entrepreneurship – Page 3 – Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society Blog

February 10, 2021

How Entrepreneurial Thinking is Preparing Holy Cross Students to Wrestle With Problems of the Future

When Ja-Naé Duane introduces entrepreneurship to students at the College of the Holy Cross, she doesn’t start by talking about business ideas, product development or marketing strategy. Rather, she tells students: “Pick a problem.”

As head of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program within the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society at Holy Cross, Duane encourages students to work on solutions only after they’ve wrestled with complex, global problems. For example: “Why don’t we have fresh water in all parts of the world? And what are the potential causes for the water wars that have started to exist?”

Duane, an entrepreneur herself, explains: “A true ethical leader needs to look at all sides and as many perspectives as possible in order to build something that is not only sustainable, but is also sustainably good for humanity.”

The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program is one of many initiatives within the Ciocca Center, which combines the power of a liberal arts education with experiential learning to shape the next generation of ethical leaders and critical thinkers — and has offerings open to students from all class years and majors.

One way students are getting that hands-on entrepreneurial experience is by running their own incubator, HC Launch. Using a holistic approach, the incubator focuses on bringing students’ business ideas to life.

August 30, 2020

The Summer of Entrepreneurship …and Beyond!

What does it take to launch a startup and keep it running? Students had two opportunities during summer 2020 to explore the step-by-step process of starting a business and the strength of businesses that develop strategies and innovate. “Our Entrepreneurship workshop starts where every business should start: with building you as a leader and cultivating your skillset,” shares Ja-Naé Duane, entrepreneur-in-residence at Holy Cross. “From there, we dive into the factors that impact starting a business and showcase stories of businesses to illustrate that there is no one way to start or grow a business.”

If you’re interested in pursuing the Certificate in Entrepreneurship, both of the following workshops count so consider registering for a future offering!

Continue reading “The Summer of Entrepreneurship …and Beyond!”

May 11, 2020

Holy Cross Graduates Students with Certificates in Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance

The Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society at the College of the Holy Cross works with nearly one in six students, or about 500, to provide technical skills and hands-on experiences to complement the liberal arts education. Students from all majors, including Chemistry and Economics, to English and Studio Art, are encouraged to get involved as early as freshman year because you can major in anything and succeed in business.

A recent study of the working Holy Cross alumni database found that three out of four work in business roles, making it particularly useful for students to study business. With three Certificate Programs to choose from students can focus their experience on different industries, including 1) Certificate in Business Fundamentals, 2) Certificate in Entrepreneurship and 3) Certificate in Finance and Banking.

This year, due to COVID-19, many seniors experienced the Business Ethics & Principled Leadership workshop through a virtual session. We appreciate their commitment to completing the program and flexibility as the Center quickly transferred the material to a digital platform.

Today, the Ciocca Center is proud to award 68 Certificates from the three programs. See a list of students below. Continue reading “Holy Cross Graduates Students with Certificates in Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance”

February 27, 2020

Katherine Kalill ’21 Interns at the Ciocca Center

My name is Katherine Kalill ’21. I’m a current junior at Holy Cross, majoring in Political Science with an Africana Studies concentration and working towards a Certificate in Entrepreneurship through the Ciocca Center.

I recently returned to campus after working under the programming team at CBS Sports in New York City. Living in the city also allowed me to explore the various new market opportunities available. As a result, I am interested in learning more about the future of entrepreneurship and what it takes to turn an idea into a prosperous business. In addition, I would love to research what people have found to be the most successful way to pitch ideas and what separates successful ideas from the rest in the increasingly competitive global world of business. I hope to explore potential strategies of growth and conclude principles that hold true across industries.

Through the Academic Internship Program this semester, I am taking a seminar called “Boards and CEOs: Governing America’s Businesses” with Professor Dan Ricciardi and interning at the Ciocca Center. In my time here, my focus is to identify alumni who embody the spirit of entrepreneurship through their business endeavors and identify how their liberal arts education has complimented their success.

Stay tuned to see Katherine’s progress this semester!

