Junior helping build awareness as KU Entrepreneurship Hub construction begins

As the School of Business continues to expand its entrepreneurship programming and construction begins on the KU Entrepreneurship Hub, Eli Maker, a junior from Overland Park, Kansas, is helping students across all disciplines discover entrepreneurial opportunities. 

Maker is the entrepreneurship program’s first business development representative, educating fellow students about what the program offers and, of course, what The Hub will offer.

“The important thing is that [The Hub] won't just be for business students, but for everybody,” Maker said. “It’ll be a playground for people to come together and innovate.” 

He visits classrooms and student club meetings across campus, serving as a point of connection for students who may be interested in entrepreneurship but don’t know where to start. Meeting a diverse array of academic backgrounds has widened his perspective of the possibilities that entrepreneurship holds.  

Before this role, Maker always had a knack for entrepreneurship. 

“I was never really involved in a program like I am here, but ever since I was a kid, I would just tinker in the garage trying to build and sell stuff without even knowing it was entrepreneurship,” he said. 

Because of his interests in brand partnerships and creative collaboration, he decided to study marketing with a double minor in international business and national security and intelligence. 

When Maker arrived at KU, he ensured his campus involvement was intentional. 

“I didn't want to get involved in 20 different things but rather four different things and make a very big change in them,” Maker said. 

He serves as vice president of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and is part of the Jewish Business Club. He is also a venture guide for The Catalyst, working directly with student founders to help them build, think, and grow their early-stage businesses, and is involved in the Business Leadership Program (BLP). 

“BLP has given me mentors that I can trust and call whenever I want to bounce ideas back and forth, and I think it just gave me that confidence to expand my network and meet new people,” Maker said. 

During his freshman year in BLP, Maker and a group of students teamed up for the annual “$10 Project” where they had only $10 to create a profitable business. The program makes this a competition as the group with the highest return on investment reigns victorious.  

With a table and a vision, his team ended up winning with a fortune telling business. This unique experience enhanced Maker’s skills in group collaboration. 

“I feel like I always hated group projects growing up, but BLP made me like them and helped me understand what role I am best at,” he said. 

Another highlight of his college career was his summer internship with Earth & Beyond Ventures, a venture capital firm, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Maker said he chose that location because it has one of the highest concentrations of startups per capita in the world. This internship helped him pinpoint his career aspirations, hoping to pursue venture capital after graduation. 

 As work continues on The Hub, Maker hopes more students will discover opportunities to explore entrepreneurship regardless of academic major. “We want every student from every school to know what's happening with it,” Maker said. “Get involved with the entrepreneurship program so you're ready for The Hub when it opens up.”