April Showers Bring Startup Power |
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Bruce Leech, Executive Director of the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center |
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Greetings and welcome to Summer 2021! I am happy to report that due to the great weather and the roll out of the vaccine, there is a lot of optimism in the air and we are all hoping life is getting back to our new normal. In reflecting on this past year, I am reminded of our role as a university in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Chicago. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, there are approximately 582 million entrepreneurs in the world. That's 7.7% of the world's population. Many people aspire to be an entrepreneur but not all manage to do so for various reasons, such as fear of failure, lack of education, lack of capital, ignorance, etc. |
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Universities are already a filter of people who have reached a higher educational level and aspire to have better working conditions one day. This reflects that the university has a critical role not only to prepare the workforce of existing organizations, but also to prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is known to be recognized as the main engine of economic development and job creation. Entrepreneurship is also the engine to fix some of the world’s biggest problems. I am thankful we have so many DePaul students and alumni that want to Do Good and Do Well, tackling many of these issues right here in our own Chicago back-yard. In our programs at the CEC we are taking an interdisciplinary approach and new teaching methods in such a way that, before graduation, students have already experienced in a controlled environment how they can start a business idea. Our recent CEC Internships and Hack competition had our DePaul students working with real entrepreneurs in the real world with real problems! In addition, within our entrepreneurial ecosystem, we connect our students with 1871, 2112, mHub and ISTC members to work with real world entrepreneurs and programs that connect them far outside the classroom. To leverage all of this further, we plan to launch the CEC 7900 Incubator this Fall, to further help our students and alumni develop and launch successful businesses. University incubators are empowered to provide specialized mentoring, training, and normally function as an autonomous entity from the university. We plan to provide physical space with our Center and support with obtaining capital at an early stage for the development of their business model. Our faculty also have an important link with the CEC, since they can participate as mentors, but, more importantly, they are those who know closely about projects that originate in the classrooms and they often channel them to the CEC. We look forward to moving ahead with our CEC 7900 Incubator plans as we transition back into being in person and welcome your input and ongoing support. So, enjoy the weather and let's keep the optimism going!
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Pairing students with the right mentors has always been one of the top priorities at the Coleman Center. We believe that the right guidance is crucial to advancing your academic or professional goals.
The CEC Mentorship program is open to students, alumni, and community members. Benefits include receiving ideas and feedback on your venture, expanding your network, and learning best practices for starting and running a business.
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Welcome our Newest Mentor! |
Daleele Alison is a technology professional and entrepreneur. He is the CEO and co-founder of RooksDM, a technology consulting group that helps alleviate pain points for small to midsize companies by using the right technology. RooksDM does everything from one-time consulting, project implementation, and building custom technology solutions.
For the past decade, Daleele has worked as a consultant, business analyst, and project manager for Fortune 500 companies to SMBs. He is a passionate entrepreneur who founded not only RooksDM, but also local networking groups Digital Marketing Topic and Trends (DMTT) and Local Coffee Chi (a social group for coffee lovers).
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DePaul University’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center is hosting the 5th Annual Purpose Pitch Competition on May 19th 4-6:00pm CDT, to explore the ideas of purpose driven startups in Chicago. This unique pitch session gives DePaul student and alumni founders a chance to pitch their greater purpose and the impact of their business. |
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Have an idea for a business? Already have a business? Bruce Leech, Executive Director of the Coleman Center, will lead this informative and fun introductory workshop on what it takes to start and sustain a business. Bruce brings stories from his expertise and real-world experience - bootstrapping a $90 million business- to DePaul students and graduates.
Learn best practices for startups and discover all the resources that are available to you through the Coleman Center, including memberships at 1871 and 2112.
You will receive an email about the webinar meeting information.
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DePaul CEO hosted its first event on April 9th, presenting three students who are currently finding success in entrepreneurship even while pursuing their studies. The goal of this event was to inspire and motivate students in the audience to realize that they can do it to. During the academic year DePaul CEO will be hosting a number of events, including events showcasing professional and student speakers, student mastermind sessions, partnership events with the CEC, co-founder meeting sessions and social and game nights.
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Membership to the overall CEO network comes with a number of perks, including access to on campus employment, full-time employment opportunities in entrepreneurship organizations, access to mentorship by highly successful entrepreneurs, resources to launch startups and pitch competitions. |
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Join Dr. Maija Renko, Professor of Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at DePaul University for a conversation in social entrepreneurship on May 11th. This event, in collaboration with Net Impact, will delve into the importance of sustainability and post-pandemic entrepreneurship.
Net Impact is a nonprofit membership organization for students and professionals interested in using business skills in support of various social and environmental causes. It serves both a professional organization and one of the largest student organizations among MBAs in the world.
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Join the Campus 1871 Live Pitch |
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Campus 1871 is a comprehensive program for students to gain experience building and pitching a business. This two-week class culminates in a final pitch open to all on April 23rd, at 6pm! See the final product of young entrepreneurs work in developing their business to a panel of industry leaders in Chicago.
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MHUB is an innovation center for physical product development and manufacturing. mHUB's members create breakthrough products in robotics, connected devices, sensors, energy tech, medical devices, smart building / cities, unmanned vehicles, and other cutting- edge innovations. |
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2112 is Chicago's first incubator focused on the development of business and entrepreneurs in music, film/video and creative technology. DePaul is a member at 2112 which allows students to participate in their programs for free.
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