By Hannah McKeating
What does the Entrepreneurship Club do?
The Entrepreneurship Club offers St. Edward’s students the ability to pursue their own entrepreneurial ideas and participate in a part of business that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to before graduating college. The Entrepreneurship Club is focused on helping students getting started with their business ideas–whether that be a non-profit, a startup, an app, or a new product–that they see as a solution to a problem within the community. This club allows students to be creative and innovative in a space with professionals that are ready to help them succeed. As their goal is stated on Collegiate Link, “Student Entrepreneurs aims to foster a community of entrepreneurial spirit and creativity to use in the business world. Our organization will utilize capitalistic mechanisms to give students the opportunity to practice their leadership skills, solve problems in the community, and gain capital for more student ventures.” Overall, the goal of the organization is for students and seasoned professionals to sit down and work together to find creative solutions to ongoing problems through business ventures.
What do you get out of participating in the Entrepreneurship Club?
As a member of the Entrepreneurship Club, you’re able to create and innovate with help from people in the field that want to see you succeed. This creates a place for students who want to dip their toes in entrepreneurship with guidance. An example, Camille Dollins, a member of the club in 2016, pitched a subscription box for mental health and anxiety that was eventually picked up by Cratejoy and landed her a job with the company.
The club hosts many events throughout the year; however, their most notable is the three-day startup competition where students get to create and pitch ideas for new startups to professionals. They get expert advice as well as a unique undergraduate experience. As the president of the club, Acacia said, “We do a lot of stuff in the club that’s experience based, because entrepreneurship is not really good in theory, it’s better to be hands-on with it. That’s why we do three-day startup, which is seventy-two hours of ideation to launching the startup. We connect students with mentors and advisers for their ideas, and then generally give them information about the resources that are available, from tours of companies to formal mentorships.” The hands-on experience that the club offers gives students the ability to test the waters of entrepreneurship before getting out into the business world and trying to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors on their own.
What does the Entrepreneurship Club contribute to the St. Edward’s community?
The Entrepreneurship Club provides a place where business savvy and creativity are able to come together. By having events like the three-day startup, students are given the space to brainstorm important, creative innovations for their communities that their classes may not be able to give them. The ability to professionalize with metaphoric training wheels on is also a huge boost for the success of students before and after graduation.
The Entrepreneurship Club is also a great way for people that are intimidated or unfamiliar with traditional business practices to put them into action. Acacia also added, “The university setting isn’t the best place to start a business, but it is a great way to be inspired to start a business. We, in the community, are trying to get students ready to meet people and go do things when they graduate, whether they’re in business school or not.”
Overall, the Entrepreneurship Club aims to instill a positive environment where creativity is celebrated and isn’t squashed by a traditional corporate or business mindset. This club lets students participate in entrepreneurship with guidance in a positive way.
How can students get involved?
For more information about the student Entrepreneurship Club, contact Antonio Alvarado at antonioa@stedwards.edu or David Altounian at davida@stedwards.edu.