Fostering Entrepreneurs: Mount Union Students Showcase Startup Models
November 25, 2024By Chloe Laszlo '25
Students in Professor Isabel Fontgalland’s Corporate Finance II class showcased innovative models for start-up businesses, blending creativity with real-world market insights.
One startup model, SportStock, was co-created by finance major Connor Shepherd ‘25. Designed as a sports gambling platform, SportStock offers users the opportunity to approach sports betting similarly to stock trading. According to Shepherd, users are able to buy, sell, and trade “shares” of professional sports teams across various leagues. Teams performing well in their respective leagues would yield higher dividends for investors.
“My team and I envision a site where a league's championship favorites are not displayed by their betting odds like most sportsbooks, but rather their share price,” said Shepherd.
Shepherd and his team took advantage of the newly legalized sports betting market and identified a unique opportunity to appeal to die-hard sports fans, much like themselves. Their goal was to create a novel model that hadn’t been explored before, leading to the ideation and development of SportStock.
Through this project, Shepherd and his team gained valuable insights into the challenges and risks of launching a startup. They estimated the minimum startup cost at $600,000, emphasizing the significant financial investment required. Despite the challenges, the experience provided them with practical skills and knowledge to apply post-graduation.
“We can take this knowledge into our future careers if any of us want to join a startup post-graduation with some of the risks (and potential rewards) already in mind,” concluded Shepherd.
We can take this knowledge into our future careers if any of us want to join a startup post-graduation with some of the risks (and potential rewards) already in mind.
Another startup model, Second Chance Denim, was created by finance and marketing major Ella Nejad ‘26. The concept focuses on promoting sustainable fashion practices by recycling old denim into chic, eco-friendly products.
Fontgalland and Nejad’s matched passion for a good pair of jeans, as well as the desire to create a sustainable business inspired the creation of this startup. Nejad’s model envisions collecting denim of all conditions from donation centers or corporate partnerships and transforming it into new stylish items. She also solidified key aspects of the business, including potential patterns, activities, resources, cost structures, and more that would support the startup.
Like Shepherd and his team, Nejad learned about the difficulties and risks of implementing a startup. Although her project was a simulation, Nejad noted that it took a significant amount of time, grit, and effort to create a viable business model.
“This is something that I will always look back on and possibly mention in future interviews down the road,” said Nejad. “But this is also a business model that I may want to make a reality in a few years.”
Thanks to Fontgalland fostering creativity and inspiring her students to create potentially successful startup models, students like Nejad and Shepherd gained invaluable experience that they will carry with them beyond the classroom. These projects not only prepared them for future careers but also laid the foundation for potential entrepreneurial ventures.
To learn more about what Mount Union has to offer, check out Mount Union’s School of Business page.