Fiscal Year 2021-2022
Lavin Entrepreneurship Center Impact Report business.sdsu.edu
Lavin Entrepreneurship Center
FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2021-22 POINTS OF PRIDE Message from Faculty
Alex F. DeNoble, Ph.D Entrepreneurship/Business Professor Executive Director, Lavin Entrepreneurship Center
Each year, I have the privilege of reviewing the experiences we all shared at the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center during the academic year that has just come to a close. During my 39 years serving on the faculty at San Diego State University (including 11 as Executive Director of the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center), the past two academic years (July 1 through June 30, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021) have been the most unique and extraordinary of my entire career. I am so proud of our permanent staff as well as our student staff who worked tirelessly as we shifted back to campus this academic year. The resilience of our team and the people we engaged with throughout the year will leave a lasting memory for me as I will someday reflect on my incredible, almost fourSTUDENT decade career at San Diego StateADVISING University.APPOINTMENTS I want to take this opportunity to personally Three staff conducted 684 appointments thank our student staff for their hard work, dedication and belief(in-person/virtual) in our mission of in AY21-22 compared to 819 with five staff in AY20-21. More than 70% preparing the next generation entrepreneurs. they move were withofJuniors (21%) andAsSeniors (51%).on in their careers, they will be well equipped to adapt to the many changes that will come their way. The organizations that hire these amazing students will be very lucky. They applied the power of teamwork and commitment to advancing the work of our Center. They will build on the experiences they had with us in ways that will truly benefit the next organizations they choose to affiliate with. Each of our programs stand as a testament to the strength and dedication of this amazing group of people, who together, as students, faculty, staff and community constitute The Lavin Entrepreneurship Center. I truly believe that our benefactor, Dr. Leonard H. Lavin, would be proud of what we have accomplished together. Dr. Lavin, your legacy will live on for many generations of future SDSU Lavin Entrepreneurs — just as you envisioned it! With sincere gratitude, Alex F. DeNoble, Ph.D Entrepreneurship/Business Professor Executive Director, Lavin Entrepreneurship Center
Points of Pride
#14
36
Fowler College of
Business
ENTREPRENEURSHIP (PUBLIC, UNDERGRADUATE) #36 Overall, U.S. News & World Report, 2021 We are recognized as a thought leader in the field of entrepreneurship education and research. MENTOR-MENTEE PARTNERSHIPS The 2021-2023 cohort of Lavin entrepreneurs is the largest yet, with 36 mentor-mentee partnerships.
Highlights | Student Spotlight
Program Highlights
Hosted 6 Seed Fund dinners with Zeynep Ilgaz, Felena Hanson, Jennifer Barnes, Charlie Yim, Wing Lam, and Maria Gonzalez-Blanch. Payne Lecture Series hosted a talk from Zeynep Ilgaz and Serhat Pala, Fall 2021. Hosted the 8th Annual 2022 California Entrepreneurship Educators Conference on April 29, 2022, free of cost to attendees. Partnered with a local non-profit, The Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Studies, to offer entrepreneurship training to micro-businesses in San Diego’s underserved communities. Partnered with the Southern California Institute in San Diego to create a new student group, The Family Business Circle. This program offers students the opportunity to learn about issues and opportunities in family businesses. Partnered with the National Security Innovation Network to create a new course where students have the opportunity to apply the lean startup methodology to solve unique problems posed to them by various branches of the U.S. military. Partnered with SCORE San Diego to provide mentors to Lavin Entrepreneur students and participants in our Adversity Entrepreneurship program. Recruited 34 mentors from the business community to work with our new cohort of Lavin Entrepreneur students. Administered the latest round of the Lavin Seed Fund program to provide micro-funding to students working on projects. Worked with the Management Department in the Fowler College of Business to create a new freshman level introductory course in Entrepreneurship. Recruited new coaches to work with our undergraduate and graduate VCIC teams Placed numerous students throughout the year in internships with growing firms. Lavin Student Spotlight: Mary Ainsworth
Getting involved with the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center has been the best decision I’ve made in college. I not only participated in the Lavin Entrepreneur two-year program, but I also worked at the center as a marketing assistant and writer.
Mary Ainsworth,
Fourth Year Communication Major (Minor in Digital & Media Studies), Lavin Center Writer
While working in the center and going through the Lavin Program, I made many long-lasting, meaningful relationships with serial entrepreneurs, business executives, and my peers in class. I attended the seed fund dinners to meet with entrepreneurs and hear their stories, went to the Lavin holiday parties to talk with business owners one-on-one, and developed friendships with other Lavin students. This experience led me to land the job I will be entering upon graduation in May. I also developed my professional skill set tremendously through the experiential Lavin classes and my job as the marketing assistant. I went from having low self-confidence in my work to winning the Ron Fowler Intern Award my senior year. I learned so much about strategic digital marketing, event planning, and writing for sales. These experiences will 100% contribute to my success in my new position after I graduate. I will always be grateful for the experiences I had, the people I met, and the skills I acquired through the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center. I don’t know where I would be without the support it offered me.
Making An Impact
Thank you for supporting internships, training and networking opportunities, and seed funding to students participating in programs at the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center.
