Entrepreneurs come to USU for business lecture series
The Entrepreneur Leadership Series at USU is responsible for helping interested students start and grow business, said executive director of entrepreneurial programs Mike Glauser. The program is in its third year, and it will begin on Jan. 22 and end April 9.
“We offer formal academic training and practice side of a student’s education,” Glauser said.
Hosted by the Jeffrey D. Clark Center for Entrepreneurship and Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, the series offers lectures from distinguished speakers throughout the spring semester.
“The lecture series is less formal, giving students the opportunity to sit at the entrepreneur’s feet,” Glauser said. “Students can network with these speakers at dinner before listening to them for about 20 minutes. I ask them to tell their stories.”
Lectures are held weekly on at 6 p.m. Wednesdays in the George S. Eccles Business Building Auditorium. It’s open to students, faculty members, business leaders and community members.
“We got to eat dinner with multi-millionaires,” said Kyle Ivans, a recent graduate of USU and co-founder of Evolve Agency. “It made them seem human. Their wives were there and they were telling their story.”
Students are exposed to entrepreneurs and create networks that last after graduation. They get “The Three ‘I’s” as Glauser calls it – information, inspiration and identification. Students get information and inspiration from the speakers and then identification of, “I could do that.”
“What Huntsman School is doing with entrepreneurs is valuable for anyone wanting to start an organization,” Ivans said. “I found a lot of inspiration after we left. I thought, ‘Yeah, I can do that.'”
“Every speaker said something I needed to hear or learn during the progress of building our business,” said Tyler Tolson, recent graduate of USU and co-founder of Denik. “When they spoke about their failures, we were able to ask, ‘Whoa, would we have an issue like that?’ or ‘Should we be considering this?'”
Students are not required to enroll in the class associated with the lecture series, MGT 3550. It’s a one credit pass/fail class. Students attend the lectures and write a summary paper. There are 100 to 120 students in the class, and they fill up a third of the seats, Glauser said.
“I did attend the class, but I would have attended even if I wasn’t receiving credit,” Tolson said. “It’s an amazing course/series. Where else are you going to spend an hour a week listening to people share their stories of success?”
Glauser said he tries to bring a variety of speakers to expose students to different ideas and industries.
Past notable speakers include Jon Schmidt from The Piano Guys and Dan Clark, founder of Clark Success Systems.
“Lots of students start busin
esses every year,” Glauser said. “They come to these programs to get help. Some get hired by some of these entrepreneurs.”
“We really learned a lot of skills that we apply to our business today,” Ivans said. “I look back on the notes I took when we get stuck. The best business advice I got was from the lecture series.”
Tolson also got valuable business advice from the course.
“Read an hour a day about the industry you’re in or wanting to work in,” Tolson said. “After a year, you’ll be one of the most knowledgeable people in that industry.”
“The speakers are phenomenal,” Ivans said. “You get a lifetime of business advice in an hour – what they would have done, what they would have told themselves, etc. It helped our company to avoid mistakes.”
“The speakers were all very honest, which I loved,” Tolson said. “They didn’t only share the highlights of their journeys, they shared their failures and mistakes. You’re able to walk out of the room afterwards inspired and motivated to get to work and push through your obstacles.”
Tolson suggests students who go should take notes and network with the speaker and attendees.
The lecture series is welcome to any students and faculty and is broadcast live to other regional campuses. The videos are also posted on the school of business website.