STONE CENTER
Signature initiatives like the Family Business Retreat, Family Business Roundtable, and Coffee & Conversation series have created vital spaces for learning and connection. The Center’s growing student-focused programming including the Start Up Boot Camp, Wolf Den Pitch Competition, Design Thinking workshops, and Social Entrepreneurship Pathway—prepares students to lead with creativity and purpose
ughout the regional community The Stone Center’s continued progress is a testament to the outstanding leadership of Director Raja Bhattacharya, the commitment of our faculty/staff partners, the engagement of our community supporters, and the passion of our students. I look forward to the year ahead as the Center further strengthens its role as a catalyst for innovation, entrepreneurship, family business growth, and regional vitality Thank you for being part of this exciting journey
FAMILY BUSINESS RETREAT
for family-owned businesses. The retreat was facilitated by Brad Fisher, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of The Scalable Leadership Group. Brad specializes in supporting growth-stage companies in streamlining
Leadership Leverage Ratio
The Three Building Blocks of Family Business Abundance Building a Sustainable Business Growth Engine
Building on 2024, the 2025 Family Business Retreat will take place from July 23–24. We are thrilled to welcome back Brad as our
lead facilitator He will be joined by Raja Bhattacharya, Director of the Stone Center, Dr Erich Bergiel, Profe
College of Business, Dr Nisha Gupta, Associate Professor of Psychology, and Dr Raju Venkataraman, Founder of Akilum
This year’s retreat will feature expanded programming, including breakout sessions on key topics such as:
Managing Conflicts in Family Businesses
Family Relationships in a Successful Business
Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Future Lens on Technology and AI
FAMILY BUSINESS ROUND TABLE
How Boards Can Help Entrepreneurial Families Move Forward
Engaging Non-Family Employees Working and Building a Career in Your Family Business
If you’re interested in attending the 2025 Family Business Retreat, scan the QR code below to view the full program.
COFFEE AND CONVERSATION
on the third Thursday of each month, these sessions provide a unique opportunity to hear directly from influential local business leaders and founders as they share their stories, insights, and practical advice So far, we’ve been honored to feature speakers such as Bill Stone, Owner of Systems and Methods Inc , Allison Key, Director of 3:16 Healthcare and Key Farms Meats & Mercantile, and Kelsey Carter, Founder of Carter Kitchen.
These series have created a welcoming space for connection, conversation, and collaboration allo
Chambe
START-UP BOOT CAMP
learn to assess their total ideas addressable market,
idea The camp also provides resources and training to students to develop a mock-up of their solutions Open to students across disciplines, the boot camp provides participants an opportunity to develop a professional pitch, which they deliver in the annual Wolf Den Pitch Competition The 2024 inaugural cohort included sixteen students representing a variety of majors: Jesimina Walker (Political Science), Kelsey Carter (Marketing and Communication), Sylvia Nwankwo (Psychology), Maurice French (Economics), Emma Putnam (Marketing), Jaliyah Marcus (Elementary Education), Maxwell Cherelus (Business), Idrissa Tankari (Applied Business Analytics), Enita Omuvwie (Business Intelligence & Cybersecurity), Angel Collins (Management), Hannah Swofford (Art Education & Community Arts), Juliet Desimhi (Masters in Business Administration), Kaitlin Copeland (Management), Seraiah Owens (Psychology), and Morgan Tingle (Accounting) Each participant had a varied but innovative idea Of the sixteen participants, six made it to the Wolf Den Pitch Competition Kelsey Carter, who pitched Karter Kitchen, a YouTube channel promoting healthier alternatives to traditional Southern cuisine took home $2,500 (first place). Sylvia Nwankwo took second place and received $1,500 for Bemelohealth, a mental health app that uses AI to create digital therapist replicas and peer support access for users. The audience choice award went to Maurice French, who received $1,000 for Gogitt, an app merging social media with e-commerce to allow direct purchases from influencers and brands The 2024 program successfully highlighted the entrepreneurial potential of UWG students and the value of cross-disciplinary collaboration A key enhancement to the 2025 program will be the introduction to a Design Thinking course. Students participating in the fall 2025 Start Up Boot Camp will be required to take this course.
DESIGN THINKING WORKSHOP
The Stone Center has launched a semi-annual Design Thinking Wo
campus These workshops offer a hand
complex problems through collaborat
Our inaugural workshop, held on April 19, 2024,
including the School of Nursing, eCampus, College of Education, Sports Management, College of Humanit
s, Arts, & Social Sciences, College of Business, Admissions, and multiple Dean
together in interdisciplinary teams t
De
t
ough a series of a day-long workshop on Design
Thinking that the Stone Center ran for UWG faculty and staff The feedback from these sessions was very positive and as a result, the Center moved forward with creating the course. The course will also be required for students participating in the Stone Center annual “Start-Up Boot Camp” and students pursuing a Social Entrepreneurship pathway within the Inter-Disciplinary program offered through University College.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PATHWAY
oblems. Students will learn to combine business and social science approaches, develop
and the ability to design imp
dents are required to undertake a semester-long project engaged in tackling an issue or problem they identified in the capstone proposal drafted in XIDS 3000, their interdisciplinary methods class This field experience component can take the form of an internship, a study abroad program, or a field-based course/practicum. Because it blends experiential education with coursework rooted in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and tackling social problems, our students will be well-suited for careers in a variety of industries. Students who graduate from our program will be prepared for leadership positions in non-profit organizations, social service agencies, community-based organizations, and local government This program is also ideal for students who want to develop their own advocacy organizations. The social entrepreneurship pathway officially launches in Fall 2025.
ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET WITH GARY
In February 2025, on behalf of the Richards College of Business, the Stone Center invited Gary Schoeniger to UWG. Gary is the Founder and President of the Entrepreneurial Learning
Institute, a think tank promoting entrepreneurial mindset The purpose of Gary’s vis fold, discuss his recently published book, “The Entrepreneurial Mindset Adva Hidden Logic that Unleashes Human Potential” and has a broader discussio university community about the need to bring the entrepreneurial mindset to the c we do. As a result, senior UWG academic leaders got an opportunity to hav discussion with Gary and participate in a keynote luncheon that was opened to university community Our goal in the Stone Center is to help UWG students develop and nurture an entr mindset during their academic journey regardless of their major. This is an ambitio certainly achievable through partnerships with various stakeholders within UWG. term, we are exploring two different opportunities to move this initiative f entrepreneurial mindset facilitator training targeting faculty and staff and a course in entrepreneurial mindset at the undergraduate level
Contact us: Stonecenter@westga.edu
