Bachelor of Arts, Walsh University, 2022, Honors

Collegiate entrepreneurship programs in the United States have evolved since their inception in 1927 both in content and adoption. This thesis examines the formal undergraduate entrepreneurship education in the United States, discerning who enrolls in these programs and how these programs address gendered norms in the field. Previous research has been conducted on women entrepreneurs and the growth of the field, but not as it relates to higher education. This study is a qualitative analysis of past studies on entrepreneurship education and women in entrepreneurship and a quantitative analysis of an existing data set acquired from the National Center for Education Statistics. Findings indicated that there is only a limited understanding of the growth of entrepreneurship in higher education and its relationship to gender. Furthermore, very little research has been done to understand the impact entrepreneurial programs in higher education on career entrepreneurs. Through this research, a need for new data to explain foundational shifts in entrepreneurial education and its relationship to gender have been identified.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2023, Instructional Technology (Education)

This study sought to provide an examination of the instructional design strategies used in an entrepreneurship clinic (EC) and determine their influence on the post-graduation outcomes of its alumni. The conceptual lens for the study comprised Merrill's (2002) first principles of instruction and Lent et al.'s (1994) social cognitive career theory (SCCT). Merrill's first principles provided a standardized set of instructional principles to examine the instructional strategies used within clinic and the SCCT examined the influence of these strategies on building the necessary competencies for participants to pursue entrepreneurship after graduation. The case for this study was the EC organized by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). This case is bounded geographically on the KNUST campus in Ghana. This case is situated contextually in the larger issue of graduate unemployment and how entrepreneurship education and training can be used to address it. Data sources for the study were interviews and documents (Patton, 2015). The data was analyzed a priori through the lenses of Merrill's (2002) first principles of instruction and Lent et al.'s (1994) SCCT constructs--self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, and personal goals. Also, the data was analyzed inductively to discover emergent patterns, categories, and themes to arrive at the findings (Patton, 2015). There were three key takeaways from the study. The first is the importance of an entrepreneurship ecosystem to fill the gaps in entrepreneurship knowledge. The second is the temporal nature of entrepreneurship education and the importance of life-long learning. The third is the personality of the participant is important in pursuing entrepreneurship. The study has implication for scholarship in that it extends research by identifying the possibility of building self-efficacy through observation of role-models or mentors. An implication for practice is to provide a (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2022, Weatherhead School of Management

Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States. The number of Latino-owned firms has grown from 2.3 million in 2007 to 3.3 million in 2012, highlighting a 46.3% growth rate. Reports from 2017 estimate that Latino-owned firms create nearly 3.2 million American jobs and drive more than $2 trillion in GDP in the U.S. Despite their strong growth rates and growing contribution to the U.S. economy, only 3% of Latino-owned firms exceed $1 million in annual gross revenues—less than half the rate of White, non-Latino-owned firms. Much of the literature on Latino and ethnic entrepreneurs focuses on the barriers to growth the individual entrepreneurs and their firm's experience or their lack of resources such as economic or social capital. Our mixed-methods study—integrating qualitative and quantitative research findings—highlights differences in how Latino entrepreneurs of large, scaled firms differ in their approach when compared to Latino business owners of smaller firms. Moreover, we find differences in how Latino entrepreneurs approach sense of community, belongingness, and humility when operating their businesses, which differs from non-Latino, Anglo entrepreneurs in the U.S. While our qualitative findings highlight the salient traits—sense of community, belongingness, and humility—with Latino business owners of scaled firms, our quantitative findings show trends that highlight clear differences between Latinos and Anglo business owners. Also noted in our findings is that Anglos continue to financially outperform minority entrepreneurs, including Latinos.

