MS in Entrepreneurship Alumni and Faculty Discuss Starting a Business Amidst Economic Downturn
A discussion with alumni
The Master of Science in Entrepreneurship program hosted its first online “Taste of Entrepreneurship” event on April 27, focusing on the story of two alumni — Zachary Dodds ’19 and Keisha Credit ’18 — and how they joined forces to create Paca y Paca (an artisanal refillable candle company), how they are navigating life post-graduation and are managing a new company through this time of economic uncertainty. They also offered some great insight regarding the resources they had access to during the MS in Entrepreneurship program. You’ll have to watch the recording of the event below to find out just how many lawyers that Zach had working for him for free at one time thanks to the resources he had access to during the program (hint: you’ll need more than one hand to count the number).
Advice from an expert
MS in Entrepreneurship instructor Ken Myer followed Zach and Keisha to give his advice for people who have just started a business or are thinking about starting one. The parallels that he made between the 2008 financial crisis and the present one were both telling and inspirational: two companies that we couldn’t imagine living without today (watch the recording to see which ones) both came out of the great recession. “This isn’t a bad time at all to start a business,” says Ken, and “a year is about the amount of time it is going to take you to start a business,” and most likely for the economy to start to emerge from this downturn.
The big takeaway
The bottom line is that now may be a better time than ever for the aspiring entrepreneur to go back to school, learn new tools, make important connections and get ready to launch the next big tool or service to help society steer through a post-COVID world.
Watch the full discussion below:
