Notre Dame Students Embark on an Entrepreneurial Journey

Notre Dame MBA student Sheila Powenski has long combined an entrepreneurial spirit with a heart for others. As an undergrad, she became aware of children in Honduras playing sports without any equipment—no balls, bats, or gloves. Sheila, a lacrosse player, and a teammate raised money and collected used sporting equipment for the children. After paying for passage of a large suitcase filled with deflated balls and other equipment, Sheila flew to Honduras and delivered the paraphernalia to two orphanages and many excited kids.

Now at Notre Dame, Sheila is once again involved in a project with a benevolent purpose. This time Sheila and five fellow MBA students are developing a business plan, designed through Notre Dame's Sustainable Social Venture Competition, for a company that will recycle unused hospital supplies and sell them to hospitals and clinics in foreign countries at deep discounts. Each year, the Notre Dame's Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies sponsors this competition for entrepreneurship with a social purpose, as well as the McCloskey Business Plan Competition for traditional entrepreneurial ventures.
The competition provides training sessions sponsored through a NASDAQ Educational Foundation grant. The grant allows Notre Dame to supply textbooks and schedule speakers who offer market-based advice to students throughout the business plan competition, in addition to the mentoring or coaching that the students receive during the academic year.

From the team at the Gigot Center; to the entrepreneurs-in-residence, who act as sounding boards and consultants; to the IrishAngels, who mentor the students, act as judges in the competition, and, in some cases, provide venture capital, the students gain guidance every step of the way. "The #1 lesson I've learned is how valuable the Notre Dame network is," says Sheila. "Whether we're writing or delivering elevator pitches, executive summaries, or business plans, everyone has been very willing to help." 

For Sheila and her team, the experience has been one they won't soon forget. Having won the $500 elevator pitch competition, they are now focused on their ultimate goal—the $10,000 prize.  The cash prizes, however, aren't the only draw in this competition that combines an education with an entrepreneurial journey:  the camaraderie, mentoring, and experience are second to none.

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