The School of Business’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation program has transformed from a staff-run to a student-run program over the last four years giving ownership and the success of the program to the students. This change resulted in exceptional student engagement which produced six student-run initiatives to the E&I program. The E & I student-run ventures, all designed and managed by students, include the Clark Collective, Clark Thrift Store, Entrepreneurship Club, podcast, Clark Creative Co-op, and Clark Tank. The Clark Collective and the Thrift Store provide venues for students to showcase and sell their products, services, or cause on campus and the neighbouring community. The podcast, E&I for You & I, drops weekly with an alumni guest discussing topics related to start-ups. The Entrepreneurship Club acts as campus visitor ambassadors, panel moderators, as well as a support system for young Clark founders. The ever-expanding Clark Tank Competition brings community leaders and university alumni to campus for a funding pitch-style competition which has grown significantly in cross-disciplinary participation. Clark has a passionate student-body with strong interest in experiential and hands-on learning. Additionally, Clark students are dedicated to positive change on campus and more broadly in the community. Therefore, entrepreneurship is right at home here at Clark University. Whether a student is motivated to solve social issues or to become financially profitable through business ownership, an organized, student-driven, University-wide entrepreneurship program promotes and supports the betterment of this shared community.
3rd PLACE
Americas Most Impactful University of the Year Award
Clark University
3rd PLACE Americas Most Impactful University of the Year Award
Clark University - United States
"Students Learning Entrepreneurship through Engagement and Practice"
Engage on social media
https://www.instagram.com/clarkentrepreneurship/ (Clark Entrepreneurship Program Student Run Instagram)
https://www.linkedin.com/company/clark-university-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/posts/?feedView=all&viewAsMember=true(Clark Entrepreneurship Program Linkedin)
https://www.instagram.com/clarkucollective/ (Clark Collective Instagram: to promote our student run business collective and pop up series as well as student businesses directly)
https://www.instagram.com/clarkuthriftstore/ (Clark Community Thrift Store instagram to promote our student run thrift store and the collaborations with this venture and other campus partners)
https://www.facebook.com/clarkentrepreneurship/(Clark Entrepreneurship Department facebook)
Summary
Key People
Teresa Quinn
E&I Program Director & Adjunct Professor
School of Business - Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department,
Clark University
Henry Reyes
Assistant Program Manager
School of Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department,
Clark University
Dr. David Jordan
Dean School of Business & Social Entrepreneur-In-Residence
Clark University School of Business
Andrea Aiello
Associate Dean, School of Business
School of Business,
Clark University
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge: Teresa Quinn, E&I Program Director, adjunct professor, Henry Reyes, Assistant Program Manager, Dr. David Jordan, Dean School of Management & Social Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Andrea Aiello, Associate Dean, School of Business. Further acknowledgment goes to Debra Harrsch, alumni and funding donor of the Clark Tank Marketing Pitch Competition. Special acknowledgment is deserved for the driving force behind our ecosystem, the 2023-2024 E&I Student Staff, and the 2023-2024 E&I Faculty.
Images
Entrepreneurship Club Opportunity - Club Fair Tabling
Student Run Clark Community Thrift Store
Student Run Clark Community Thrift Store
Clark Tank Marketing Pitch - International Food Hub
Clark Tank 2024 Photo
Student Run Podcast - E&I for You & I podcast
Clark Collective Pop Up - Student Run Businesses and Food Truck
Student Run Art Show – featuring entrepreneurial student artists in the Student Thrift Store
Student Music Entrepreneurs Performing on Campus - Department Sponsored events
Thrift Store Fashion Show Student Run Event
IMPACT STORY
Impacting lifes
As statistics show, female founders are highly less likely to secure funding equal to their male counterparts. This statistic has not been lost on the leadership of the E&I program and its stakeholders. WinE week is our most celebrated campus E&I event, however, the entrepreneurial landscape past our campus walls reflects the grim stats.
This year was the inaugural Worcester four-campus “Shark Tank” pitch called WooTank. Different from Clark, the other three schools are more tech and theory-focused programs. Each school sent two competitors. Clark’s far and away top business was a goth jewelry business owned and successfully run by a female – Sophie Lee, owner of Sophpremacy.
Of the eight competitors, Clark’s competitors were not tech businesses, and Sophie was the only female. Even more concerning was the fact that the three judges were tech-oriented. As Sophie began to pitch, you could see the judges on the edge of their seats. Sophie knew her customer, industry, market, financials, and knew her ROI on the funding investment she was asking for – she presented flawlessly. Sophie received extensive praise from the “sharks”. Additionally, she received highest funding award and from all three “sharks”. Our other competitor, Owen Chase, founder of Just for Fun Farms, received the second-highest funding award and also received funding for all three “sharks”.
Our E&I program and the students that drive the program support our entrepreneurs to the fullest to enter the world of entrepreneurship and venture ownership no matter the field of interest.
LEARNINGS
Lessons learned
Over the past five years the E&I program has focused on creating a student-run entrepreneurial ecosystem that is accessible to current, former, and future students, no matter their field of interest.
This is exemplified by the high “giveback” rate of successful Clark alumni. Three extraordinary examples are young alumni Emilee Cocuzzo, Tim Hally and Jose Castro.
Emilee returned to Clark by teaching a course in raising venture capital and scaling a startup, with a semester-end pitch competition to which she raised $2000 in prize money to be awarded to the students.
Tim started his own business immediately upon graduation in the middle of a pandemic. He fell in love with the City of Worcester and remained local. He contributed to the Clark E&I ecosystem through mentoring students, as well as teaching a course on the ‘Art of the Pitch’.
Jose, once a student employee of the ENT program, utilized his skills to secure a job immediately after graduation at Worcester’s EforAll Chapter. Within two short years, Jose was promoted to Executive Director, supporting disadvantaged entrepreneurs throughout central Massachusetts. Jose has hired two Clarkies in his tenure as director, exemplifying the Clark entrepreneur alumni’s desire to support current E&I students.
FUTURE PLANS
What's coming?
Clark historically has a large international student population, however, over the last two years, an extraordinary number of international students have shown interest in entrepreneurship at Clark. As an experiential and hand-on curriculum, all entrepreneurship students start some sort of venture to practice entrepreneurship. It quickly became painfully obvious that the international students were stunted in this area due to visa restrictions. Many, if not all, entrepreneurship students start a venture that generates revenue and due to visa restrictions, international students found themselves on the sidelines.
Unfortunately, it seemed everywhere the E&I program leadership and international students turned to inquire on how they could experience the workings of business ownership as do domestic students on campus, we were told, “too bad, there is nothing we can do, it is the rules”.
Given that most entrepreneurs don’t take “no” for an answer very well, a very determined international student casted a wider net and dove into the workings of the international student’s visa restrictions as well as the resources and opportunities provided by Clark.
This student, Ana Gabriella Santana from Brazil, in collaboration with Professor Quinn, Director of the E&I program, will start the business planning and research phase of the International Food Hub this fall. Besides the ability for international students to flex their entrepreneurial skills, the Hub will also be a source of jobs for both international and domestic students. The grand opening is schedule for Spring 2025.
