Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society Blog

January 22, 2024February 29, 2024

Students Explore Business Over Winter Break

Kicking off the spring 2024 semester, 160+ students participated in four concurrent workshops the week before classes began. The week of January 18-22 was led by 25+ alumni presenters and mentors in the following areas:

Fullbridge Professional Edge: This simulated workweek provides exposure to the basics of business and an opportunity to collaborate in teams through active learning culminating in a final presentation where students present a growth idea for a Fortune 500 company. Special congratulations to Team Under Armour for the innovative growth idea securing them each the top prize of a $300 Apple gift card! Kathryn Sweet ’26, Charles Bacon ’27, Marisa Mamak ’27, and Mary Powers ’27 led by Coach Carmen!

Corporate Finance & Banking: 38 students toured at top Boston banks including Bank of America with Ted Lynch ‘84, SV Health Investors with Tom Flynn ‘87, and Natixis Asset Managers with Beatriz Pina Smith ‘87. The highlight of the workshop was the fourth annual networking event held at Fidelity, hosted by Tom Jessop ‘88.

Interview Prep: Personal branding and a core value proposition are key to successful interviewing. 86 students further developed their elevator pitch and practiced interview skills with the Center for Career Development followed by successful career tips from notable alumnae including Mimi Doherty ‘02 and Christina Imrich ‘08.

Marketing Communications & Sales: Alumni led 34 students through the practical exploration of advertising, marketing, sales, and public relations including, JR Butler ‘08, Catherine Cote ‘18, Tyler Dooley ‘17, Katie Macdonald ‘07, Kerri Mannion ‘19, Courtney Quinn ‘96, Cal St. Denis ‘08. Teams competed in the PepsiCo Challenge, each tasked with bringing SodaStream to the next level with short- and long-term strategic thinking. Thank you to our PepsiCo judges Rowan Burgess ’23, Maureen Connolly ’18, Alex Smith ‘14, and Chris Vandervoorn ’19.

Many of the students participated in more than one opportunity as they worked towards Business Certificate Program completion, including the month-long Excel Tutorial offered during the month of January.

Check out the @holycrossbusiness Instagram page for photos from the event and follow to stay up to date with future programming and highlights.

December 8, 2023February 29, 2024

Entrepreneurship Course Students Pitch Business Ideas for Final Presentations

Thursday, December 7th marked the last day of classes and final presentations for students in the Entrepreneurship Class taught by Tom Patton ’86. Students presented business ideas to a panel of judges from SV Health Investors, including Andrew Capetta, A.J. Rossi, and Megan MacDonagh. SV Health Investors is a venture and private equity investor that backs entrepreneurs in the healthcare space.

Students pitched their ventures on a variety of innovative topics including:

PennyVentures, an app to support students who study abroad that combines budgeting, social media, and connections to local restaurants and services vetted by users.
Bass River Cruise, a luxury boat company providing unique water bound experiences on the Cape.
Splitz, an app that easily divides expenses for group online orders.
VapeEscape, nicotine patch therapies in fun shapes and colors to encourage young adults to quit vaping without the stigma.
UniBite, an app to aid college students in maintaining healthy and nutritious diets.

After deliberating, the panel announced the winning teams. Second Place went to Team UniBite comprised of Devyn Gianino ‘25, JP McCarthy ‘24, Ashley Bunici ‘26, and Nico Corporan ‘26. First Place went to team VapeEscape comprised of Eileen Evans ‘25, Mikey Rufino ‘24, and Mary Pat Sayre ‘24.

To close the event, Cassie Gevry, Associate Director of Business Certificate Programs for the Ciocca Center at Holy Cross, shared the dates for upcoming spring events such as CrossTank, the annual Holy Cross spring pitch competition, to be held on March 25, 2024. She also announced that the city of Worcester will hold the inaugural WooTank Intercollegiate Showdown on April 2, 2024 where winning teams from their respective college competitions will compete for capital from real sharks. This year, competing colleges include Holy Cross, WPI, Clark University and Nichols College. Students from the Entrepreneurship course were encouraged to compete.