Doctor of Professional Studies (D.P.S.) in Instructional Design Leadership, Franklin University, 2024, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

The objective of this action research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a six-month financial education intervention for Appalachian artists by measuring and observing changes in financial knowledge, financial self-efficacy, and financial behaviors and by assessing participants' perception of the program. By all measures, the financial education intervention was a success with survey results demonstrating positive and statistically significant gains in financial knowledge and financial behaviors, plus gains, although not statistically significant ones, in financial self-efficacy. Participants increased financial knowledge in revenue diversification strategies and tax literacy from 31.2% to 71.3%. Nine participants (81.8%) earned more in their creative businesses following the financial education intervention, and ten participants (90.9%) had up-to-date record-keeping systems by the end of the program, an increase from four participants (36.3%) at the outset. Five new creative businesses and five new sales tax licenses were registered with West Virginia. Participants also emphasized the importance of the community they built with each other, and shared they were proud of their accomplishments during the six-month program. This research has practical implications for curricular design for educators, industry leaders, and community partners, plus implications for economic development policies to support similar financial education interventions for creative business owners.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2022, Leadership and Change

This study explores the underlying causes of the racial wealth gap between Black and White Americans: the absence of intergenerational wealth transfers in Black business families. As American wealth becomes concentrated into fewer and fewer hands, the data reveal that one third of the 400 wealthiest Americans inherited their wealth from the entrepreneurial endeavors of earlier generations in their family, some creating entrepreneurial dynasties. An important aspect of succession planning is the construct of generativity. Generativity is practiced through leading, nurturing, promoting, and teaching the next generation to create things to “move down the generational chain and connect to a future” (Kotre, 1996, p. xv). There is little research that informs us about the generative intent of Black entrepreneurs. First-generation Black wealth creators operating in the beauty industry with dynastic and generative intent were the target population for this study. Interpretative phenomenological analysis of the data revealed that the paradigmatic ethos and frame of mind that developed from the lived experience of the study participants included the following themes: A Celebration of Blackness, Black Mothers: A Guiding Light, Destined for Purposeful Work, Our Health Our Wealth, and You Can't Pay It Back. The themes imply that entrepreneurial education and training for first-generation Black entrepreneurs with dynastic intent must contextualize the Black lived experience. The study offers a model for Dynastic Wealth™, which includes extensive implications for entrepreneurial training and curriculum design changes for practitioners and policymakers. The model has been contextualized for the Black entrepreneurial experience and is designed through a lens of racial equity. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Ohio University, 2020, Business Administration

Reflection has been identified as a key success factor for entrepreneurs, as thinking critically about successes and failures results in improved strategy. Reflection, therefore, is a valuable skill for undergraduate educators to instill in entrepreneurship students. Despite the increasingly prevalent use of reflection in curricula within higher education, designing, executing, and effectively evaluating reflection assignments remains a challenge. One of the primary challenges of implementing reflection assignments is the "lack of effective structures to help instructors from diverse disciplines guide students through reflection" (Ash and Clayton, 2004: 138). This study makes recommendations on the effective implementation of reflection assignments and provides a sample reflection framework for a course centered around developing the reflection competency. Data from students and program directors at Ohio University is examined, and recommendations are made based on the data and a review of the literature. The study found assignment design to be a determining factor in how deeply students reflect. To enhance students' depth of reflection, recommendations are made on how to strategically frame the assignment to students; ask deep, probing questions in the prompt; use the format most effective for achieving course goals; and how to cultivate a conducive culture for reflection.

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Ohio University, 2019, Business Administration

This study aims to find the motivational factors that influence professional immigrant entrepreneurs to transition from their corporate jobs to start their own ventures within the United States. International migration for education and entrepreneurial activity has seen a significant increase in the last five years in the United States. This niche group of entrepreneurs is defined as immigrant entrepreneurs with at least a four-year degree that first pursued a corporate job before starting a business. The purpose is to gain insights into this emerging group of immigrant entrepreneurs in order to help advance entrepreneurial activity within the United States. There were 20 semi-structured interviews recorded that were chain sampled from professional connections or referrals. The methodological approach for all participants was grounded theory with three participants selected for phenomenological inquiry. The data collected were transcribed and thematically coded to allow for individual and holistic comparisons. Results indicated there are similar intrinsic and extrinsic factors that can be categorized that influences an entrepreneur's decision to transition in career path. The outcomes from the study depict that an entrepreneur's environmental factors had the most significant influence in career transition. Additionally, the barriers faced by these entrepreneurs in terms of equal financial funding for their ventures in comparison to United States citizens led to an implication discovery of potentially developing a universal credit system.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2019, Instructional Technology (Education)

