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McNair Institute for Entrepreneurism and Free Enterprise

  • Two students speak at McNair's annual entrepreneurship showcase

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Start on your next big idea while you’re still in school. See how McNair’s tools and mentoring can help you put your ideas in motion. Get advice from leading entrepreneurs and test yourself to solve new problems in periodic challenge events.

McNair Entrepreneurship Showcase

McNair's annual campus-wide showcase celebrates entrepreneurship and innovation at UofSC. Learn from and interact with keynote speakers while connecting with student- and alumni-driven startups and dozens of student organizations and resource providers serving the university and the state of South Carolina. 

This free event is also open to business leaders and alumni. Previous showcases have featured Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media; Alli Webb, founder and chief creative officer of Drybar; and Dave Knox, best-selling author of Predicting the Turn: The High Stakes Game of Business Between Startups and Blue Chips.

StartupWind Virtual Support Platform

StartupWind provides you with an easy way to build an idea concept, business model canvas and a comprehensive business plan, with virtual support and coaching from the McNair Institute’s global bench of founders, CEOs and innovators. This innovative tool is also open to alumni, faculty, staff and the community, including prospective students.

StartupWind regularly hosts competitions such as The Proving Ground and the S.C. Innovates Statewide Student Pitch Competition. 

Start building your big idea »

Internships at Startups

Gain valuable experience working alongside company founders while contributing your own unique perspectives as an aspiring entrepreneur. Each semester, the McNair Institute hosts a matchmaking event with founders and students to connect you to quality internship experiences.

Contact our team to learn more. Call 803-777-1717 or email  mcnairinstitute@mailbox.sc.edu. 

Student Advisory Council

The council advises the McNair Institute on programs and services that can enhance students’ experiences at UofSC and beyond. Students are invited or may express interest in joining the council.

Learn how you can be an entrepreneurship leader »

Entrepreneurism is a way of living: passionately deciding to do something purposeful, taking full responsibility and dedicating yourself to achieve it.

— Bhanuprakash Kosaraju, former Student Advisory Council chairman and Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

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