Almost 200 student-founded businesses are started around BYU campus each year. These students are entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs are people who want to be their own boss and make decisions.
“[Entrepreneurship] is about what business really is and how to succeed in your life,” said Ron Lindorf, a professor in the Marriott School of Business. “It’s about learning to rely on yourself and make your own decisions. [Entrepreneurs] take things they love and figure out how to make a living doing it. ”
The Rollins Center of Entrepreneurship and Technology is set up to help these students accomplish their goals as part of a campus-wide Entrepreneurship Week.
“The world has changed for students looking to succeed,” said Scott Peterson, managing director of the Rollins Center. “It is crucial that they get the skills of entrepreneurship. [These skills] will help them in any field. [You] can’t just be interested [in starting your own business]. You have to know how to do it.”
The skills taught at Entrepreneurship Week are helpful for all students as well as aspiring entrepreneurs.
“There’s something for every student at E-Week,” said Steve Liddle, academic director of the Rollins Center, in a news release. “From mentoring and networking opportunities to student competitions, it’s a fantastic collection of events for all levels of skill, interest and background.”
Entrepreneurship Week can teach students skills that will help them create lasting careers.
“What you don’t know can and will kill you,” Peterson said. “Ninety percent of businesses fail, not because of lack of money but because of lack of knowledge.”
Entrepreneurship knowledge can help create security in a career and in life.
“The only security you can generate is a belief in your own self reliance,” Lindorf said.
Entrepreneurship Week includes events all over campus through Friday. Events will include food and prizes. In total, more than $100,000 in prize money will be given away.
The event is designed to provide networking opportunities for students who want to be entrepreneurs. It also encourages students to take control of their futures and be their own bosses.
On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., the Rollins Center will host “Entrepreneur and Venture Ecosystem Night,” the largest networking event in Utah’s history, with more than 500 professionals there to meet students. The event works with students to help them realize their ideas.
Other events throughout the week will show off the work of exemplary students from a variety of departments.
“[These events] are a chance to see students from your own discipline who have looked at ways to change the world,” Peterson said.
The week will conclude with a flash mob between the first and second quarters of the BYU-Utah State football game. The Rollins Center hopes to set a Guinness World Record for the largest stadium flash mob. Students can learn the dance by visiting bit.ly/secretflashmob.
Students can find more information about Entrepreneurship Week at eweek.byu.edu.