There are major global changes and transformations that have affected the structure and operation of all the social-economic activities of the industrialized economies, the educational industry included (Slaughter & Leslie, 1997; Steinmueller, 2002; Shane, 2004a). Because of these changes, the nature of most universities worldwide has rapidly been changing to address the terror of reduced funds (Shane, 2004; Williams, 2010; Wright, Clarysse, Mustar, & Lockett, 2007), and there have been many calls for overt decrement in universities dependency on the government subsidies. The university is being pushed to industrialize its systems by commercializing its operations, particularly spinning-off the knowledge, technology and innovation generated by its members. This phenomenon in which university faculty, staff and students engage in entrepreneurial activities by creating products and services related to their research and academic areas is best known as `academic entrepreneurship' (Rose & Patterson, 2016; Shane, 2004a; 2004b). The purpose of this study was to shed light on the topic of academic innovation and entrepreneurship in instructional technology, particularly in the field of computer-assisted language learning (CALL). It employed qualitative techniques to explore the experience of representative CALL academic entrepreneurs who are or have undertaken entrepreneurial journeys in changing their knowledge and skills to create invaluable technological tools and services that advocate the use of technology in facilitating language learning and teaching. The key objectives of this study included describing the CALL academic entrepreneurs, products or services that they make, the opportunity recognition and exploitation, the role of the university in supporting CALL-based academic entrepreneurship, and the challenges that they face during the process. In this study, faculty and students in the field of CALL engage in different forms of academic entrepreneurial activitie (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Public Affairs, Cleveland State University, 2018, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs

This three-essay dissertation seeks to resolve some of the unanswered questions that exist about high-growth firms (HGFs). Paper I identifies the antecedents and outcomes of HGFs to better inform economic development policy. In explaining the theoretical and operational constructs of these concepts, a model of the situation of high-growth firms is developed, dubbed the Model of High Growth Firm Antecedents and Outputs. Antecedents to HGFs include an entrepreneurial mindset, firm strategic resources, and firm structural characteristics, while outputs of HGFs include regional innovation outcomes and regional economic outcomes. Paper II investigated the quantitative association between antecedents and outputs of HGFs. This paper used path analysis to test hypotheses within the Regional High-Growth Firm Antecedents and Outcomes Framework, and finds a strong positive association between most antecedents (human capital, startup capital, and business costs) and HGFs, a positive relationship between most antecedents and outcomes (employment and per capita income), and an association between HGFs and employment. Paper III establishes a typology of HGFs using cluster-discriminate analysis. Using a sample of 26,104 firms in the state of Ohio from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, this paper finds that only a small portion of HGFs display high-growth characteristics described in the literature.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2018, Management

The U.S. Census Bureau indicates that only 1% of Black companies generate over a million dollars in sales yet they are responsible for 61% of all jobs created by minority-owned firms. How can more Black businesses be positioned to contribute? This research seeks to better understand Black business growth by employing an exploratory sequential mixed methods design approach beginning with a qualitative study followed by two quantitative studies. This three-part research project unfolds by first exploring barriers that high performing African American and non-minority firms are confronted with when trying to grow their businesses. Findings revealed that African American firms are faced with a number of different forms of racial discrimination. Gender bias is found to be a barrier for women-owned firms and access to capital is still found to be an obstacle to growth for African American firms. These barriers were overcome by leveraging numerous types of relationships, utilizing preferential procurement programs and relying on faith and prayer. The findings from the first study informed measures for a quantitative phase to determine to what extent leadership attributes such as emotional and social intelligence and faith/prayer reliance correlate with small business growth attitudes among minority entrepreneurs. Findings suggest that the sense of God at work has a positive relationship with small business attitudes, specifically the importance of sales and employment growth. Additionally, perceived shared vision fully mediates the effect of emotional and social competency inventory (ESCI) Leadership traits on the importance of sales and employment growth. It is the integration of these two studies that prompt a deeper look at Black business growth. The third study measures discriminatory business practices and its association with business growth as well as other factors that may contribute to growth. The following factors were measured: faith, entrepreneurial (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

