Generation Next

NKU, Thomas More seek to foster innovation, inspire next generation of entrepreneurs

“GO TO COLLEGE.”

For generations of students, this mantra served as gospel for those wanting to find and maintain a good career. However, Zac Strobl says Generation Z’s take is a bit more nuanced.

“Most surveys of Gen Z students have 45 to 55% wanting to start their own business. That's why we're seeing more interest in entrepreneurship classes and programs,” says Strobl, Director of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE), housed under the Haile College of Business at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). “If they want to pursue a corporation, we want them to use the skills they're learning – entrepreneurship is big on problem-solving, critical thinking or being ‘intrapreneurs,’ which is being entrepreneurial within an organization … We can teach ‘Here's how you take these skills and build a business around them, plus how to look for different opportunities within your own field.’”

Northern Kentucky’s institutions of higher learning have taken notice – and their work is well underway to ensure those opportunities can be found at home.

Diving Into The Talent Pool

To meet the growing demand for and need to foster interest in entrepreneurship among today’s college students, NKU and Thomas More University have both established programs/centers dedicated to the subject.

Created to be “the hub for students across campus who desire more out of their college education,” the CIE has helped launch 30+ startups since its inception in 2014 with 100% job placement through its INKUBIZ program. INKUBIZ, which hires, trains and manages students as they work on projects and strategies for local and regional companies, is one of five programs offered at the CIE to help aspiring entrepreneurs. This

By Tabari McCoy, Scooter Media

is in addition to work the CIE does with the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs, which brings teens statewide to NKU’s campus for three weeks each summer to learn how to develop a business model, prototype and pitch a startup.

Another CIE program, the INKUBATOR, was recognized as a top three finalist for the United States Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship’s (USASBE) Model University Accelerator/Incubator Award. The INKUBATOR program is a 12-week business accelerator intended to help “bridge the gap between concept and a business.” Nearly 120 students have completed the program since its launch in 2012, resulting in the launch of 37 businesses with $7.2 million+ in outside funds raised.

Strobl attended NKU on a baseball scholarship and, after injuries ended his athletic career dreams, he pursued entrepreneurial ventures. He says the CIE is providing guidance students – including himself – have sought for years.

“As a student, I would have loved to have had other entrepreneurial experiences, especially internships and had access to these kinds of opportunities. Now, we have a great network in the entrepreneurship community outside of NKU, and we’re constantly exposing students to those opportunities,” he says. “I also wanted to know, ‘What can an entrepreneurship student do besides start a business?’ and that wasn't very clear back then … That is something we are combating right now. Our students are in demand, so we need to bridge the gap between them and employers.”

Centered On Innovation

Part of the new 34,000-square-foot academic center under construction at Thomas More University (TMU), the Dr. Anthony and Geraldine Zembrodt Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ZCEI) helps students build skills across disciplines to “empower them in any field they pursue.” This includes pitch competitions, one-on-one mentorship to cultivate ideas and solutions to real-world problems and networking opportunities with fellow entrepreneurs, business leaders and startups regionally, nationally and globally.

Jeni Al Bahrani, a TMU graduate who also earned her master’s in entrepreneurship at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland before returning stateside, is excited about the ZCEI’s future. Now a professor at TMU, she was named the ZCEI’s director this past November, she calls the job a “perfect match” given her entrepreneurial background launching real estate/real estate investment, small business and entrepreneurship consulting and health and fitness businesses.

She believes the ZCEI can drive both economic growth and a well-rounded education.

“By providing students with the resources they need to think creatively, take risks and innovate, the Zembrodt Center is helping to build a new generation of entrepreneurs who will drive economic growth, create new jobs and positively impact their communities,” says Al Bahrani, creator of the Entrepreneurial Mindset course and minor at TMU. “Students have appreciated the one-to-one mentorship and connections to help them as aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners. They also appreciate learning about resources for how to build a business and use their passion, creativity and interest to build their future and using the entrepreneurial skillset in an existing organization.”

The benefits of entrepreneur skills, she says, will benefit students even if they don’t plan to go into business for themselves.

“Through my conversations with employers, they are seeking problem solvers, leaders, innovators and critical thinkers that can identify opportunities and have this entrepreneurial mindset for providing solutions,” Al Bahrani says. “I'm a huge advocate for creating your own lane of opportunity (and) I passionately feel that entrepreneurship can be the driver for that.”

Rising Up

Al Bahrani says the Northern Kentucky Metro/Greater Cincinnati region boasts a “supportive business ecosystem” to assist entrepreneurs via accelerators, incubators, venture capital firms and “angel” investors (those who provide capital often without expectations of repayment or ownership). Strobl agrees, noting how many NKU graduates remain in the region after graduation, a reality he says is helping combat post-pandemic isolation via networking and mentoring relationships.

“There's a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to set up shop here. If you’re here, you’ll get the attention you deserve,” he says. “I've been in the ecosystem for the past 12 years and this is the most energy I've seen behind entrepreneurship with a clear vision being executed.”

Al Bahrani knows entrepreneurship and innovation are critical for making the region great but that it also takes a network.

“In the next 5-10 years, the Zembrodt Center is poised to become a leading destination for innovation and entrepreneurship in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region,” she says. “By encouraging collaboration and giving back to the community, the center aims to foster a culture of service and inspire the next generation of business leaders to be socially responsible and make a positive impact in their communities. For this program to be successful we will need our community and stakeholders to invest in this program. So, if you’re interested and want to learn more, please reach out.” NKY