The Crews Center exists to inspire, educate, develop and support both aspiring and
active student entrepreneurs as they pursue their dreams. While we don't believe that
all students should necessarily BE entrepreneurs, we fervently believe that every
student benefits from exercising an entrepreneurial mindset, which is a key element
of the 21st century skill set. Because of this, the Crews Center is a resource that
is open and available to students of all disciplines and majors across the University
of Memphis. Whether you just want to give yourself a competitive advantage with employers
by learning the entrepreneurial mindset or you want to start or grow your own business,
the Crews Center for Entrepreneurship is here to help you achieve your professional
goals and dreams.
Vision
We believe that EVERY student should graduate from the University of Memphis with
an entrepreneurial mindset, irrespective of whether or not they intend to become an
entrepreneur.
Opportunities for Students
So, you're probably thinking, "That's nice and all, but what do you actually DO? What
can I expect from the Crews Center? How do I get started?"
Those are great questions! In a nutshell, we provide experiential education opportunities
that allow you to actually "do" entrepreneurship. You can learn about entrepreneurship
in the classroom, but you really have to do entrepreneurship in order to learn how
to be an entrepreneur. There is neither one path nor one set of experiences or methods
or actions that you can take to ensure success. Entrepreneurship is a wide, multi-disciplinary
field with nearly endless possibilities for which you could try to prepare. What we
offer you, in a nutshell, is the following:
How to THINK like an entrepreneur
Methods and skills for coming up with ideas and solutions that can be adapted to most
industries or fields of study
Direct mentoring and support: Brutal honesty (which you'll find in ample supply in
the "real" world) coupled with unconditional positive support (which is a little harder
to come by).
Connections with the local and regional entrepreneurial support ecosystems.
These are the things that you can do NOW, while you are a student, to set yourself
up for success. Whether you envision yourself as an innovator in a corporate environment
or a self-employed entrepreneur in your own business or nonprofit venture.