Researchers from around the globe have long evidenced entrepreneurship; broadly defined in the literature as the organizing of organizations; usually analyzed through an economic lens and frequently evidenced by way of for-profit business ownership, legal incorporation and/or organizational development. For over half a century of rapid growth in the academic field, the study of entrepreneurship has aided students, researchers, practitioners and policy makers in initiating both business and organizational development within various fields and sectors of human society. However, perhaps due to the prevailing view of entrepreneurship as the establishment of a new for-profit business, the preference for an economic lens of analysis, and to the absence of a national sectoral frame for the arts, entrepreneurship researchers have yet to conduct empirical research evidencing entrepreneurship as it occurs across a defined arts sector. Given the absence of the arts sector as a research focus within top tier entrepreneurship journals, there is a need for researchers to conduct empirical entrepreneurship research for the purposes of informing arts entrepreneurship education and practice. To address this need, the study lays a foundation for comparative analysis of (1) owner/founder demographics, (2) entrepreneurial characteristics, (3) entrepreneurship practice and (4) venture trends and tendencies in a defined arts sector. After generating the data for analysis, I analyze the data through the lens of a conceptual framework, utilizing key findings as a catalyst for guiding and informing research directions for the future.

Doctor of Musical Arts, The Ohio State University, 2014, Music

Beginning in the fall of 2013 and continuing through May of 2014, the xYz Quintet presented a concert season comprising traditional concerts, known as the masterworks series, and an education project called The Chamber Music Experience. In addition to the procedural story of the ensemble's first season, the author describes the strategic and analytical techniques he employed for the planning, presentation and evaluation of the concert season. The author divides his writing into four principle topics: mission statement, charter, minimum viable product and negotiation technique. Through case studies and practical examples, the author demonstrates the various ways these concepts applied to the planning, presentation and evaluation of the ensemble's concert season. The author concludes the concert season was moderately successful as it met the goals outlined in the ensemble's mission statement and project charters but also identifies areas of improvement for future seasons. In addition, the author recommends further research into the role of arts entrepreneurship in the modern music curriculum.

PHD, Kent State University, 2012, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Management and Information Systems

This dissertation distinguishes the potential causalities of country-level entrepreneurship (CLE). The literature reveals structural differences among nations, noting that more advanced countries have an improved foundation of financial resources and stronger infrastructure of telephone and Internet lines, along with roads and railroads to adequately service businesses. I gather from the literature that there are six main factors to which references are often made. These factors can be organized into an original 2x3 model so as to provide symmetry to the study. From this matrix I infer six independent variables and determine how these variables forecast CLE intensity by taking the characteristics of a nation's abilities into account. These variables are divided into the two categories (the matrix's columns) of resources and infrastructure, and then these categories are further partitioned into three clusters each (the matrix's rows) consisting of their specific physical, movable and virtual realms. Following up with empirical research, I select and compile a data set of 183 countries and then I divide them into three classes, based upon their levels of gross national income (GNI) per capita, as the underdeveloped, developing and fully developed. (Some nations fell out of the analyses due to lack of data). My study undertakes a dual research thrust, the first of which entails hypotheses on the similarities and dissimilarities in entrepreneurial activity between the three categories of world countries from an entrepreneurial and innovative competitiveness standpoint. A dual question is: For those country classes, could my dependent variables to be tested also be viewed as new proxy variables for entrepreneurship and determined by comparison with the more customary entrepreneurship measures? The literature review uncovers that entrepreneurship researchers traditionally use either Business Entry Rate (new registrations as a percentage of the total) or New Businesses Re (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2008, Organizational Behavior