December 5, 2023December 5, 2023

No More Confusion: Your Ultimate Guide to Marketing Communication Lingo

Considering that every industry has its own language, concepts and acronyms, try to familiarize yourself with this list if you are interested in the Marketing Communications industry. The list of need-to-know terms will continue to grow as time, techniques and technologies advance so feel comfortable asking about a term or acronym if you are unfamiliar with it because chances are that others are also in the dark when they hear “UX”, “KPI” or “CTA”.

Analytics

In marketing, analytics refers to the process of analyzing data to determine the return on investment of a particular marketing activity. Marketers may also use the term analytics to talk about the dashboard or system they use to review and track this data.

B2B

This acronym is shorthand for business-to-business marketing. B2B companies are those that market their products or services to other businesses.

B2C

This acronym stands for business-to-consumer marketing. B2C companies sell their products or services directly to the end consumer.

Brand

A brand is the way a company is perceived and experienced by potential customers. Pieces of a brand include its logo and other design elements, the voice it uses when interacting with customers and the target customers it’s known for serving.

Brand awareness

The extent to which potential customers are familiar with your company and the distinct images or qualities that are associated with what you are selling.

Buyer persona

Buyer personas are the imaginary people marketers target when they design ads or create content like website copy. Although buyer personas aren’t real people, they are created based on data from actual consumers. These personas are then used to inform the audience, tactics and tone of the messages delivered.

Call to action (CTA)

A call to action is a prompt that encourages website visitors to take a certain action, such as subscribing to an email newsletter or submitting a contact form. CTAs are used to guide potential customers through the next step in a sales funnel. Campaign

A campaign is a cohesive set of marketing activities designed to achieve a specific goal, like increasing sales for a certain product or spreading awareness of a new product feature.

Case study

Case studies are a type of content that typically showcases a company’s work with a past customer, often with a heavy focus on statistics or other quantifiable data that help highlight how the company achieved the desired results.

Cold calling/emailing

A tactic used by salespeople to contact potential customers via phone or email with whom the company has had no previous contact.

Content

Content is any piece of information that’s created to be viewed by an audience. This could include blog posts, email newsletters, social media posts, videos or even print brochures.

Customer journey

Continue reading “No More Confusion: Your Ultimate Guide to Marketing Communication Lingo”

November 13, 2023November 13, 2023

2023 Innovation Challenge – Recap

The Ciocca Center, in partnership with HC Launch, hosted the annual Innovation Challenge yesterday afternoon. Yesterday’s competition revolved around business solutions for SidelineSwap, the premier marketplace dedicated to connecting athletes and sports enthusiasts in the dynamic world of sports gear selling. Founded by Brendan Candon ’10 in 2015, SidelineSwap has a remarkable track record of facilitating transactions exceeding $250 million and has earned its place among the fastest-growing global marketplaces, as recognized by the esteemed Andreessen Horowitz A16z Top 100 list. Backed by influential investors, including strategic partners such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and eBay, SidelineSwap is not only a platform for buying and selling sports equipment but a community-driven hub that empowers athletes to access quality gear affordably. The recent addition of the Trade-in Platform further exemplifies SidelineSwap’s commitment to innovation, enabling retail partners to create circular shopping experiences and fostering a sustainable and accessible marketplace for sports enthusiasts worldwide.

Students were tasked with pitching one of three solutions proposed by the CEO himself:

Identifying Potential Sales Opportunity:

Identify a sport with over $10 million annual secondhand gear sales potential, requiring research on market size and characteristics for a successful second-hand marketplace.

Creating a User Experience Using AI:

Design an AI-driven user experience to address user problems and drive positive outcomes for SidelineSwap.

Designing a Solution For Cleaning Bats and Clubs in Bulk:

Propose solutions for efficiently cleaning baseball bats, softball bats, and golf clubs in bulk before listing on SidelineSwap.

Integrating AI into the UI: Securing 1st place, API-tizer tackled the challenge by suggesting an innovative incorporation of AI into SidelineSwap’s user interface. Rather than taking the conventional route of directly enhancing the user experience, API-tizer put forth a groundbreaking proposal to integrate AI seamlessly into SidelineSwap’s UI. This integration, facilitated through an API, was specifically aimed at photo verification and data-related processes for enhanced verification. The team not only addressed the prompt but also demonstrated forward-thinking by devising cost-effective strategies for the smooth integration of this advanced tool. Their pitch underscored a profound understanding of how strategically deploying AI could fortify user trust and elevate the overall credibility of the platform.

