Members of the Social Entrepreneurship Club gathered to sample the product they will be marketing and selling as a model project this year. Paul Estenson, the club’s faculty sponsor, is also its de facto mentor and benefactor for providing students with a tried-and-true product from his own entrepreneurial venture, Doc E’s BBQ. Paul has crafted specialty salsas as part of his thriving small business venture, and is allowing the student club an “ownership” interest to fund ongoing social entrepreneurial projects in years to come. The students will research possible manufacturing, packing, and marketing partners in the area to broaden the availability of Doc E’s handcrafted salsas in exchange for some of the revenue stream that will come once the salsas are more widely sold. The students will be able to choose new ventures using these funds as start-up capital in the future.
Getting students some real project experience with real products to sell is invaluable for them and lays the foundation for the club’s continuing operations. The students were going to need to embark on a fundraising venture and while brainstorming, Paul came up with an idea of how to share his passion for gourmet food, small business-ing, and helping students learn the boots-on-the-ground skills of creating a new venture while serving others. Great synergy and sharing– taking mentoring to another level and space!
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