This is where it starts. Entrepreneurship is a graduation requirement for every student, regardless of major.
What to Expect:
Summer Bridge
Before your first semester even begins, you’re introduced to entrepreneurship. You start asking the big questions: Can I build this? What problem am I solving? How do I take an idea from concept to reality? This is where we develop your entrepreneurial mindset.
Every Quinnite is an Entrepreneur (Coursework)
Students work in teams to launch a real business. You’ll manage finances, market a product or service, and navigate real challenges in real time. Some ventures succeed. Some pivot. Some fail. All of them teach.
Entrepreneur in Residence Program
You’ll have direct access to two types of entrepreneurs who bring different perspectives:
- Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs): Practicing founders who know what it takes to build something from scratch. They work with you on venture development, host workshops, and guide you through the process.
- Entrepreneurial Leaders in Residence (ELIRs): Professionals from our corporate partners who bring insight into how companies scale, innovate, and create value from within.
Homecoming Pitch Competition
During Homecoming, students pitch their ventures in front of peers, alumni, and business leaders. Developed with Southwest Airlines and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), this competition brings visibility, feedback, and funding opportunities to our rising founders.
A great idea means nothing without the capital to make it happen.
The PQC Student Seed Fund removes one of the biggest barriers to entrepreneurship: access to capital. It also teaches you how funding works in the real world.
What to Expect:
- Apply for milestone-based funding. You receive funding in phases as you hit key business milestones. To unlock the next phase, you show progress, meet goals, and demonstrate accountability.
- Learn how investors think. This model mirrors how angel investors and venture capitalists evaluate businesses. It’s a lesson in financial discipline, business planning, and execution.
- Build something sustainable. Unlike traditional grants, this fund operates as a self-sustaining cycle. Students repay loans or share equity in their ventures, which recycles capital for future entrepreneurs.
If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.
That’s why we built Quinnite Conversations, a multimedia storytelling platform that brings entrepreneurial journeys to life through student-led podcasts and faculty-written case studies.
Podcast: Quinnite Conversations
Paul Quinn students host, produce, and film interviews with local founders, alumni entrepreneurs, and small business owners. Each episode is published across podcast platforms and archived as a video library for classroom learning and professional development.
These stories show you what’s possible. They expose you to a wide range of entrepreneurial journeys and prove that people from all backgrounds overcome obstacles and build value in their communities.
Business Case Studies
Our faculty write original case studies that spotlight founders with unique lived experiences. These cases bring real-world complexity into the classroom, helping you analyze business challenges through strategy, marketing, operations, and finance.
Our most recent case study features Country Boy Kitchen, an authentic soul food restaurant located in Sumter, South Carolina. The business is built around the personal brand of its owner, Jeffrey Lampkin, a former American Idol contestant and local media personality. These case studies are distributed through a partnership with Babson College, helping to reshape what business education looks like and who it features.
Each case invites you into active learning. You review the data, wrestle with the ambiguity, and often engage directly with the entrepreneur featured in the case.
