44 | INNOVISION MAGAZINE YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS PANEL Five young entrepreneurs, from all different industries, answered questions regarding their personal businesses at Entrepreneurship Week’s largest event. The audience contained KU students and staff, business students from a nearby university, and students from three regional highschools. One of the panelists, Andrew Abt (‘14), KU Sport Management alum and owner of Altafit (a luxury, sport performance fitness gym) is also starting a new venture with Air BNB glass homes. Amedeo Citro is also on the panel and is a current senior majoring in Business Administration and is the owner of a landscaping and exterior design company that he started while in college. Dakota Hirst (‘16) is a Sport Management alum, while Rebecca Donohue is a current KU graduate student. Both Dakota and Rebecca are employees of the KU Small Business Development Center (KUSBDC) (Hirst is a Business Consultant and Donohue is a Grad Assistant). Hirst also runs a sports podcast called Post-Fades and Cheesesteaks and Donohue started a business as a Senior Portrait Photographer. Current KU senior, Daquan Borney, majoring in Accounting and minoring in Entrepreneurship, started his own clothing line, ‘Never Settle for Less.’ Moderator, Nicholas Coppolino, a senior Entrepreneurship major, opened the event asking panelists how college prepared them for their entrepreneurial careers. Initial responses began as a topic of dispute whether college is necessary to become an entrepreneur. Borney and Citro were of the mindset that successful entrepreneurship could be achieved without a college education with Borney explaining that “there is nothing that you can’t learn on your own time and effort.” Citro found it beneficial to take a semester off to focus on his business, arguing that focusing too much on college may have prevented business expansion. “It’s a rigorous process of trial and error and learning as you grow,” Citro explained, “Some of the things that I took from school were how to network and speak professionally to clients as a younger business owner.” Others chimed in explaining that there were important technical skills they learned in school. Abt earned personal training certificates and Donohue learned skills (such as Photography) in college making it a beneficial first step for their businesses. However, Abt expressed that he also wanted to gain more practical knowledge on business planning and brand creation while in college. The topic resurfaced throughout the event as panelists found additional examples of how college prepared them for their businesses, such as mentors. “Remember your resources,” Hirst emphasized, “Your professors have experience with endeavors they’ve attempted, and you have stuff like this [remarking on the panel event] to go to.” Learning how to network in college came up among the panelists as an irreplaceable asset gained while in college, which “can be hard to acquire without it,” Abt stated having an expansive network within his rugby team and coaches. A strong network saved his business during the pandemic when he reached out on LinkedIn to various entities to offer online fitness classes to their employees. “We asked ourselves,” Abt retold, “where is there money and who needs to keep people happy [during an uncertain time]?” “If you surround yourself now with the right types of people possessing motivation,” Abt said in summary, "it’s going to benefit you later on in life.” Being virtual allowed Donohue’s senior portrait business to triple profits during the pandemic since her “business was already based on engaging with students online.” She found that during this time, her business offered a sense of normalcy for students, and they were ten times more willing to hire her for a session. Another entrepreneurial trait Donohue achieved at this time was the ability to adapt and “if you do not know how to adapt, that is where your network is very helpful.” She continued by expressing that, “Even though social media might not be your strong suit, you should have someone in your network to help you.” She also encouraged the crowd of students to ask questions. “Even if the person you’re asking doesn’t know the answer, they might know somebody and can direct you.” Some panelists always knew that they wanted to become entrepreneurs, others grew into the role, yet all panelists emphasized the effort required to start your own business and reminded the audience that it’s okay to start small. “You are a work in progress yourselves,” Donohue stated, “and so is your business.” Abt added, “When you start your own business, it’s not handed to you and some of your plans are going to fail, and some will succeed, yet every week you’re going to learn more about who you are.” The key is to “keep learning and evolve your way of thinking,” Hirst offered, “don’t get trapped into how you think things should be done. Try to have an open mind and that’s when you’ll continue to grow.” During the presentation, Borney was asked to showcase his brand called ‘Never Settle For Less’ saying, “it’s a street trendy brand to motivate people to not give up on themselves and never fall short of your goals and what you want to do,” a statement that clearly articulated the experiences of these five Young Entrepreneurs.
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