Enterprise co-op: an outlet for passionate entrepreneurs

by Phoenix McDonald.

Many students head into university with the goal of one day being a CEO or owning their own business. Enterprise Co-op, or E Co-op for short, allows students to become their own boss and build the foundations of a company instead of working for another business. Muni Abdurrahman, a fourth year Psychology and Business student, immediately knew that E Co-op was the opportunity he had been looking for. Muni had thought of innovative business ideas in the past, but lacked the time to implement them prior to E Co-op.

Muni spent his Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 work terms executing two different ventures. The first was A&M Reputations, an online marketing company that delivered flexible online marketing services to small and medium sized businesses. Muni’s second venture was a personal SEO tool called BrandBound, which enabled businesses to better control the search engine results that appear when their name is searched. Time to pursue his enterprises from the ground up was just one benefit of E Co-op; it also provided Muni with professional mentorship, comprehensive workshops, and Ignition Week.

“Ignition Week is the second week of the Enterprise Co-op term,” says Muni. “It is a week jam-packed with workshops, tours, and a pitch competition. The information gained from this week was invaluable and a big boost to start of the term right.”

While Muni is passionate about E Co-op and has found success during these terms, he acknowledges the challenges of starting a new business. “It’s not for everyone” he cautions. Launching a venture takes immense dedication and funding is only acquired through hard work; however, there are opportunities for E Co-op students to receive funding while executing their business ideas, such as pitch competitions.

Pitch competitions were extremely beneficial to Muni during both E Co-op terms. He won competitions each term, earning funding for his ventures and developing his presentation skills in the process. By the term’s end, Muni said that his business acumen, negotiation, and sales skills improved and continue to benefit him both professionally and academically.

“The Enterprise Co-op terms were the best experiences of my University career by far,” said Muni. “I have learned in those co-op terms what my peers around me do not have the opportunity to learn easily. I was able to pursue my passion and get credit for it at the same time. I got to live a few months the way I envision living the rest of my life: as an entrepreneur.”

Have a business idea? Want to learn more? Check out our E Co-op site and the Conrad Business Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre.