Today, DiamondBack Automotive is a successful truck cover manufacturer in Phillipsburg, PA. In 2003, it was an idea two Penn State engineering students had for an assignment in one of PSU's engineering entrepreneurship classes.Key to the success of this venture was the close working relationship developed between the students and the entrepreneurship minor faculty. This paper chronicles that relationship, with special emphasis on how the program used innovative approaches to help the students "bootstrap" the company into existence and eventual success. The focus will be on problems encountered and solved in the areas of raising funds, development of an IP strategy and acquiring a patent, and the conflict between completing an academic career versus working on the start-up.