Surveys Confirm the Positive Impact of the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center on Student-Run Businesses

Alex DeNoble, Executive Director of Lavin Entrepreneurship Center

The Lavin Entrepreneurship Center within the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University, recently conducted a series of surveys that collected feedback from the center’s mentors, interns, former students, and many other partners. The surveys were designed to measure the effectiveness of the center’s resource distribution, educational programs, events, and community outreach over the past few years. 

One survey was sent to former and current SDSU entrepreneurs who have received funding from the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center Startup Fund. Established in 2018 by Carol Lavin Bernick, daughter of the center’s namesake, Leonard Lavin, the fund has provided student teams or individual student entrepreneurs with more than $102K in seed money to help move their businesses toward commercialization.  

Twenty-eight businesses operated by student teams or individual student entrepreneurs have been provided with the seed money as of July 2020. The teams or individuals are made up of budding entrepreneurs who are part of the Lavin Entrepreneur Program, the Zip Launchpad, or both and have been granted anywhere from $250 up to $10,000. 

Of those companies, 14 representatives of the student-run companies responded to the survey. The results indicated that most of the students used their seed money to fund market research and product development, however, the funds also went toward other necessities such as legal fees, advertising, equipment and supplies. These same respondents also revealed that the vast majority (90%) are continuing to pursue the venture-funded with the seed money, while the rest have transitioned into full-time jobs, different ventures or other activities. 

Another custom survey was sent to alumni of the 12-year-old Lavin Entrepreneur Program to determine how many of the former Lavin students had established businesses, the revenue generated by those businesses, and which assets provided by the center they found to be the most valuable. 

"I had such a great experience with my Lavin intern students, I ended up hiring one of them full-time after he graduated. He's going to do great things."

- Jesse Villanueva, Lavin Entrepreneur Alum 2011 - 2012

Of the 77 responses received by the center, 51 of the respondents (approximately 66%) established one or more businesses with 26% of those saying their businesses generate at least $100K in revenue.  

The Lavin Entrepreneur Program alumni also reported that the most valuable thing they learned from the center was networking skills, followed by the assistance they received from mentors and advisors. 

In addition, five of the respondents said that they had either hired or mentored a current Lavin Entrepreneurship Program student — a number that the center’s executive director, Alex DeNoble, finds promising. “The fact that we are starting to see an influx of past Lavins hiring or mentoring current students is highly encouraging,” he said. “This is a fairly young program and the Lavin alumni who are starting to return to hire and mentor our current students offer great opportunities for the next generation.”