The increased attention recently paid to the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship has focused little attention on the process of social entrepreneurship or how entrepreneurial decisions are made in a social context. Focusing on the activity of nonprofit organizations that engage in risk-bearing, innovative activities in pursuit of a social outcome (in a nonprofit context, earned income opportunities), I examine the likelihood of entrepreneurial action among nonprofit organizations operating in an environment of resource scarcity. Given the increasingly-constrained resource needs affecting many nonprofit organizations in the United States, rational economic theory would suggest that nonprofit organizations would examine, if not pursue, earned income opportunities (EIOs). Yet, recent investigations of this phenomenon suggest that the rates of activity among nonprofit organizations with regards to EIOs vary greatly from industry to industry, and may be significantly less overall than economic logic would suggest.I seek to better understand why the presumed positive relationship between economic need and entrepreneurial action does not exist at the level we expect, and suggest that that relationship is mediated or moderated by three key institutional factors: organizational competency/capability, organizational identity orientation, and the salience of stakeholder groups. Through a mixed-methods study employing exploratory and confirmatory interviews and a comprehensive survey of nonprofit executive directors and development executives, I seek to investigate whether these factors result in the conflicted resource-action relationship currently observed and hypothesized in the nonprofit sector. The findings of my research support the view that institutional pressures, in particular the salience of stakeholders, and the perception of organizational capabilities, serve as key drivers and definers of an organization's likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial activity. They (open full item for complete abstract)

PHD, Kent State University, 2013, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship

Social ventures are organizations created to exploit opportunities for social value creation (Lumpkin et al., 2011; Zahra et al., 2009). In fact, scholars argue that the main distinction between commercial and social entrepreneurship lies in the relative priority given to social wealth creation versus economic wealth creation (Mair & Marti, 2006). Given the increasing importance of social ventures, understanding the internal and external dynamics of such organizations would be beneficial for research and practice. The following three essays explore antecedents, consequences, and strategies of social ventures. Essay 1. This essay addresses the need for research concerning environmental influences on social entrepreneurship by specifically focusing on the environmental conditions that affect social venture creation rates. Though some scholars have suggested that entrepreneurs respond to certain socioeconomic conditions by engaging in social venturing activity (e.g. Weerawardena & Sullivan Mort, 2006), compelling empirical evidence is still lacking. A prevalent explanation of social venture creation is the market failure perspective. This perspective holds that social ventures are created to address social issues that the market and the government have failed to deal with effectively (Austin et al., 2006). In this essay, I delve into the market failure perspective to explain social venture creation rates and provide an empirical test at the macro-level. The results in this essay support the market failure perspective by suggesting that social venture creation rates increase with suboptimal economic conditions and high levels of government failure in dealing with social issues. Essay 2. Research investigating how social entrepreneurship influences commercial entrepreneurship remains scarce in the social entrepreneurship literature. Following an ecological perspective (Hannan & Freeman, 1977), Essay 2 predicts that social venture creation exerts a negative influen (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, Miami University, 2024, Computer Science and Software Engineering

Drawing inspiration from lateral thinking, synergetics, psychology, creativity, and business, this research project employs an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the research process which drives innovation in the field of artificial intelligence. This research project explores methods for harnessing the synergy present in the latest, neuro-symbolic paradigm of artificial intelligence, while noting similarities between the first two waves of AI and dual process theory. It attempts to integrate unconventional, yet potentially promising interdisciplinary ideas into a proof of concept, including creative tools and techniques like the Six Thinking Hats, methods of psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy and internal family systems, as well as principles related to conflict resolution and ``tensegrity". The proof of concept is a hybrid semantic search system for research papers in computer science, constructed using a process of rapid prototyping and iteration, with special consideration for evaluating how more modular, interpretable, and human-centric approaches to system design can help narrow the gap between cutting-edge AI research and ethical, practical application in business. This research is conducted with the hope of opening the research field to greater creative possibility, as well as deliberate action towards creating more sustainable and human-centric artificial intelligence systems.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