Savvy Sam: Claiming the 2nd place position, Team Sam directed their focus toward creating a more personalized and efficient user experience. Their innovative solution involved introducing a virtual chat assistant, named Sam, to SidelineSwap’s website. This AI-powered assistant was conceptualized to facilitate personalized user interactions, streamlining the process for users to find customized sports gear more efficiently. Team Sam’s approach emphasized the importance of user-centric design and showcased a commitment to enhancing the overall journey for SidelineSwap users, aligning with the prompt’s objective of using AI to drive positive outcomes for the business.

Squeaky Clean Solutions: The Clean Team, securing 3rd place, devised a meticulous solution aimed at optimizing the cleaning process for SidelineSwap. Acknowledging the operational challenge of managing thousands of sports products, especially baseball bats, softball bats, and golf clubs, the team presented an innovative proposal. Their approach involved implementing ultrasonic cleaners for golf clubs, demonstrating a practical and cost-effective strategy to enhance efficiency and reduce costs in the cleaning process. The Clean Team’s pitch showcased a thorough understanding of the operational intricacies within SidelineSwap’s warehouses, highlighting the significance of maintaining product quality through streamlined cleaning procedures.

Thank you to our judges, Tom Brennan ’86, Terry Waters ’81, and Brendan Candon ’10 for their invaluable time, expertise, and thoughtful evaluation during the SidelineSwap Innovation Challenge.

Winners:

API-tizers (Meggan Fourie ’25, Maura Switzer ’25, Ivor Teagle ’25)

1st Place – $1,000: API-tizers (Meggan Fourie ’25, Ivor Teagle ’25, Maura Switzer ’25)

2nd Place – $500: Team Sam (Nico Corporon ’26, Sean Doyle ’26)

3rd Place – $250: Clean Team (Briana Sullivan ’24, Nico Popeleski ’26, Maya Kryzwda ’24)

Written by Liz Garfield ‘24

September 21, 2021September 22, 2021

Experiential Learning at Holy Cross

My name is Mackenzie Madden and I am a senior economics and psychology double major participating in the Business Fundamentals Certificate Program here at Holy Cross. Through my time at Holy Cross and through the Ciocca Center, I have felt the power of a liberal arts education while understanding the ways this type of education prepares students for business roles. I am actively searching for jobs within finance and consulting before graduating this spring. I am confident that I will be ready to work these jobs after the preparation the Ciocca Center has provided for me. From Fullbridge to the Global Supply Chain workshop to job shadowing and internship opportunities, the Ciocca Center has ensured that all students are exposed to business industries early on in their college career and gain exposure to the alumni network. Continue reading “Experiential Learning at Holy Cross”

July 7, 2021September 21, 2021

Summer Internship Series: Reflecting on Certificate Experience

Caroline Quinn ’22 is pursuing the Certificate in Business Fundamentals and is checking off the internship requirement this summer. Follow along as she reflects on her experience, lessons learned, and how her liberal arts education and Holy Cross network are helping her along the way.

Summer Series: Part One

I’m in the midst of my ten-week-long internship as a Sales Strategist with PepsiCo, and I’m happy to say that my experience thus far has been extremely captivating and enriching despite it being 100% virtual. For starters, I’m working on the Allied Brands Team which focuses on PepsiCo’s partners (like Ocean Spray and Voss Water) who independently produce/manufacture their products and then distribute/sell through PepsiCo. This is a symbiotic relationship with this arrangement because the Allied Brands benefit from PepsiCo’s nationwide presence and reach, and PepsiCo benefits from selling products that it doesn’t produce or typically sell. My particular project is oriented around an Allied Brand called Bundaberg Brewed Drinks. Before PepsiCo partnered with Bundaberg in 2017, it had never sold a craft soda. But now, PepsiCo is highly competitive in that market because of this partnership. Bundaberg’s top-selling product is ginger beer which is a premium, non-alcoholic, craft soda that is commonly used as a mixer. Regarding my project, I’ve been tasked with creating a feasible strategy to grow Bundaberg sales by 4X in the US. While this is a tall order, I am confident that I am putting together a really great pitch that I’ll present at the end of my internship. Much of my confidence can be attributed to the Ciocca Center and Holy Cross as a whole. Continue reading “Summer Internship Series: Reflecting on Certificate Experience”

