< PreviousMention the word entrepreneur and many people think Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or Steve Jobs —successful individ- uals who create multi-billion-dollar tech enterprises with massive workforces. The majority of successful entrepreneurs, though, are individuals who create com- panies with fewer than 10 employees. In Alabama alone, there are more than 156,000 of these microbusinesses. And the Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship at Au- burn University is helping to cultivate even more. The gateway to Auburn’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, the center helps students, faculty, staff and com- munity members develop their nascent business ideas and grow early-stage startups into viable businesses. “You don’t have to be super high- tech to be an entrepreneur,” said Lowder Center Director Josh Sahib, an entrepre- neur himself who has co-founded four companies of his own across Alabama. “The Lowder Center supports and be- lieves that your idea matters, and your business can be successful regardless of how scalable the [endeavor] is.” In the last two years, the center has guided more than 211 individuals seeking to start or grow businesses in transpor- tation, entertainment, landscaping, food and beverage, health and wellness, con- sulting and other industries. “We’ve worked with students and budding entrepreneurs across East Al- abama who see starting a business as a path towards upward mobility,” Sahib said. “A lot of these entrepreneurs will probably never be millionaires, but they could make enough to sustain their fam- ilies, and that’s ok.” Every summer, the center, with out- reach help from its community partners, leads the six-week Jumpstart East Ala- bama program, which rotates to different communities in the area. Sahib provides participants — most of whom are women and people of color — with instruction and actionable advice on marketing, ac- counting, business strategy and opera- tions topics. During the school year, the center hosts Auburn Ideas Jam, where students and area residents in the pre-revenue business stage vie for start-up funding through a low-key pitch competition. In the spring, the center hosts a one-week- end-to-startup event that provides a welcoming forum for aspiring entrepre- neurs to build upon a business idea with like-minded individuals. Entrepreneurs who want to expand beyond the microbusiness model have the option to transition to Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator, which provides Auburn-related startups with the facili- ties and mentoring expertise to develop their ideas and products and gain access to venture capital and significant private funding. “Josh is doing a tremendous job [be- cause] he’s passionate about sharing his knowledge and helping others find the necessary resources to create and grow successful businesses, and he helped us innovate our entrepreneurship curricu- lum,” said Professor Chris Reutzel, chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship in the Harbert College of Business. Sahib is successful because he knows from his own start-up experiences what it’s like to write a business plan, pitch an idea, raise capital and hire employees. “I didn’t have a lot of wealth growing up, and I didn’t have a rich uncle to give us seed funding,” said Sahib. “A lot of en- trepreneurs out there don’t have those things either.” Born and raised in Alabama, Sahib said his mother inspired his interest in entre- preneurship. Legally blind and raising two children on her own, Brenda Badgley had a con- tract with the state of Alabama to fill vend- ing machines in government facilities. Sahib recalls helping her with everything from purchasing the snacks at Sam’s Club to rolling the quarters from the ma- chine sales. “Even in grade school, I hustled candy out of my backpack,” he said about what he did with the excess inventory. “My mom didn’t graduate from col- lege, but this helps me better understand some of the budding entrepreneurs who may have had adverse circumstances in their own entrepreneurial journeys,” he said. “Entrepreneurs are heroes who change the world. You just need the drive, passion and belief in yourself to make it happen.” And a little help from the Lowder Center. The Lowder Center for Family Busi- ness and Entrepreneurship is part of the Harbert College of Business, which is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Raymond and Kathryn Harbert’s $40 million transformational naming gift that set the college on a new trajectory to be- come one of the premier public business schools in the country. UNIVERSITY NEWS BY LAURA SCHMITT 50 UNIVERSITY NEWS AUBURNTIGERS.COM Between the Lowder Center and its director, Josh Sahib, programs like the Auburn Ideas Jam exist to sup- port business ideas from students and residents. Josh Sahib, director of the Lowder Center, is an entrepreneur himself and enjoys helping Auburn students and community members reach their entre- preneurial dreams. THE LOWDER CENTER FOR FAMILY BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: BUILDING BUSINESSES, FULFILLING ENTREPRENEURIAL DREAMS CardiacandVascularAwards from EastAlabamaMedicalCenteristheONLYhospital inAlabamatobeamongthetop5% ofhospitalsnationwideforcardiacsurgery! 