The Entrepreneurship Club aims to build a community dedicated to collaboratively solving problems, creativity and innovation at City College.
Dennis Eriksson, president and founder of the club, who is an international student from Sweden, said there weren’t enough opportunities to pursue his passion for starting a business in his hometown.
He added that there was a cultural element that constrained his peers to only strive for jobs, and not focusing on making their own business.
When attending college in America, Eriksson encountered many people alike who shared his passion for entrepreneurialism.
Eriksson said he believes that the global problems of our time, such as climate change, will be best solved by ethical capitalism, which is another reason he dedicated himself to inspire other students to act upon their business-related potential.
“I want to see people come up with the kind of ideas needed to improve the world,” Eriksson said. “You can be a dreamer, but you must also be a doer and that’s what we want students to realize.”
Julie Samson, head of the SBCC Scheinfeld Center, has been a resourceful mentor for Eriksson.
“Entrepreneurial skills cut across all industries and students cannot lose by getting these skills and mindsets under their belts,” Samson said.
One of her goals is to imprint the entrepreneurial culture on campus, focusing on getting people from different academic disciplines together.
While some people have a concept, it often takes a team to make it successful.
Many students in the club are already starting their own business including Eriksson, who is the founder of a fledgling iPhone application called WeConnectUp, an app that aims to empower college students to find social connections outside their immediate social bubble.
Connor Meador, vice president of the Club is also starting a business, a CBD company called Abridged Essentials.
Meador said that he was inspired to participate in the creation of a club like this so that entrepreneurial people could have a place to meet on campus and collaborate on their projects with other ambitious minds.
Bonnie Chavez, department chair of business administration, who strives to inspire a new generation of students to think outside the box and pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions, is excited about the enthusiasm created by the club.
“This kind of energy that is self-driven is contagious,” Chavez said. “It’s really exciting to see students in pursuit of what they are passionate about.”
