Student entrepreneurs shine at Rowan’s 10th Think Like an Entrepreneur Summer Academy

More than 100 high school students from across New Jersey and beyond spent four days thinking like entrepreneurs this July as they took part in Rowan University’s 10th annual Think Like an Entrepreneur Summer Academy, an award-winning program hosted by the Rowan Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (RCIE).

The free summer academy, led by Michael Dominik, Ph.D. and RCIE Director Jessica Vattima, gives students the opportunity to experience entrepreneurship firsthand while earning free college credit upon successful completion of the program. The academy was recognized by AACSB through its prestigious Innovations That Inspire initiative in 2022.

This year’s cohort represented a wide geographic area. Though the majority hailed from New Jersey, there were students from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Massachusetts and California. The two participants from the West Coast discovered the academy through an online search, which highlights the program’s growing national reach.

Before arriving on campus, students completed two weeks of “pre-work.” Once at Rowan, they were organized into teams of five to seven students and challenged to create a company centered on one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Over four days, the teams developed business concepts, researched markets, designed prototypes and prepared investor-style presentations.

By Thursday, each of the 15 teams had just four minutes to deliver a pitch and another four minutes to answer questions from a panel of judges.

Presentations were evaluated on a variety of criteria, including branding, problem identification, solution development, prototype design, market analysis, competitive positioning, teamwork and overall pitch quality. Students were also required to explain how their proposed venture would address their chosen UN sustainability goal.

Judges for the competition included Greg Payton, assistant teaching professor of entrepreneurship at Rowan; Richard Rabbitz, assistant teaching professor of computer science at Rowan; and Ward Dingmann, senior vice president of supply chain for Spencer’s Gifts and Spirit Halloween.

This year’s academy was supported by a growing list of sponsors, including the TD Charitable Foundation, Spencer’s Gifts and Spirit Halloween, Puglia’s Produce, LaScala’s Fire, Zallie’s ShopRites and Wawa. Sponsorship from the TD Charitable Foundation helps cover the cost of college credits awarded to students who complete all program requirements, including post-program surveys and a reflection paper.

The competition’s top prize went to Justice Compass, a team that proposed an AI-powered web platform designed to help users navigate legal issues by providing accessible information compiled from publicly available resources. Team members explained how the platform could help individuals better understand their options before deciding whether professional legal assistance is needed. During their presentation, the students described scenarios such as property owners seeking guidance when dealing with nonpaying tenants.

The winning team’s success was particularly notable because members pivoted from an entirely different concept earlier in the week before settling on the Justice Compass idea. The team included students from several New Jersey high schools, including Indian Hills, Eastern Regional, Robbinsville, Kingsway and Haddon Township.

One of the students on the first-place team said the program has changed the way she approaches challenges. “Instead of seeing problems as obstacles, I can now see them as opportunities. Opportunities to create solutions that could help millions of people,” said Lola Giglio of Haddon Township High School.

Additional awards recognized second-place and third-place teams, while a separate honor was presented for the “Most Investable Team.”

Several students in attendance remarked on how much they’d enjoyed the academy and what they had learned during their time. One participant commuted from Teaneck, New Jersey, each day, making a roughly two-hour drive to campus. Despite the long commute, the student said the experience was well worth the effort. The RCIE team felt similarly, recognizing the student as one of the program’s “Most Valuable Profs” for the day.

For Dominik, the academy serves as more than an entrepreneurship program. It also introduces students to the possibilities available at Rowan University.

“The students attending the summer academy could be thought of as future Rowan entrepreneurs,” Dominik said. “A significant portion of the students attending this academy are now ready to enter Rowan's College of Business and study entrepreneurship or any other discipline.”