2023Women'sChoiceAwardsBestHospitalsfor CancerCare,Orthopedics,andObstetrics Congratulationstoourstaff forearningtheseprestigiousawards! ServingOpelika,Auburn,Valleyandan11-countycoveragearea52 ON THE PLAINS WITH NICK MARDNER Auburn wide receiver Nick Mardner may be from north of the border, but he is relishing his time spent here in the South. The graduate transfer from Oakville, Ontario, joined the Tigers in January and he has been enjoying life on the Plains ever since. “I think my favorite thing about Au- burn and the town itself is probably the people and how friendly and how nice everybody is,” Mardner said. “Of course, the amazing facilities we have are in- credible. All the coaches are nice and promote a family atmosphere. Every- thing that people talk about when they talk about the South and how welcom- ing people are is pretty much my favor- ite thing about being here.” Mardner began his collegiate career at Hawaii before transferring to Cincin- nati where he played last season. Why did the tall target, who stands 6-foot-6, choose Auburn as the place to finish out his time in college? “The main thing was my relation- ship with coach (Marcus) Davis and the success I had in Hawaii with him in 2021,” explained Mardner, who caught 62 passes for 1,270 yards with eight touchdowns and four 100-yard receiv- ing games in four seasons at Hawaii. “Also, playing in the SEC was a big thing for me, a chance to play on the biggest stage. (Playing for) coach Freeze and going to a program with a new staff was also very appealing to me at the time I was deciding. “Everybody asks me about the whole Hawaii experience – that’s something I’ll always have good memories of,” the Honorable Mention All-Mountain West selection said. “And I’ll always be able to go back there because I have good friends who live over there.” Mardner has friends around the globe. From Canada to Hawaii to Ohio and now Alabama. “I grew up in the Toronto area, and out of high school, I went to a school called Football North nearby in Missis- sauga,” he said. “It was a prep school type of situation, and I was there the first year it opened. I went there for a year and a half and reclassified, and then I had an opportunity to get a schol- arship to the University of Hawaii, which was big time. “I always wanted to go to an FBS school. At the time, there weren’t many Canadian kids getting scholarships, so I took it and ran with it,” Mardner remem- bered. “I flew 4,000 miles across the world to go to school in Hawaii and was there until 2021 when coach Davis took a new job at Georgia Southern.” Last year at Cincinnati, Mardner to- taled 19 receptions for 218 yards and three scores. Mardner also completed his degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in criminology and global studies during his time at Cincinnati. After his playing days conclude, Mardner, who was recently ranked No. 6 among preseason prospects eligible for the 2024 CFL Draft by the CFL Scout- ing Bureau, would like to continue in the sport. “I’ve always wanted to be a football coach,” he said. “With all the relationships I’ve built over the years of being in the sport, I feel pretty confident that I’d be able to get a job coaching and hopefully help young players. I’d like to help kids do what I did – finding opportunities.” Mardner credits his family with help- ing his own opportunities develop. “I have an older sister, Halle, four years older, and my mom and dad have been together forever,” he explained. “We’re just a small little tight family. They’re in Canada, but they’ll come down whenever they get the chance. “I just want to enjoy where I’m at and take it all in, because I probably won’t be living in Alabama again any time soon,” the global studies major said. “My prior- ity is taking in everything around me.” Mardner has another priority this season along with his Auburn team- mates. “Personally, I want to have the best year I’ve ever had in college and do it in a fashion that helps me achieve my goal of playing at the next level and do- ing what I’ve always dreamed of. I don’t have a specific number – I don’t focus on that. I just want to have fun with it and enjoy this last year and hopefully reap the rewards we get as a team.” ON THE PLAINS WITH NICK MARDNER BY SHELLY POE AUBURNTIGERS.COM ‘FINDING OPPORTUNITIES’DINE IN // DELIVERY // CURBSIDE // CATERING Opelika 2664 Enterprise Drive, Opelika, AL 36801 GO TIGERS!54 2023 STADIUM MAP 2023 STADIUM MAP AUBURNTIGERS.COM SOUTH CLUB BROADWAY CLUB NORTH CLUB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12 14 14 13 151617181920 383940414243 3744 44 45 46 46 36 37 35 35 21 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 100 99 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 AUBURN VISITOR 23 23 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 9 8U 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 21 BILL & CONNIE NEVILLE LOBBY 0 EXIT GATE STUDENT GATE STUDENT GATE EAST UPPER DECK ACCESS ONLY SOUTH SERVICE GATE FOOTBALL RECRUITING SOUTH DONAHUE DRIVE HEISMAN DRIVE HD VIDEOBOARD NEVILLE ARENA MIKE & JANE McCARTNEY BRICK PLAZA TICKET OFFICE SALES & PICK-UP GAMEDAY TRANSIT & FANFEST (NS PASS) NORTH STADIUM LOT VISITOR TICKET SALES HARBERT FAMILY RECRUITING CENTER AUBURN PLAYER GUEST EXIT GATEVISITING TEAM LOCKER ROOM SUITE TICKET PICK-UP STUDENT GATE SOUTH NORTH WEST EAST BROADWAY CLUB & MEDIA CREDENTIALS TIGER WALK CLUB ENTRANCE HIGH SCHOOL COACHES 11 10 TIGERWALK TICKET SALES TICKET SALES BROADWAY CLUB ONLY HRC ONLY ADA SHUTTLE PICKUP 1U VISITING PLAYER GUEST & VISITING FAN TICKET PICK-UP ADA SHUTTLE PICKUP NORTH SERVICE GATE OLYMPIC SPORT RECRUITING Entry GateElevator First Aid Tiger Babies LEGEND Charging Station Student Section Seating bowl closed to non-students Team Shop Medical Bag Entry Special Access Statues Guest Services ADA Shuttle56 2023 AUBURN PARKING MAP 2023 AUBURN PARKING MAP AUBURNTIGERS.COM2023 AUBURN PARKING MAP LEGEND 57 2023 AUBURN PARKING LEGEND AUBURNTIGERS.COM© 2022 Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. 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