Letter from the Presidents

In connection with Notre Dame's Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, the Entrepreneurship Society at Notre Dame exists to provide undergraduate students a fun and informative outlet to learn more about the business world, leadership skills, and of course, entrepreneurialism. The Entrepreneurship Society is comprised of undergraduates with a wide array of majors and who hail from many different regions around the globe.

Founded in May of 2006, the Entrepreneurship Society at Notre Dame is the fastest growing student-led organization at Notre Dame. In our first year, we increased our active membership from 1 to over 40 active members. By spring of 2008, we easily doubled that number. After a university-wide marketing campaign to start the year, over 100 members packed the room to learn more about the organization and to watch a case study on the past, present, and future growth of maverick Entrepreneur, Richard Branson.s Virgin Group. A review of the meeting was featured on the front page of the school.s newspaper, The Observer.

The Entrepreneurship Society hosted over 30 events in the 2007-2008 academic year and will look to expand, hosting between 40 and 50 projects and events in 2008-2009. It is our goal that the series of events and projects will provide our members with a lifelong learning and support platform to maximize venture, and overall business, success.

In an attempt to fulfill our mission, we have performed case studies on top companies from around the world, established a library of the latest thought provoking business books, and sent our members to educational conferences around the Midwest. We have also assisted the South Bend, Indiana community by serving as mentors to high school students participating in their school's business plan competition, providing consulting services to real-life entrepreneurs, and providing financial education to underprivileged members of the community.

One of our club's distinct competitive advantages over the past two years has been our ability to provide our members with unique experiences. Especially important is our annual Keynote Speaker Series and Dinner with the CEO Series, which both feature insightful entrepreneurs or business leaders who have visited Notre Dame to speak to our group about issues that are instrumental in our personal, professional, and leadership development. We seek to learn from these stories of creative genius and exceeding expectations.

In 2008-2009, the Notre Dame Entrepreneurship Society will look to take the next step in becoming the most prominent undergraduate organization on campus and a premier undergraduate Entrepreneurship chapter in the greater Midwest region. We are setting our goals very high. We are in the process of launching real start-up companies, Notre Dame.s first student-run business publication (the Notre Dame Business Review), and the 1st annual Notre Dame Conference for Entrepreneurial Leadership. We have established enduring partnerships with centers of influence on campus such as prominent alumni, Fortune 500 Companies, the Center for Career services, and the Notre Dame Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Would you support an organization dedicated to providing students with the tools and knowledge necessary to develop into visionary leaders, founders, managers, investors, advisors, or corporate partners? We honestly believe that these are worthy pursuits and can impact many of the lives of Notre Dame students.

Thanks for joining us. We hope you can help us fulfill our potential and look forward to hearing some of your feedback.

All the Best,

Jaime Urquijo & Mark Bennett
Co-Presidents, 2008-2009

Did you know?

  • 87% of Members that attended the first two meetings of spring of 2008 would recommend the organization to their friends.

Getting To Know

Christine Lynch

Role:
Vice President of Education,Marketing, and Corporate Development
Hometown:
Colts Neck, NJ
Major:
Marketing, Sociology
Contact:
clynch3@nd.edu

Why Entrepreneurship Society?

"I wanted to become more involved in business-related clubs and the name sounded interesting. I really had no idea what to expect. I started with taking a plunge with a case study on Facebook, which opened numerous doors for my future leadership involvement. Through that project, I met quite a few new people and members in the club. From that point on, I wanted to be part of it. This past spring, I was the Intra-School relations officer where I worked with the "Road Show" by spreading the brand name in classrooms and to dorms. Now I'm working on other marketing-related initiatives. The club has been a great experience to meet people and improve my personal and professional skills at multiple levels."