-turn answers from Emily Denniston, advisors were never more than a call or email away.
“Communication was so easy,” Molly said. “Being able to call Amy and talk through ideas point by point made everything so much easier.”
Kevin agreed: “Neither of us had any clue what to expect. But the communication made something unknown not so intimidating.”
That support gave them the confidence to design a game from scratch, plan a product launch, and create a robust social media strategy.
A Semester That Changed the Business—and the Intern
For Kevin, having help was transformative.
“I feel so much better than I did over the summer,” he shared. “She’s doing what she’s good at while I do what I’m good at. It’s meshed so well.”
For Molly, the internship has already shaped her future.
“It’s been awesome! I love it, it’s such a different type of internship!”
And for ECRI? The company now has another product launched, a growing content library, and consistent social media presence.
A Win for Small Business—and for Interns Ready to Make an Impact
“Nobody thinks about these small businesses when looking for internships… but the program made it possible. For companies like mine, that support is huge,” Kevin says about the program.
This semester proved exactly what the efactory and Missouri SBDC at MSU team hoped when they launched the program: when you pair entrepreneurs with driven students, and back them with meaningful support, everybody wins.
The Entrepreneurship Intern Pilot Program is made possible by the Missouri Technology Corporation MOBEC grant, with additional support from the Hatch Foundation.