GRIT Center

By Taylor Slack

What do Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook; Michael Dell of Dell Computers; and Steve Berkowitz of Insomnia Cookies (a nationwide chain of cookie shops) all have in common? More importantly, what do these individuals have in common with Snow College students? The answer: Each of these business owners started with an idea in his college dorm room. While an idea for the next big business might be hatched in a Snow College dorm, turning that idea into a reality can be challenging. Knowing where to start can be the trickiest part of moving forward.

Fortunately for Snow College students and community members, the doors of opportunity aren’t too far away. The GRIT Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, located in the Business Building, held its grand opening on November 21, 2019. The purpose of the GRIT Center is to help students and community members in starting a business. The GRIT Center helps individuals answer hard business startup questions, such as: How do I fund my project? Who can help build a prototype? How do I market my product? In short, the GRIT entrepreneurship program is designed as a stepping stone for accelerated success.

Russ Tanner, Entrepreneurship Center director, said, “The GRIT Center for Rural Entrepreneurship at Snow College helps beginning college students accelerate their success by learning how to bootstrap businesses with more hands-on entrepreneurial experience than any other school.” The acronym GRIT stands for grassroots, resourceful, innovative, and tenacious.

The GRIT Center utilizes mentoring, networking, and entrepreneurship education to turn dreams into reality. Several student competitions, promoted via Facebook and Instagram, are held throughout the year. Participants in these competitions can acquire funding and receive publicity for their business ideas. Occurring monthly is the “Bootstrap Your Business” competition, which is open to all students from all majors and awards cash prizes to students who pitch the best business ideas. The GRIT Center also sponsors larger competitions such as Opportunity Quest, which, in 2019, led Kyle DeGraw and Cody Ruby to the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, where they took third place – a first for Snow College students. The center is functioning during COVID-19 times, holding these competitions virtually.

Student Gabrielle Marz, proud owner of Sassy Sharks Delivery Service, has received support from the GRIT Center. “I have been able to make beneficial changes to my business and learned that it is important to be resilient and capable of adaptation. My experience with the GRIT Center has included not only developing business idea, but realizing that I have ideas worth pursuing,” she said. Gabrielle is not alone in finding assistance. More than 500 students from 30 different majors have already made use of the GRIT Center so far.

While school can help define and influence career goals, balancing schoolwork and the entrepreneurial dream often seem impossible. Luckily at Snow College, GRIT Center guidance is available to all students. So next time the lightbulb comes on, the choice is yours – doubt it, or do it!

More information can be found through the “GRIT Center at Snow College” Facebook and Instagram pages.