If UNC wishes to develop the next generation of entrepreneurs, it must do more to provide students with opportunities to develop management skills. Student-run stores provide that opportunity and have already been proven to work at UNC and other schools.
With some of UNC’s most successful alumni on campus today to discuss the future of the Innovate@Carolina initiative, there is no better time for students, faculty and alumni to begin considering ways to provide students with real management experience.
UNC has no shortage of student ideas, but it’s execution that separates ideas from innovation. Finding students with executive and management experience is a real challenge. To become a leading innovator, UNC must provide its students a chance to gain those skills.
Last year, two UNC seniors did the impossible when they opened “4,” a socially focused clothing and accessories store on Franklin Street, for an independent study course. While successful, “4” was closed after the founders’ graduation.
Beyond UNC, at Georgetown University, students operate a variety of businesses that employ more than 250 students — from coffee shops to a full-service credit union.
While programs like the entrepreneurship minor and Launching the Venture provide a foundation for idea and venture development, they do not allow students to practice getting their hands dirty. For that, students need to work it, live it, grow it, own it.
Student-run businesses provide that opportunity.
