Lundquist’s Center for Entrepreneurship has helped students with a passion for entrepreneurship turn their business ideas into reality.
The Entrepreneurship Center developed the Oregon Innovation Challenge, which provides students and faculty with workshops, mentorship, and funding opportunities for their business ideas. The OIC program will run from January to April.
Entrepreneurship Center Director Jeff Sorensen said OIC will offer entrepreneurs up to $10,000 for their business ideas. He said the center and OIC are funded by gifts and gifts over the past year and a half, including a $10 million gift from the estates of Jerry and Marilyn Cameron.
“Everyone has something they value. Everyone is creative by nature, but there are definitely many people who think they are not entrepreneurs and lack self-confidence. I feel it,” Sorensen said. “So we tried to make the event as welcoming and encouraging as possible for people.”
OIC and the Entrepreneurship Center are great places for students and faculty to come up with early ideas, no matter how fragile, Sorensen said.
“We just want it to be a comforting place where you can meet other people who are trying to do the same thing,” Sorensen said. “It’s hard to build something in isolation.”
Jeff Sorensen and other affiliates discuss potential entrepreneurs who feature noteworthy contributions to their respective businesses. On February 28, 2024, we will launch Oregon Entrepreneurship and its members, Eugene. (Eddie Bruning/Emerald)
One of the ways the center supports student entrepreneurs is through workshops held on Sunday mornings.
The purpose of the workshops varies, Sorensen said, but the center hosts groups that come together to meet with fellow entrepreneurs and students who come to the center for the first time with their first business idea.
“We’re just creating an opportunity for people to reflect on what they’re doing, set goals, and share that with other people to build some structure,” Sorensen said. . “Because one of the hardest things about building it yourself is [business] There are no structures. ”
Mentorship sessions are also a way for students to receive further support for their entrepreneurial ideas.
“Three teams will sit around a table with some leaders for an hour, and each team will talk for 15 minutes about what they’re working on,” Sorensen said. “We’ll all do a workshop together.” [the idea] Work with them and help them think things through. ”
Karly Bierma, senior and founder of KPB Designs, is a current member of the Entrepreneurship Center, OIC, and Entrepreneurship Club.
Vielma started her own business, KPB Designs, which sells artwork on stickers, greeting cards, apparel and other gift items.
“I was 17 years old and had been selling originals of my artwork at coffee shops and farmers markets, but I wanted a way to share my artwork with a wider audience,” Bielma said. said. “I loved the business side of it as well as creating artwork, so I wanted to find a way to expand it into a business.”
Several members of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship gather to check out recent projects. On February 28, 2024, we will launch Oregon Entrepreneurship and its members, Eugene. (Eddie Bruning/Emerald)
Bielma said she then began making and selling stickers and greeting cards, which began appearing in gift shops in her hometown of Aurora, Oregon.
“I saw the potential in this business and connected with the sales people. They are the people who connect the products to the stores…” Bielma said. “…I’ve been very fortunate to connect with artists and women who work with the PNW.”
Bierma said within a year of starting with the sales force, he had 150 accounts with retailers and now has 450 accounts.
“I love what I do and I’m looking forward to getting into it after graduation,” Bielma said. “But I think because I started this business so young, there was a gap when I had mentors who were much older than me.”
Vielma said her mother and father each run their own businesses, but she didn’t have anyone her age to relate to. She came to UO and her situation changed.
“When I returned to campus as a sophomore, [post-COVID-19]That’s when I started to see the need for an entrepreneurial group on campus,” Bielma said. “In the fall of my sophomore year, I got together with two of his friends and restarted the Entrepreneurs Club.”
According to Vielma, Sorensen came to the UO during his junior year at a time when the center was growing into OIC and bringing new energy to the entrepreneurial audience.
“[The Center] Most of all, it provided a community and I met many of my closest friends within that group,” Bielma said. “I also think there is a lot of pressure to get a job at a company, especially after college, so I have always encouraged them to pursue their passions as a career.”
Sorensen said he and the center are working to give students the confidence to be entrepreneurs.
“There are so many possibilities,” Sorensen said. “Super exciting [ideas] It’s a time when people who might not have considered themselves before are starting to think of themselves as entrepreneurs. ”
