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Notre Dame Entrepreneurs Set Sights on Becoming “Stanford of the Midwest”

Entrepreneurship Society student leaders have articulated lofty long-term plans

By Christy Carr

June 17, 2008: On a hot summer day in South Bend, Jaime Urquijo, the newly named Co-President of the Notre Dame Entrepreneurship Society for the 2008-2009 academic year, had plenty to smile about. Just returning home from a one-month internship in China, the international student and rising junior from the Philippines exuded enthusiasm when asked about his plans for the organization’s future. His optimism for the growth of the organization seems to be warranted if his assessments are on target.

Jaime, who was schooled in the United Kingdom, used his British accent and rapid hand movements to convey precisely what he meant. He explained, “You see…nearly twenty-five percent of Notre Dame students have parents who are entrepreneurs or business owners.  This statistic doesn’t even include the large percentage of students who have parents who are leading professionals in other fields. Based on our research, we truly think there is significant opportunity for the growth of entrepreneurialism and innovation at Notre Dame.”

Urquijo went on to emphasize the demographic is such that many students come from family backgrounds that value leadership, innovation, and impact. “Our organization is about teaching leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurialism in order to develop leaders that can make an impact in a wide array of areas in society. What better way to have an impact on the world than through entrepreneurialism?”

The same evening the other Entrepreneurship Society Co-President, Mark Bennett was available by phone. The accent of the speaker was now a more familiar Chicagoan, but the overall tone remained the same. Bennett focused on turning his attention from Notre Dame to the entrepreneur’s dream environment at global Entrepreneurship havens like Stanford, Harvard, and Oxford. “For instance, Stanford and Harvard have great traditions of leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurialism. I really do think there is a lot to learn from these environments. We ideally want Notre Dame to be in the Midwest what Harvard is in the East and Stanford is in the West in these areas.”

After saying it, Bennett took a step back, acknowledging the boldness of their objectives, but unapologetically continued, “We realize they are lofty goals, but we feel with the enthusiasm, intellectual vitality, and impact-orientation of the students and alumni, we can begin to make a similar sort of impact.”

Just when you thought that perhaps he had gone of the deep end, Bennett, like Urquijo, analytically weaved through the empirical, data-driven research that led to his original conclusion. “The student leaders and I have personally studied Entrepreneurship Societies at Stanford, Harvard, and Oxford: everything from their organizational structure, operations, growth…We interviewed their students, faculty, and alumni leaders and searched every corner of their websites. We think their models are exceptional and can serve as a foundation for us as we move forward.”

Research is one thing. Realizing those goals is another. Aren’t the plans all a bit far-fetched, or, well…crazy? Bennett responded, “Well you can call me crazy but I think what is going on right now is only the tip of the iceberg. We have just over one hundred members, mostly business. Again, (Oxford’s) Entrepreneurship Society has three thousand members of all majors.” Spoken like a persistent entrepreneur.

He continued, “That being said, we really have made astounding strides in the last two years, growing our organization from one to over one hundred active members. Seeing the right leaders are in place and the collective institutional support, I’m genuinely excited to think about what the entrepreneurial culture at Notre Dame might be two more years from now.” Only time will tell.

Christy Carr is Editor-In-Chief of the Notre Dame Business Buzz Magazine. For more information contact her at ccarr2@nd.edu