This story comes to us from ESTEEM student Rachael Marshall, who is currently finishing her thesis work on a tuberculosis diagnostics.
February 20th marked the end of the second round of Notre Dame’s McCloskey Business Plan Competition run by the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurship. The majority of this years’ ESTEEM class entered into the competition and submitted a launch strategy for their venture ideas as part of this submission. While students have been working on these ventures most of the academic year, it ended up being quite a sprint to that deadline – “72 hour caffeine binges are my favorite,” says ESTEEM student Derek Athy.
Many students submitted the thesis projects they have been working on since August and others submitted new ideas. Nicholas Kyratzis, along with two other ESTEEM students, submitted an original idea he has been working on since his time as an undergrad in Vermont. “I participated in McCloskey to put the education and knowledge gained in the ESTEEM program to use in a project that means a lot to me,” says Kyratzis.
Some students, like Nicholas, formed teams with other ESTEEM students, and many collaborated with other ND students and alumni. Nick Machesney speaks of McCloskey as “a way to become part of the large Notre Dame entrepreneurial ecosystem and working with the Gigot Center was a great opportunity to connect with valuable and experienced entrepreneur mentors.”
ESTEEM students live and breath entrepreneurship and thus are constantly coming up with and refining new business ideas. Amy Flanagan says, “The McCloskey Competition gives us the opportunity to really dive into our business ideas and test their viability in a very supportive environment.” McCloskey exposes students to the real world of entrepreneurship without the real world’s risks.
“ESTEEM students have been on winning McCloskey teams for the past two years, I’m fixin’ to make that a hat trick” – Nicholas Kyratzis.