Entrepreneurs share their experiences

Washington Street Outfitters had a successful grand opening in downtown Tiffin a month ago. Sales were brisk, foot traffic was heavy. The reception not only thrilled owners Zoe Dolch and Spenser Blackiston, but also members of Berg Enactus

Berg Enactus invested a great deal of time, effort and expertise in helping the start-up get off the ground. As a group project, the 14 Enactus students worked with Zoe and Spenser especially on marketing aspects of the new business. Four of the students – Taylor Windau, Sydney Calabro, Nicholas Meyer and Danielle Badertscher – talked about the group’s plan and project during the School of Business’s Conference on Fostering Entrepreneurship Friday.

Taylor explained that Berg Enactus students dedicated 450 hours of labor to helping prep the space for the opening for Washington Street Outfitters, a lifestyle retailer offering women’s and men’s clothing, accessories, home goods and vinyl records. Perhaps their greatest impact, though, was in developing and implementing a branding, marketing and promotion plan around the shop’s target audience of Tiffin’s college crowd. Berg Enactus received a $1,200 grant to help them help Washington Street Outfitters. Part of the plan involved creating a web page and developing a social media presence for the business.

The group outlined their initial, intermediate and long-term outcomes and goals for Washington Street Outfitters. The presentation was a dry run for their participation in the Enactus USA Competition this weekend.

Berg Enactus also has worked with TJ’s Bagel Bar, a 2-year-old business in downtown Tiffin, famous for their donuts, bagels and bagel sandwiches for take-out.

The Conference on Fostering Entrepreneurship featured keynote speaker Dr. Raul Cuero, ’71, a distinguished scientist and innovator, who spoke on the topic Innovation Leading to Job Creation.

About a dozen successful alumni, including Trustee Emeritus John Q. Adams, ’58, also gave valuable presentations to 'Berg business students and the campus community. John and Raul were joined by alumni Dr. Rosemary Teresi, ’02, and Edwardo Hernando, ’89 for a panel, Integration of Technological Innovations Leading to Prosperity: From Lab to Job.

Other alumni presenters included: Jeff Demaree, ’94, Stephen Teresi, ’01, Bob Aleksandrovic, ’90, Troy Albright ’92 and Jeremy Harrison, ’00.