Wesleyan students are known to be bold and creative thinkers who are not just learners but also makers. However, it can be difficult for students to figure out where to start when they have an idea they want to build or when they feel drawn to get involved with other students’ entrepreneurial projects. This post will highlight some of the current entrepreneurship resources at Wesleyan. If you are a student who would like to connect with any of these resources or talk about creating new ones, hmu at akamara@wesleyan.edu.
I hope to hear from you!
Alphina Kamara ’22
Student-run
The Workshop:
A student-run arts collective, residing in the basement of Hewitt 8. This space was created to support and provide resources to any student wanting to pursue a creative project—from bookmaking and woodworking to photography and filmmaking to sewing and weaving.
Entrepreneurship Club:
Wesleyan Entrepreneurship club is centered around connecting like-minded entrepreneurial people and equipping them with the right resources to better understand the startup ecosystem at Wesleyan and the professional world.
Code_Wes:
Coding Club is a space for students interested in coding. They work on real-life group projects that include app, web, game development, that are mostly Wesleyan centric. Outside of understanding the practical skills surrounding coding they also organize hackathons and connect students to faculty advisors that help them on their various projects.
Traid:
This is a platform, created by students, to facilitate the buying, selling, and trading of goods and services on college campuses. They highlight and tell the stories of student entrepreneurship and creative endeavors. For more information check out their Instagram: @traiduniversity and website: www.traiduniversity.com
OurCampus:
OurCampus is Wesleyan’s very first campus mobile application that allows students to rate their professors along with assessing the reviews of their peers surrounding Wesleyan faculty. This app also has a feature where students can post events and advertise various things geared to the Wesleyan student population. Overall, this app was created to supplement social and academic life in an attempt to enable every student to make the most out of their college experience.
Faculty/Admin-run
IDEAS Lab:
A fully-equipped digital makerspace that was originally built to support classes in the Integrated Design, Engineering and Applied Science minor. In Spring of 2020 they opened our doors to the wider Wesleyan community, inviting all makers to take advantage of our capabilities. Though the pandemic has once again forced them to limit access to enrolled IDEAS students, they are working on plans to reopen as soon as it can be done safely.
CSPL 239 Startup Incubator:
Is a one-semester, experiential learning program designed to teach and enable student entrepreneurs to develop sustainable business models from their ideas. The program brings together an ambitious, committed, and diverse group of individuals from all classes and majors who are passionate about developing successful solutions to challenges; identify as entrepreneurs, disruptors, and thought leaders; and have the tenacity, work ethic, and ability to succeed. All participating students should have a promising business idea and take the course with the intention of launching or running their own venture.
CSPL262 Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship:
In this project-based, cohort-style class, students will learn strategies for understanding social and environmental problems, and they will design interventions to create impact. Each student will select a topic to work on individually or as part of a team throughout the semester. Topics will include root cause analysis, ecosystem mapping, theory of change, human-centered design, business models, leadership and teamwork, impact metrics, storytelling, and more.
PCSE Seed Grants:
The Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship awards three $5,000 seed grants each year to fund the launch or early-stage growth of a Wesleyan-connected social enterprise, project, program, or venture.
Community-run
SCORE of Southeastern Connecticut:
This association of volunteers provides free resources such as mentoring and local workshops to assist people launching or growing their businesses.
reSET:
Is based in Hartford Connecticut and provides co-working space and mentoring programs. They aim to inspire innovation and community collaboration, and support entrepreneurs in creating market-based solutions to community challenges. Their goal is to meet entrepreneurs wherever they are in their trajectory and to help them take their businesses to the next level.
Techstars:
Techstars actively cultivates startup culture at the local level, growing communities of entrepreneurs through live events, mentorship, and education to create a more sustainable and inclusive world. They also support startups with their accelerator program that helps entrepreneurs get funding, mentorship, and access to a Techstars network.
MEWS+:
Based in Middletown. Provides co-working space, pro bono legal and accounting advice, and pitch and funding opportunities such as their COLLISION competition, where people with ideas compete for cash prizes.
The Entrepreneurship Foundation:
The Entrepreneurship Foundation provides resources ranging from intercollegiate entrepreneurship courses to lean startup accelerators. The most relevant for Wesleyan students is their Elevator Pitch Olympics and Business Plan Competitions, semi-annual events that offer students invaluable pitch practice, networking, and opportunities for funding.