MSU’s Global Entrepreneurship Week
“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” –Les Brown
This week, the Minnesota State University, Mankato College of Business celebrated “Global Entrepreneurship” week. Through the week, several events were hosted, from a Women in Entrepreneurship brunch to a fashion show featuring a student-created business.
I had the chance to attend two of these events, and I found it both exciting and inspiring to see what MSU students are doing and creating in the world of business—even before they earn a degree.
The first event I attended was the Big Ideas Challenge 2016 Kick-Off at Mankato Brewery. The Big Ideas Challenge was launched last year, with student teams competing to win $10,000 in startup money for a business idea. The money came from MSU alumnus Craig Lloyd, who repeated his donation for this year’s competition as well.
“It’s our ‘Shark Tank’ at the university,” explained COB Dean Brenda Flannery at the brewery event. “The first time, we weren’t sure what to expect, but the students involved really exceeded our expectations.”
Participating students had to create a business plan, submit a video pitch, and appear before a panel of judges to present their business idea. They didn’t necessarily have to be business majors, either; in fact, last year’s winners were two nursing students, Katie McDonald and Megan Chase. The two women created Mankato Pediatric Respite, which offers respite care for families with medically fragile children. McDonald and Chase are still running the company today, even though they’ve since graduated and found nursing jobs in the Twin Cities.
While McDonald and Chase took home the grand prize, several other competitors still moved forward with their own business plans, which included a company to help international students enroll in high-quality American universities and a same-day delivery service utilizing quadricopters.
Several of these students, along with Chase, spoke at the kick-off event, encouraging other students to enter the competition.
“[When we first began], we knew what we wanted to do but not how,” Chase said. “Starting a business on campus is the best way to do it, because of all the resources available.”
April Femrite, an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fellow with the COB, also encouraged students to apply, stressing that students didn’t need to have a multi-million dollar business empire planned out.
“A big idea means starting anything that is new, innovative and valuable that serves an unmet need,” she said.
That idea carried into the Women in Entrepreneurship brunch the next day, where Kylen Feltes, a 2015 MSU graduate, and Sarah Richards, CEO of Jones Metal Inc., spoke about becoming female entrepreneurs in a male-dominated business world.
Feltes is the founder and CEO of Dream Closet, a non-profit organization that collects gently used clothes and hosts free “shopping” days throughout the year. She began the business while at MSU and continues to run it today. At the brunch, she spoke candidly about how intimidating it can be to take a risk on an idea, and how much she values failures as learning experiences.
Meanwhile, Richards has been CEO of Jones Metal Inc. since 2012, running a multi-million dollar company alongside her two siblings. She shared the struggles she faced growing up and in her career as a woman interested in traditionally masculine roles, from playing on Little League to diving into metal fabrication. Her takeaway was simple: Focus on your dreams, not what other people are saying about you.
There were many other events throughout the week, too many for me to attend, but I feel like I at least got a taste of what the College of Business is offering its students—and I am thoroughly impressed. These kids are younger than I am, yet some of them are already running businesses, dealing with payroll, figuring out insurance and so much more. And the College of Business is there for them every step of the way, providing support, steering them to resources like the Small Business Development Center and helping turn brilliant ideas into reality. We need young leaders and entrepreneurs, and I’m convinced that Mankato’s supply won’t dry up any time soon.
