From the ground up
Written by Tyler Blackburn
The University of Sioux Falls is where students come to create. Across the campus, Cougars are putting together clubs, shooting videos to help promote the school, and even making podcasts. One class in particular created and maintained an entrepreneurial podcast they have titled “From the Ground Up”. On the show, students interviewed current and previous business owners to gain some insight into what it means to be a successful entrepreneur.
The Entrepreneurial Team Projects class consisted of a small group of students who each played a particular role, or many when it came to creating each podcast episode. Some of the jobs included obtaining local sponsorships, writing the show script, show editing, and scheduling guests for each individual episode. For those who are interested in hosting the podcast, there are co-host positions as well. Taylor Mayfield, a current student at USF, was enrolled in the class at the beginning of the spring semester. He acted as the co-host as well as the audio/video editor and described the class from a student’s perspective. “It is different from all other classes I have taken,” said Taylor. “I had the chance to meet several local entrepreneurs here in Sioux Falls and we all got a lot of hands-on experience in technology, communication, problem-solving, and teamwork.” Some of the entrepreneurs the class featured on their podcast were Corey Vasquez of Coast to Coast Sports and Fitness, former USF student Emma Uttis who founded The Playground, and even Paul TenHaken, the mayor of Sioux Falls. All of these successful individuals enjoyed the show and feel like the podcast is a great platform for them to share information and advice. These episodes and more can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. They can also be accessed on the designated website at thegroundupusf.wixsite.com/website.
All of the hard work done to create each episode was overseen by Professor Shelly Gaddis who is an entrepreneur herself. “The podcast started as an experiential learning project for one of the entrepreneurship courses and has been extremely well received by the Sioux Falls Start-Up community,” said Professor Gaddis. “There appears to be a real need for a platform where entrepreneurs can share their experiences with others and give them a voice.” According to Professor Gaddis, the Entrepreneurial Studies program is currently being revised, so as of now the class will not be offered next semester. However, the professors at USF want to keep the podcast running in some form, and they encourage anyone who is interested to contact either Professor Gaddis at her email shelly.gaddis@usiouxfalls.edu or Professor Watley at his email bruce.watley@usiouxfalls.edu.