May 6, 2019October 9, 2019

Ciocca Center Offers Alumni-led Tutorial

Classroom

This spring semester the Ciocca Center offered a new course through the Academic Internship Program. Professor David Chu, Director of the Certificate Programs and Prebusiness Advisor at Holy Cross, partnered with Katharine Quigley ’13, Digital Marketing Manager at Centage, to teach an Introduction to Online Marketing tutorial.

Complementing the Ciocca Center’s mission to connect the liberal arts to the job market, this new tutorial covered introductory marketing content through various readings and in-depth discussions with a focus on the Google Ads Platform. The five students then applied this to the design, implementation and assessment of an actual online marketing campaign for a non-profit, West Seattle Junction.

“A strong liberal arts education prepared me for an ever-changing digital marketing landscape.” starts Katharine. “It was rewarding to help current Holy Cross students learn new digital marketing concepts and vocabulary, and then see them pair those tools with their existing critical thinking and leadership skills to make a real impact on a nonprofit client.”

Thank you to Katharine for reaching out and offering to work with students on this technical topic. She worked with Professor Chu to identify readings, design a syllabus and spent every Wednesday night on campus working with students interested in a career in marketing communications.

Who were the lucky students involved? 18 students applied for this opportunity and only five were selected: Joe Egan ’19, Tim Haemmerle ’19, Olivia Lozy ’20, Lilly Puccia ’19 and Madeline Thero ’19.

UPDATE: Each of the students involved won a “Top Marketer Certificate” from Google! The award is based on successful completion of the Google Ad Grants Online Marketing Challenge, passing the Google Ads Fundamentals Assessment, and a positive client experience survey rating from their nonprofit. Congratulations on the excellent work!

NEW: Advertising & Communications/PR Workshop

ADVERTISING, COMMUNICATIONS & PR WORKSHOP – New COES Program!

– three-day intensive workshop

– successful alumni presenters

– career advice for the industry

WORKSHOP DATES: mon. – wed., march 2-4, 2015 (spring break)

two days on campus, one day site visit to Boston, MA

ALUMNI

Want to get involved? Email Prof. David Chu at dchu<at>holycross.edu

STUDENTS

APPLICATION DEADLINE: thu., november 6, 2014 @ 11:59pm

email your resume & cover letter to prebusiness<at>holycross.edu

October 8, 2014November 7, 2014

Arts Transcending Borders: Cultural Entrepreneurship

On Thursday September 25th, Cristina Pato – a Galician bagpiper, pianist, composer and Artist in Residence here at the College of the Holy Cross – held a special dinner lecture titled: “Cultural Entrepreneurship: At the Intersection of Business & the Arts.” Pato has an active professional career devoted to Galician popular and classical music and jazz, and her dual careers have led her to perform on major stages throughout Europe, USA, India, Africa, and China.

The night started with Cristina telling the dinner guests about her story. She was the first female Gaita (Galician bagpipe) player to release a solo album in 1999, and she became a huge pop star in Spain. Since then, she has also collaborated on world stages with Yo-Yo Ma, Arturo O’Farril, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Osvaldo Golijov, to name a few. However, she had no idea that she could become this product: Cristina Pato. She was fortunate enough to have a edge in the music industry as the first female, soloist playing a Galician bagpipe. Yet other artists today do not always have this competitive advantage. Thus, she developed the Galician Connection, an annual festival dedicated to promote intercultural dialogue through music and encouraging cultural entrepreneurs to rise.As the night went on, Cristina got all the dinner participants to interact at their tables and gave each table a scenario to discuss. Scenarios included: Being an artist with no initial funding, being an artist with public funding, etc. The fundamental idea was to come up with a way for the artist to market their product and make a sustainable income. After each table presented their plan of action, Cristina posed the question: “What is holding the artist back? What’s stopping all of us from sculpting, from being a famous singer, from being a renowned pianist?” It seemed like the unanimous answer was that in our modern world, most art has funding through public donations or private investments, and that we believed being an artist would not be able to rake in a steady income.That is exactly why Cristina created the Galician Connection. She is passionate about education, and feels that people need to be educated on how important art is, and they need to have a support system while creating art. Participants in the Galician Connection are able to attend classes and workshops that help them grow as artists, and they have a forum where they can connect and grow together.

