Director's Message
Welcome to our Spring 2022 issue of The Mindset from Ciocca Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University.
“Our need will be the real creator”, famously written by Plato in the Republic, underlies one of the most important elements of an Entrepreneurial Mindset: the optimism to see problems as opportunities. Approaching problems with an eye to finding solutions, without being overwhelmed or frustrated by the scope or scale of the problem, is something entrepreneurs learn to do out of necessity. That entrepreneurial ability is also a life skill and one that is useful whether facing problems we’ve chosen to work on or those that have been handed to us through circumstances.
In this issue, read about how teaching this element of entrepreneurial thinking takes form in the classroom. We also share the experiences of a current SCU student and a recent SCU alumnus who have overcome extraordinary personal challenges in ways that truly exemplify the entrepreneurial mindset.
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We hope you enjoy!
Keep reading,
Chris Norris, Executive Director
Ciocca Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship |
Perspectives  | Associate Clinical Professor, Laura Norris, reflects on the challenges of balancing traditional legal training with teaching law students how to see challenges as opportunities. Through her Don't Kill the Deal assignment, Professor Norris encourages students to build out-of-the-box solutions. Read more and learn how these students are encouraged to retrain the legal brain. |
 | Óscar Quiroz-Medrano ‘17 overcame a third grade reading level in high school to graduate from SCU as a leader, with a 3.5 GPA. Read his story about the challenges that he has seen as opportunities for growth and about the successes that he has built. Also available in Spanish! |
 | Hydeia Wysinger ‘25 shares her lexperiences on how various difficult life seasons provided pathways into growth and opportunity, especially in her educational pursuits. Read here how these different situations led Hydeia to form a stronger sense of identity and also, to seek ways to contribute to her community. |
Broncos, Actually  | Isabel Yap '13, embodies the spirit of an alumni finding a way to balance her interdisciplinary interests. Isabel began writing some of the stories that are now in her book, Never Have I Ever, as an SCU student, but continued to simultaneously pursue her interests in technology startups. Explore her journey to becoming a published author! |
Student Stories  | Join us at Ciocca Center's BVA Idea School Open House and Mixer to network with entrepreneurs and learn about Idea School on Wednesday, April 27th. Food and drinks are provided! Register here! If you are interested in entrepruneurship, Idea School gives insights and provides hands-on design thinking experience, and shares journeys of current local start-ups, as well as tips on how to stand out from competitors, all from entreprenuers. Ready to join? You can register for Idea School, now!
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 | Do you have a business idea? Do you love competitions? Ciocca Center's Business Pitch Competition is happening on May 13th, with workshops and practice sessions leading up to it. SCU students from all disciplines are welcome! Multiple prizes are being awarded - including Most Interdisciplinary and Greatest Social Benefit. Enter your pitch here through our online portal by April 28th. If your team is selected, you will pitch LIVE in person on May 13th at the Leavey School of Business. |
 | Ciocca Center's Bronco Venture Accelerator (BVA) empowers Santa Clara University entrepreneurs with the tools, accountability, and community to develop and grow for-profit businesses with competence, conscience, and compassion. The accelerator is industry- and stage-agnostic. The cohort system used by the BVA provides a terrific platform for a small set of teams to attend high-energy, interactive classes and workshops, led by industry leaders. Participants truly have the opportunity to hone their entrepreneurial skills. The BVA will be taking place this summer. Applications will open in May. Learn more here. |
 | Ciocca Center's Student Advisory Board is accepting applications for the 2021-2022 academic year. If you are interested in guiding innovation and shaping an entrepreneurial mindset on campus, this is the opportunity for you! Apply Now! |
A Well Lighted Place  | Ciocca Center has funded two new research projects! Professor Jennifer Woolley's work examines the relationship between genetic firm founders' gender and firm outcomes and innovation. Professor Di Di is working to understand how religious influencers use innovative and entrepreneurial strategies to reach their audiences. Learn more about the studies here! |
 | Ciocca Center accepts Curricular Development Proposals on a rolling basis. The objective of this program is to support the development of new courses, modules, and programs that address themes that broadly relate to the topics of innovation and the entrepreneurial mindset. Learn more. |
 | Creating a company requires strategic planning with a strong business structure in place and a significant amount of money. Designed for Faculty and Staff, and presented by attorneys from Wilson Sonsini Law Firm, this workshop will explore and teach how to build relationships between your company and licensors, investors, collaborators, and employees. Topics will include company formation, university licensing, raising capital, industry-standard agreements, and protecting trade secrets. RSVP here! |
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Upcoming Events
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Open for Business
5 p.m., Lucas Hall Santa Clara University
Ciocca Center is holding our annual Open for Business! event on Thursday, October 24th from 5-6:30 pm for all of the students in the Fall BUSN 70 (Contemporary Business Issues)!
Register Here!
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BVA Cafe
6:30 p.m., 3230 The Alameda, Santa Clara, CA 95053
WHAT: We call it “BVA Cafe” where CAFE stands for: Calling All Founders & Entrepreneurs
Meet and mingle with fellow BVA entrepreneurs, mentors, advisors and entrepreneurship-curious. Enjoy small bites while hearing updates from BVA Alumni and meeting new startup founders.
WHEN: The third Thursday of each month (except November and December when it is on the second Thursday), at 6:30 PM
WHERE: BVA House, 3230 The Alameda (2 doors North of the Hut, across from 7-11). We frequently adjourn to the Hut for adult beverages afterward.
BVA CAFE is open to all and free of charge; but, Registration is required.
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BEACH Kick-off
5 p.m. BEACH provides an Advisory Service for startups and small businesses to benefit from no cost legal and business information and resources. This experiential program is an opportunity for SCU students to work in cross-functional teams while gaining real-world hands-on experience navigating, researching and advising clients on legal or business concerns. Clients receive free information and resources from BEACH backed by research, review of findings complete with valuable recommendations and additional resources. |
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Idea Lab - Design Thinking
All Day
Be Empowered through Design Thinking @ Idea Lab - the SCU Community of graduate and undergraduate students, alumni, faculty and staff are ALL Invited to attend Bronco Ventures Idea Lab, an experiential no-cost program focused on the core concepts of design thinking, customer-centered problem analysis to Ideation and the Pitch!
Idea Lab is offering its Ideation module as a Saturday Workshop. The workshop will provide the attendees with the tools and techniques to empathize with the customers, deeply understand their pain points, generate human-centered solutions, and test the feasibility of potential solutions. The content presented in these modules leverages the core concepts of design thinking to empower students with the skills to define, approach, and solve problems in a creative manner, and complements technical content presented in a wide variety of courses.
Our goal is to help You create a team and a viable, feasible, and desirable business idea to continue beyond Idea Lab!
Upon completion, attendees will receive a digital certificate and badge.
Idea Lab is free and lunch will be provided.
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BVA Cafe
6:30 p.m., 3230 The Alameda, Santa Clara, CA 95053
WHAT: We call it “BVA Cafe” where CAFE stands for: Calling All Founders & Entrepreneurs
Meet and mingle with fellow BVA entrepreneurs, mentors, advisors and entrepreneurship-curious. Enjoy small bites while hearing updates from BVA Alumni and meeting new startup founders.
WHEN: The third Thursday of each month (except November and December when it is on the second Thursday), at 6:30 PM
WHERE: BVA House, 3230 The Alameda (2 doors North of the Hut, across from 7-11). We frequently adjourn to the Hut for adult beverages afterward.
BVA CAFE is open to all and free of charge; but, Registration is required.
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