November 15, 2019

Annual Innovation Challenge Solves Campus Problems

HC Launch, the student incubator through the Ciocca Center, hosted the fall Innovation Challenge on Saturday, November 9, 2019. Building off of last spring’s Innovation Challenge, this event brought students together to brainstorm problems centered around issues on campus at Holy Cross stemming from the Engage Summit and to ideate potential solutions to these problems.
Continue reading “Annual Innovation Challenge Solves Campus Problems”

March 29, 2019

First HC Entrepreneurship Week Ends With the Annual Shark Tank Competition

Through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society, the College held its annual Shark Tank Competition on Thursday, March 28. Entrepreneurship Week ended with a bang as the six competing teams went all-in asking for the big cash prize: Bidly, Equanimity Project, Feel Good Dog Food, Pledger, Sanctuary, and Wilox.

Thank you to our judges for making the tough decisions!

- Mary Moran ‘77, CEO at MCM Financial Consulting
- PJ Sansonetti ’93, General Manager, Carole Kitchen and Bath Design
- Roy Vella ‘90, Business Development, Ripple
- Daniel Klinghard, Director of JD Power Center at Holy Cross
  ›Judging for the Ignite Fund Recipient

In-Kind Services Awards:

Matt Campbell ‘14 at Neurala will advise Bidly on sales and business development.
Diego Mas Gonzalez ‘12 at General Assembly will advise Sanctuary on user experience.
Bill Kelly ‘92 at Exosome Diagnostics will advise Feel Good Dog Food on scaling the business.
John Loughnane ‘87 at Nutter will provide Wilox with a Power Legal Lunch.

Cash Prize Awards: A tie for first place!

Feel Good Dog Food: $3,000
Wilox: $3,000
Sanctuary won $2,600
- the “People’s Choice” award: $100
- the Ignite Fund: $2,600

Curious what these student-run businesses are all about? Continue reading “First HC Entrepreneurship Week Ends With the Annual Shark Tank Competition”

November 22, 2018

Student Incubator Success

Wilox, a student startup focused on making the world a cleaner place, is part of the Holy Cross student-run incubator. Earlier this month (11/13/18) they competed at the Beantown Throwdown (part of Global Entrepreneurship week) pitch contest hosted at LogMeIn, sponsored by Nutter/John Loughnane ’87 P19. The student team placed second, beating teams from MIT, Harvard, BC, BU, Tufts, McGill, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health, Wentworth, Brandeis, and Berklee.

Congratulations to the Wilox team!

Pictured from left to right: Joe Egan ’19: Business Development, Mike Brown ’19: Director of Sales, Luke Knox ’22: Co-Founder/CEO, Mary Anne Wiley ’22: COO, Paul Wiley ’20: President/Founder, Eric Lane ’21: Product Manager, John Bowen ’22: User Research, and Nolan Howard ’19: Market Research

“Tremendous job by the student team in competing so effectively! Congratulations to all involved! Great job too by the entire team from the Ciocca center for Business, Ethics, and Society at the College including Director David Chu and Entrepreneur-in-Residence Ja-Naé Duane.” – John Loughnane ’87 P19: Partner, Nutter

The Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program, led by Ja-Nae Duane, provides students the opportunity to utilize and build upon their liberal arts education while learning the fundamentals of starting a venture and keeping a company relevant in this fast-changing world. The new Certificate of Entrepreneurship offered through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society provides students with comprehensive and structured programming to acquire technical business skills and experiences.

The Incubator started in 2018 with two student entrepreneurs, Paul Wiley ’20 and Joe Egan ’19. They currently have over 40 members and work with 4 different student ventures. Their goal is to teach the entrepreneurial method across campus which in turn will allow students to make their business dreams a reality as a part of the E&I programming.

Thanks for reading! Cassie

Cassie Gevry, Associate Director of Student Engagement
Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society

November 14, 2018

HC Startup: Boston Kickoff Event

“With the relaunch and the rebranding of the HC Startup group, there is also a renewed vision to create an ecosystem of entrepreneurial-minded folks. With the future of work dramatically changing the landscape, we need to prepare and support our students and alumni for this shift.” Ja-Naé Duane, EIR & Lecturer, Holy Cross

JOIN US for our winter networking event at T3 Advisors in Boston.
JANUARY 16, 2019 << Click to REGISTER.