The contemporary glass world is a place of diverse making that ranges from fine art to design to craft. Artists in the field fluctuate from formally educated with MFAs to individuals who are self-taught, trained through various apprenticeships and/or piecemeal educational experiences. How glass artists define success in their field, and how they chart a potential trajectory towards it, are questions that seem as though they should have clear answers. However, as the number of graduates from art programs increases, as well as the cost to start and sustain a career in the field, there is precariousness about how to maintain a successful practice. Additionally, the glass profession remains male dominated even though more females currently graduate from higher education programs throughout the US. This study focuses on female glass artists from emerging to established in their careers through qualitative interviews with 27 participants, and 7 participant observations, to reflect on the challenges and successes they have experienced and to provide a survey of the field at a time that women are seeking parity. Their stories and experiences are cross referenced with descriptive quantitative data gathered from the institutions they have interacted with as artists, students, educators, and/or administrators. The analysis and interpretation of the collected data summarizes emergent themes, and focuses on core challenges, and successes that participants encountered, while highlighting strategies that participants employ persist in the field. Utilizing portraiture methodology with narrative analysis and auto-ethnographic inclusions throughout, I provide a critical survey of the field, how female glass artists are currently working within its limitations, and how they define success.

Bachelor of Arts, Walsh University, 2023, Honors

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the current market and essential knowledge for successful entrepreneurship, specifically in the indoor plant industry. A survey was designed to collect empirical data from college students at Walsh University. This population was chosen since they are the next generation of indoor plant consumers. The research questions were as follows: 1). What are student's preferences for social media marketing platforms? 2). Is there a relationship between student social media preferences and indoor plant purchasing habits? 3). Do added features such as customization or an all-inclusive kit, influence decisions to purchase indoor plant gardens? My survey had a total of 81 eligible students that responded to the survey. Results found Instagram was the most used social media platform however Snapchat was a close five percentage points behind. Additionally, there was a strong relationship between student social media preferences and indoor plant purchasing habits. Furthermore, there appears to be higher than expected impact on all-inclusive plant kits and how they influence the purchasing decision. The thesis further explores the results of those data. The goal of this research was to rely on the extent literature to create an effective marketing plan for an entrepreneur in the indoor plant industry reaching the university target market with indoor plant products. However, the main marketing strategies created in the following marketing plan can be applied broadly to any business close to the indoor plant industry.

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2023, Business Administration

The relationship between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the reading disorder commonly referred to as dyslexia are often studied separately in connection to entrepreneurship. ADHD and dyslexia are often comorbid conditions, but their combined effect has not been studied within entrepreneurship. This quantitative study is one of the first attempts to measure the combined impact of ADHD and dyslexia on entrepreneurial intention (EI). It is hypothesized ADHD and other conditions, such as dyslexia, might facilitate a greater likelihood of EI. Graduate level students in the United States enrolled in at least one class in an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), are surveyed. Three quantitative instruments used in prior studies are combined in a novel fashion. These three instruments are: (1). 5-point Likert 6-item Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-6; Kessler et al., 2005); (2) 20 items from the 7-point Likert Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (EIQ; Linan & Chen, 2009); and (3). 5-point Likert 6-item Adult Reading History Questionnaire Brief (ARHQ-Brief; Feng et al., 2022). This research answers a call for further studies into ADHD and comorbid conditions within the field of entrepreneurship (Logan, 2009; Wiklund et al., 2018a). This study finds statistically significant results in the levels of EI between those with comorbid ADHD and dyslexia and those with ADHD Only and No Condition. However, no statistical significance was detected in those with comorbid ADHD and dyslexia compared to those with Dyslexia Only. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that it is the comorbid condition of dyslexia that strengthens the EI in post-secondary students in an AACSB-accredited business program. While this study fills a gap in the current research by identifying comorbidity through a novel research design, further research in different population samples may provide insight into how entrepreneurial intent is acquired (open full item for complete abstract)

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2023, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

The study evaluates the service ecosystem related to scaling a food and beverage consumer packaged goods (CPG) business. It employs service design to de-risk a nascent entrepreneur's pathway from mental concept to product distribution at a national retailer. A service design workshop was developed using semi-structured interviews and ecosystem mapping as data collection tools. This product delivers a personalized visual compass that entrepreneurs can reference. It informs strategic decision-making relevant to the process of scaling a CPG business.