Eric Newell ’96 and his wife are empty-nesters, having dropped off their youngest child at college earlier this fall. But instead of enjoying the break from being on the road to volleyball or softball games, Newell decided to drive to Morris from Barnesville each week to teach a course on entrepreneurship.
The two-credit class, Mgmt 3801, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, was something Newell wished was available when he was a student.
So, every Monday through fall semester, Newell met with 11 students to share the process of starting a business.
That’s something Newell knows how to do. Along with his wife, Becky ’97, and another partner, Newell started Stoneridge Software, a Microsoft Partner firm, in 2012.
“We've grown it from the three of us to 300 people today,” says Newell. “And then we've started a couple other businesses over time too. We have a software product company called Levridge, that we started in 2018, which is going well, too. We saw an opportunity to invest in our favorite restaurant in Barnesville in 2018 called the Purple Goose and then opened a new restaurant there called the Pitchfork as well. So we've tried entrepreneurship at all the different shapes and sizes.”
Newell has enjoyed the chance to mentor entrepreneurs, having hosted a local ‘Shark Tank’ styled event in Barnesville and participating in entrepreneur events in St. Cloud. He considers this class at UMN Morris a chance to pass the knowledge he’s gained on to current students.
“I just like the idea of giving back. And so I think about those that have given something to me, I should try to give something back to them.”
Newell has been a guest speaker in management and economics classes several times over the years since he graduated. Additionally, Newell and his wife funded a scholarship intended to give opportunities to students with similar backgrounds to theirs.
But he wanted to offer students something fun blended with transferable, useful, and practical knowledge.
As part of the class, the students formed teams and started several businesses, including a food delivery service, a gutter and window cleaning service, company valuations for small businesses, and a dog treat business. Newell has walked the students through each step to establish the business, and during the final class of the semester, walked them through the process to sell or close their business.
“So I thought, if we could do something where now they'll have had experience starting a business and going through that process. And they'll have a fancy title at this tiny business, it'll give them a chance to have some experience that they could use to apply and be able to say, I've been a CFO of a small business before, I've had to do their taxes, I've had to file registration, I've got this experience that then could be taken and used when they get their first jobs.”
While he has the entrepreneurial background, Newell leaned on his former professor, Bart Finzel, to help design the course. Social Sciences Division Chair Heather Peters helped him learn Canvas, the software that faculty and students use for class materials.
Ultimately, Newell is hoping that the class compliments the robust liberal arts education that UMN Morris offers.
“I think the best case scenario for a student coming out of school now is to have that breadth that comes with a liberal arts education—which gives you exposure to lots of different ways of thinking, teaches you how to think and communicate and work together—coupled with that skill that helps you get that first job.”