So what exactly is cultural entrepreneurship? Everyone had a different definition. But if you ask me, cultural entrepreneurship is being able to acknowledge that the arts are an important part of society, and finding a way to creatively present an art form to other people so that you can make a living off of it, and so that others can appreciate and connect with it as well.

—

Thanks to Sophia Jin ’15, for attending and writing this blog post. Great speaker, great dinner and great conversation! As always, don’t forget to “like” us on FACEBOOK and follow us @HCPrebusiness

Cassie Gevry
Associate Director
Ciocca Office of Entrepreneurial Studies

June 21, 2012

This is Summer Business Program: Part 3

Frank DeLeo ’14 is on a role! Here is a recap of week 3.

The end of week three meant that there is only one week of the program to go. With the team project looming, I was in desperate need of an energy boost to get motivated. My prayers were answered when Tom Patton ’86 and Carolyn Rizzoli ’86 led Thursday’s session. Personally, it was the most exciting day of the program, hands down. When 4 o’clock rolled around I didn’t want it to end.

During the session, we learned about marketing and business ethics. In the morning, we played the marketing game. We weren’t given any rules other than what type of product we were selling. Our objective was to make the most profit during the allotted time by selling exclusively to or in combination with the three types of stores: a high end boutique, a department store, or a big retail chain.

Chaos and role-playing ensued with time being of the essence. My team, Karma, ended up winning with over 12,000 dollars in profit in 3 hours. The game taught me how to manage time, think about possible curveballs, and communicate with the different parts of a supply chain: the banks, the customers, and the manufacturers.

After lunch, we resumed on the topic of business ethics. Mr. Patton role-played as we worked through different, difficult ethical dilemmas. The answers were not black and white due to the varying circumstances and legal consequences. Through acting out the scenarios, he turned a provocative subject into a good time. The best part was that all of the situations were real life examples, and we learned how he personally dealt with them.

What I took away from our discussion was that we need to make many moral decisions during our lifetime; we have to take a step back, think rationally and logically, and rely on our values to make the right decision.

The project being a week away meant buckling down on the presentation over the weekend. On Friday and Saturday, my team structured and created the first draft of our PowerPoint. Since we had a meeting with Mr. Correia at his house on Sunday, we needed to bring something to get feedback on.

When we arrived at the Correia household, we had a phenomenal Father’s Day bbq. Mr. Correia having us over on a day set aside for relaxation and spending time with family was an incredibly nice gesture. I took advantage of the opportunity because I was in dire need of solid food. Rice and take out just wasn’t cutting it. After dinner, we got down to business. The PowerPoint definitely needed touching up; in particular, the content and word choice. I had already cut down majority of our wordy slides; however, it was simply not enough. In the end, we had a productive evening, which resulted in plenty of work that needs to be completed as we move forward.

As the weekend comes to a close, the start of week four is upon us. Week four is crunch time. The Excel and PowerPoint sessions this week will provide pertinent information to add to our presentation. A lot of long days are ahead. Between practicing, preparing, and touching up our presentation in order to get it just right, my team has the mentality of knowing our facts cold. Every word, sentence, and gesture will be scrutinized to uncover its relevance to the overall message we want to convey. We don’t care how much work it takes. We want to be number one.

Thanks, Frank! Two more posts to go for SBP… will Frank’s team take home the win? Keep reading to find out!

As always, don’t forget to “Like” us on FACEBOOK and look for our WIB, SBP and ELW groups on LinkedIN!

Kaithlyn

Kaithlyn Kayer
Associate Director, Entrepreneurial Studies

David Chu
Director, Entrepreneurial Studies & Pre-business Advisor

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