Student Spotlight | Impact on Student Success
Lavin Student Spotlight: Rylie Jennings
Faculty Achievements
Lavin Entrepreneurship Center Executive Director Alex F. DeNoble serves on the Board of Directors for the International Council for Small Business
Lavin Center Board of Advisors
In order to build and maintain a world-class center, we need the strategic and financial support of experienced and committed Advisory Board Members. Thank you to our Advisory Board Members who are helping us achieve our strategic objectives and supporting us in the community.
Rylie Jennings is a second year Lavin Entrepreneur and Programs
Coordinator for the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center. She shared the following about her Lavin experience: "The Lavin Entrepreneurship Center, I can genuinely say, shifted the entire trajectory of my life. I entered the program fresh off discontinuing my first venture Sem-plus, a mobile application to assist traumatic brain injury survivors through their recovery. I was incubating this idea in the ADVISING Zip Launchpad, but wanted to understand how to STUDENT APPOINTMENTS interact with community members, further my entrepreneurial mindset, and find in my true Three staff conducted 684 appointments (in-person/virtual) passion when pursuing entrepreneurship. Eventually, through Lavin, I fell in love with AY21-22 compared to 819 with five staff in AY20-21. More than 70%the other side of the coin,were whichwith is the investors start-up companies. Juniors (21%)who and support Seniors (51%). In May of 2021, I applied to the Venture Capital Investment Competition team as a member, and Alex Denoble gave me the opportunity to be the main coordinator of this team on top of being a team member. The dual experience is the reason I will be working as chief of staff for an early stage venture capital fund created by a Lavin alumna. This is an industry and role that is near impossible to get at my stage of life, but because of Lavin, I get to do something I love everyday from here on out. The network I have been able to build through the program has set me up for post university life in more ways than I can possibly explain. I have a novel full of takeaways, but to name another, I had the privilege of coordinating the Lavin Seed Fund Dinners this year, which allows students to network with accomplished entrepreneurs and investors in San Diego within an intimate private dining setting. Typically, a student will attend two dinners a year, but I had the honor of planning and attending all of them. I not only was able to build connections with all eight speakers from different industries, but also my perspective shifted each dinner I was able to attend through the knowledge shared. I was the one who was able to see the direct impact each dinner had on the student attendees, and I could see the inspiration ignited in their eyes, which could not be found without Lavin. I owe Lavin the world, and I know that it has changed so many other students' lives like it has for mine."
Pitching in Startup Competition Lands Lavin Student $5,000
Liam Howlett, Lavin Entrepreneur student, is now running Safety
First Aquatics, a multi-state company offering over 26 learn to swim programs in California alone. As Safety First Aquatics continues to expand, Howlett is constantly in search of new ways to grow. He pitched his startup in the Boom Startup Competition, for which he was awarded $5,000 for the first-place prize. Howlett’s idea was a “Rent a Pool” service, in which customers in need of swim lessons can rent a pool from a homeowner in their neighborhood. This would be specifically useful for suburban areas in the Midwest, whose communities don’t have the funding or infrastructure to provide community, public pools. Howlett discussed the traction they’ve gained during their trial program, the total addressable market size, and plans for a pilot program in 2022. Not only did Howlett win the competition, but he will now be able to provide further funding for this launch within his company with the prize money. Lavin students have additional pitching opportunities throughout each academic year that offer opportunities for innovation ideation and startup support. Student companies have been formed from these events, and with the guidance and resources from the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center and the ZIP Launchpad at SDSU, they have been successfully launched while the founders are still in college.
Impact on Student Success
Former Lavin Entrepreneur Wins Local EO Competition
Lucien Eloundou, the founder of Charbon Plus,
graduated from the Lavin Entrepreneur Program in 2018. With a passion for entrepreneurship and drive to create his own brand, Eloundou created the perfect product he was hoping to within a year of graduating. Charbon Plus is an organic, natural skincare brand, handcrafted in Africa and made specifically for Black and Brown skin. It is fighting the skincare race gap, while also reducing its environmental impact by using ethically sourced, cruelty-free ingredients. Recently, Eloundou won the San Diego Regional Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) Competition. This competition, hosted by the Entrepreneur Organization (EO), seeks out student-founded companies that are bold, hungry to learn, trustworthy, and open-minded. Lucien emulated these tenets while describing his vision for Charbon Plus, emphasizing its ethical sourcing, his long-term goals for the company, and the authentic African ingredients. Elondou expressed his gratitude for the opportunity stating, "I feel happy and nervous simultaneously because this exposure to top leaders and investors could be the greatest opportunity to raise capital for our brand. I hope to live up to the high expectations of the EO community. Time to get back to work! " Long term, Charbon Plus plans to release a full skin care line and gather dominance to be the premier African skincare brand for the underserved Black community worldwide.
Former Student Staff Brings the CEEC to Life with His Own Company
David Estrin, a former student staff member for the Lavin
Entrepreneurship Center, is working with us again, but this time as an entrepreneur with his own company: David Estrin Productions. Estrin was the videographer, photographer, and video editor for the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center from 2015 to 2017. He was able to tell the story of the center through video and make our conferences and our programs come to life in a way they never had before. Estrin shared the following about his Lavin experience:
“The Lavin Entrepreneurship Center provided me the opportunity to grow my skill sets as a filmmaker and opened me up to the entrepreneurial world and mindset of collaboration. The Lavin Entrepreneurship Center was instrumental in giving me an outlet to grow as a creator," said Estrin. After graduating in 2017, Estrin went on to launch his own company, leading him to work with local businesses, event planners, educational institutions, and more.
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