Every Wednesday evening, student entrepreneurs at Texas A&M gather to share ideas, test startup concepts and connect with like-minded innovators through Mid-Week Meetups, a program hosted by the A&M McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship. 

Designed by members of the McFerrin Experience Team for student entrepreneurs, the weekly gatherings create a casual space where undergraduates with business ideas or startup ambitions can network. Director of Entrepreneurs EXPOSED, a group within the McFerrin Experience Team, and finance senior Hallie Ikenberry said Mid-Week Meetups is a gateway program for all the other opportunities offered to students at the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship. 

“It’s not meant to be anything super professional or anxiety inducing, kind of like the other pitch competitions where you’re pitching for money,” Ikenberry said. “It’s more of, ‘Get your toes wet.’”

Ikenberry said programming varies from week to week, sometimes offering evenings the feature hands-on activities, such as mock pitch competitions and customer discovery exercises, while others bring in guest speakers who are actively building and leading their own ventures. 

Computer science senior Andre Athari, who has been participating in the program since last semester, is just one student who has gained valuable insight from the program.

“Usually, there’s a few people here, quite a lot of people here, actually, who all have their own ideas for what entrepreneurship they want to pursue,” Athari said. “So, we had Ben Nowack, who’s the head of Space Orbital, come to one of the meetups. He came and spoke about his startup, and we got to ask him a lot of questions, and I got to ask him a few questions about his entrepreneurship experience and how I could apply it to my own ventures, and it was pretty helpful.”

Athari said each meetup also brings together a room full of knowledgeable and talented students, most of whom have already launched startups of their own to share their experiences while fostering an environment in which attendees feel comfortable asking questions.

Good Bull Pitch Director at McFerrin  and industrial distribution senior Cannon Jackson said he likes to measure the success of the program based on the people they have helped. 

“I care about helping people that are truly passionate about entrepreneurship and want to come here and be inspired and network,” Jackson said. 

Jackson said the program also hosts mentor nights, during which students meet in small groups with successful entrepreneurs to ask questions about starting their own ventures, providing a personalized learning experience for students. 

As a frequent attendee, civil engineering senior Evan David said the program has been an opportunity for him to connect with like-minded individuals. 

“A&M’s campus can feel pretty big, but the Mid-Week Meetups are a great way for a smaller group of students to get together,” David said. “ … We’re all passionate about building something, sharing ideas.”

Wednesday sessions have helped David not only connect with other entrepreneurs, but move his personal business ventures forward as well. He said after a presentation about free resources for entrepreneurs from the Brazos Valley Small Business Development Center, he felt inspired to take the next step and schedule a meeting with their team, where he gained invaluable insight. Senior Director of McFerrin Experience Team and management graduate student Ethan Coffin said the program’s mission is to expand and broaden horizons when it comes to entrepreneurship. 

“We’ll try and bring in speakers from a variety of backgrounds,” Coffin said. “Sometimes they’re entrepreneurs. Other times, they’re investors, like private equity people or venture capitalists. They’ll come in and talk to our student businesses about problems they’re having, and give advice and kind of just, you know, life advice beyond that.”

Coffin said Mid-Week Meetups offer early-stage entrepreneurs a low-pressure, low-risk introduction to the startup world and a chance to absorb entrepreneurial ideas, resources and conversations at their own pace before stepping into more hands-on opportunities with free dinners. 

“If you have a spark inside of you and you need a place for that fire to grow, the McFerrin Center is the fireplace,” David said. “It’ll give you the fuel to really build your own fire and ignite, ignite what you have going on inside your head.”