Flexing Their Entrepreneurial Muscles

The Girls Summer Entrepreneurship Program (GSEP) was back on campus June 16-21, with seven rising juniors and seniors taking part in the week-long program. Under the leadership of Program Director Michelle Kiehl and Associate Head of School Rob Mather P24, 26, participants spent the week creating and presenting a business plan, gaining exposure to the process for developing product and service concepts, learning financial and marketing basics, and strengthening problem-solving and innovation skills.

“Toypreneur” Charlene DeLoach P30 visited campus and talked about the importance of clarity and vision when identifying problems and solutions, while Neeve Prendergast from The Castle Group, a public relations and events firm, led students through media training and storytelling exercises. In addition to sessions at Dana Hall, the participants visited Harvard Innovation Labs, the New Balance Sports Research Lab, where they met with alumna Katie McCully Murphy ’05, and Babson College’s Weissman Foundry.

“I’m always so impressed by how well the students collaborate with one another throughout the program,” Mather said. “They welcome one another’s ideas, offer suggestions, question each other’s assumptions, and share meaningful feedback — and they recognize that the feedback is so critical to their success. It’s always so gratifying to see how the students enter into the final day, the Dragon's Lair. The confidence and the pride they reveal in their pitches are really inspiring.”

The program culminated with a “Shark Tank”-style pitch presentation, known as the Dragon’s Lair. Working in three teams, the students shared their plans for What’s The Plan?, StudySpark and RazorLight, ideas that ranged from apps that help with planning activities to motivating study habits to a razor with a built-in light for a closer shave.

Kiehl said, “In every case, students’ pitch presentations demonstrate their command of material they’ve absorbed in the four days’ time. I am particularly proud how they respond to challenging questions from the judging panel — nimbly and confidently, incorporating new concepts into their responses. In this way, they have changed and they show new perspective.”

In the end, the alumnae panel of Maeghan Oberoi-Smith ’05, Amanda Powers ’06 and Samantha Shalom ’12 chose Team “What’s the Plan?” as the winning pitch. The proposed app generates suggested activities for a group of friends who are looking for something to do. It’s based on individualized preferences of the individuals, as well as other factors such as local events, the weather and the time of year.