The School of Business Administration at the University of San Diego (USD) is well known for its entrepreneurship and experiential learning program, which empowers student entrepreneurs to turn their venture ideas into reality. There are three main initiatives for entrepreneurs: the V2 Pitch Competition, the Legacy Entrepreneurship Conference and the year-long coaching and mentoring program.
In a recent article by the San Diego Entrepreneurs Exchange (SDEE), Regina Bernal, the entrepreneurship and experiential learning coordinator at USD, spoke about the various initiatives. “The goal of these initiatives is to help the next-generation of entrepreneurs go from an idea or inspiration to a venture concept, and maybe even launch their own business,” she said. “Regardless of the career path the students choose, they will learn the foundations of how to start up and move their ideas forward.”
Unique to USD, the entrepreneurship initiatives aren’t just for the United States. Instead, they mirror the international theme of USD and provide resources for entrepreneurs in Mexico and in San Diego. In fact, this past year, 55 of the entrepreneur projects were for U.S.-based and 67 were bi-national.
The highlight of the USD entrepreneurship programs each year is the V2 Pitch Competition, which started three years ago and has already tripled in entrants, prize money and attendees. “This is basically academia meets the real world,” Bernal told the SDEE. “V2 has been a huge success on the extracurricular side. Members of the community come to network with the angel investors and meet the student ventures. It’s a huge celebration for entrepreneurship in San Diego.” The competition allows students to work directly with angel investors, and V2 winners have gone on to raise more than a million dollars. One winner is even part of 500 Startups in San Francisco, a leading global venture capital seed fund and startup accelerator.
Many organizations participate in the V2 Pitch Competition to help make it a success including CONNECT, EvoNexus and HeraHub and angel investors such as Analytic Ventures, Tech Coast Angels and Startup Garage. The organizations and investors help by volunteering their time and expertise to review projects and pitch decks. “People from the community are the main coaches and mentors for the students,” said Bernal.
To learn more about the various entrepreneurship opportunities available from the School of Business Administration at USD, visit the school website.