The Catalyst
The Catalyst serves as a place KU students can develop themselves and their ventures with valuable industry insights.
Overview
The Catalyst encourages entrepreneurship and professional development through mentoring. It gives students the opportunities to work out ideas and venture plans with input from industry mentors.
Participating students get assistance in all phases of venture development, and they learn and test in a constructive and productive environment.
Students meet with Catalyst leadership regularly for progress reporting based on their developed workflow and schedule.
The Catalyst satisfies the BUS 301: Internships with Impact requirement as part of the EY Professionalism Program.
All candidates must have the following:
- An idea for a new venture that you intend to develop. (The venture itself doesn't have to be operating yet.)
- Ability to meet with mentors
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs
- Must be a KU student enrolled in at least 6 credit hours
The Catalyst job positions will be posted to employment.ku.edu every March and October, and interviews with selected applicants will begin shortly after for the upcoming semester (e.g., The Catalyst Fall 2023 Team application will be posted in March).
This is an hourly paid position with up to five hours a week.
Students are expected to:
- Meet regularly with leadership and mentors
- Develop professionally
- Develop entrepreneurial skills
- Develop ideas/ventures
By the end of the 13 weeks, the intent is for students to walk away with a greater awareness of existing resources, a deeper understanding of themselves and a set of entrepreneurial skills that they can use in their own venture or working with others.
All candidates must have the following:
- An idea for a new venture that you intend to develop. (The venture itself doesn't have to be operating yet.)
- Ability to meet with mentors
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs
- Must be a KU student enrolled in at least 6 credit hours
The Catalyst job positions will be posted to employment.ku.edu every March and October, and interviews with selected applicants will begin shortly after for the upcoming semester (e.g., The Catalyst Fall 2023 Team application will be posted in March).
This is an hourly paid position with up to five hours a week.
Students are expected to:
- Meet regularly with leadership and mentors
- Develop professionally
- Develop entrepreneurial skills
- Develop ideas/ventures
By the end of the 13 weeks, the intent is for students to walk away with a greater awareness of existing resources, a deeper understanding of themselves and a set of entrepreneurial skills that they can use in their own venture or working with others.
The Catalyst Mentoring Village
Venture capital
Dan Kerr | Partner at Flyover Capital
Small-business owner
Drew DeRose | Founder and Owner of Kairos Media
Real estate
Kirsten Flory | Founder and Owner of Foundations Commercial
Attorney
Tom Fredrick | Co-founder of Life Sciences Legal, LLC and KU School of Business instructor
Startup founder
Jaime Gassmann | Venture Builder at 1848 Ventures and Co-Founder of Fluent
Traditional business owner
Colin Aldrich | Business Banking Relations Manager at Commerce Bank
CPA
Chris Kohart | Senior Manager at SSC
KU Small Business Development Center
Kristina Mease | Director
Christian Hopkins | Program Specialist