October 19, 2018

Ask Alumni Anything

Holy Cross alumni thriving as entrepreneurs and business leaders respond to real student questions about how to find success and satisfaction in the business world. Read student questions posed to alumni through Slack, HC Startup’s online message board, to learn what it takes to navigate the business world and find success as a modern entrepreneur.

Want to be a part of the community? Have answers to student questions? Join the conversation and meet us on Slack!

>> Q: Kit Mullen ’21, international studies major, asks “Lots of times people are torn between doing what they love and doing what will guarantee them successful in the eyes of others. As entrepreneurs how did you make the choice to leave the more normal, reliable lifestyle of working for a company for the riskier task of starting your own company?”
A: Rob Petrosino ’10, Director of Social Commerce Marketing at Peak Activity, answers “Sometimes it comes down to a gut call but job satisfaction and fulfillment typically out weighs a “normal” life.”

>> Q: Gavin McNamera ’21, political science major, asks “Early in your college experience, how did you find direction on where you wanted to take your career in business or entrepreneurship?”
A: Dan Barrett ’13 at Madaket Health, replies “Good question… the classic response is “follow what you enjoy doing”. It’s classic for a reason though: it’s true. Reflect on the classes that appeal to you, the assignments that appeal to you, the “aha” moments and the deep curiosities as you encounter new ideas in the classroom. Pursue those things. Entrepreneurship is hard. Working is hard. If you’re not doing something that fundamentally aligns with your interests you will burn out in a snap. Entrepreneurship is not flashy, it’s a grind. It usually involves grinding into a headwind, uphill. But it’s also a race. And if you hate the field you’re in or find it a total bore, it will be next to impossible to race against the people who happen to enjoy doing it.”

>> Q: Max Krause ’21, economics major, asks “How do you make sure your idea is a good idea before you go and invest your time and money into realizing it?”
A: Rob Petrosino ’10, Director of Social Commerce Marketing at Peak Activity, answers “If your idea solves a problem you are most likely on the right track. How you execute is more than half the battle however.”
A: Stacy Chin ’12, Co-founder & CEO at HydroGlyde Coatings, responds “ Listen to the market and you will see if they agree to your solution.”

Thanks for reading! Cassie

Cassie Gevry, Associate Director of Student Engagement
Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society

August 16, 2018

New Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program at Holy Cross

Have an idea for a business? Interested in working with cool ideas?
Get involved with entrepreneurship and innovation this fall!

“The extracurricular entrepreneurial opportunities offered outside of the classroom such as the Ignite Incubator, the Fullbridge Program, the Shark Tank Competition, visits to start-ups, and networking events have all furthered my desire to pursue a career in business.”

– Paul Wiley ’20, chemistry major
2017 Shark Tank Competition Winner

>> Join the new Holy Cross student run Ignite Incubator! The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program is excited to launch the College’s new student run incubator. The Ignite Incubator enables students from all class years to learn what it takes to bring a business to market through hands on experience. Students can either:

have their idea or business incubated in the program
work on other students business ideas

The incubator is now accepting applications for both business ideas and for associate positions on the management team.
Apply NOW! Deadline: September 10, 2018

>> Fall Course: Entrepreneurship 101
Tue. & Thu. from 12:30-1:45pm
Prof. Ja-Naé Duane

Entrepreneurship begins with a vision. This course focuses on the foundations of entrepreneurship and is appropriate for students from any major. It is designed to introduce students to the entrepreneurial process so that they may begin to shape their own entrepreneurial vision. Course objectives include an introduction to the challenges of entrepreneurship, an understanding of the ethical environment in which entrepreneurs operate, the skills to think critically and work toward the ability to evaluate opportunities in the business. This is a course that includes project-based entrepreneurial activities where students work to test and validate ideas.

Who should take this course?

Students who have a business idea
Students who want to work on existing business idea
Students who want to explore the field of entrepreneurship and innovation

Space is limited. Seats available for second, third and fourth year students.

>> Have questions? Reach out to Ja-Naé Duane, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, for more program details!

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