{"id":21597,"date":"2025-11-13T16:07:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T21:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=21597"},"modified":"2025-11-13T16:09:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T21:09:49","slug":"profit-with-a-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/profit-with-a-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Profit with a Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The past 15 years have seen a fundamental shift in the business landscape. Young adults ages 18 to 24 now show the highest entrepreneurial activity in the U.S.\u00b9 At the same time, many of today\u2019s young founders are driven by more than profit: They want their work to make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This rising generation of entrepreneurs is balancing two bottom lines: financial success and impact. Increasingly, research shows those goals reinforce one another rather than compete. Studies of purpose-driven companies have found that they grow at more than three times the rate of their peers and report notably higher levels of innovation\u00b2\u2014evidence that purpose is not a trade-off but a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Alison Gilbert, director of Monmouth University\u2019s Center for Entrepreneurship<\/a>, this convergence of purpose and performance defines the future of entrepreneurship. It\u2019s what she calls \u201cimpact-driven entrepreneurship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the center, we start by asking, \u2018What impact are you uniquely positioned to create? What authentically drives you?\u2019\u201d explains Gilbert. \u201cWhen entrepreneurs answer those questions, they uncover two essential ingredients: their intrinsic motivation and their deeper sense of purpose\u2014their \u2018why.\u2019 These become the fuel that sustains the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial journey. Ventures evolve, ideas pivot, and strategies shift, but when founders are grounded in purpose, they have what they need to adapt, persevere, and build something both impactful and sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who work with the center, the journey often begins with the E-Lab, a hands-on venture-development program that helps aspiring founders transform ideas into viable business opportunities. The program starts with the Leadership Compass, a guided process of learning and reflection that Gilbert developed to help entrepreneurs identify their personal mission, vision, and strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom this foundation of self-knowledge, the center helps founders translate their purpose into a viable business,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, that compass has guided many Monmouth entrepreneurs as they begin translating their ideas into action. For some, that means discovering where their passions meet real needs; for others, it\u2019s learning how purpose can strengthen a business idea. In every case, the process begins with reflection and a willingness to start.<\/p>\n\n\n

A Pivot Reveals Purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n

For Alexandria Young \u201926, work in the E-Lab helped transform a vague interest into a clear calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young, whose father owns a laundromat business, arrived at Monmouth with only a passing interest in entrepreneurship. But after her father encouraged her to listen to Rich Dad, Poor Dad<\/em>\u2014a book that challenges conventional ideas about work, wealth, and independence\u2014she was inspired to create something of her own.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Conceptual<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

During the spring semester of her freshman year, she came up with the idea for a body care business and turned to Monmouth\u2019s Center for Entrepreneurship for guidance. After completing the foundational Leadership Compass work in the E-Lab, Young realized her concept didn\u2019t align with what really inspired her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That self-discovery sparked a new idea: Dialeco, a virtual language-immersion platform that connects learners with native speakers to improve conversational skills through authentic practice. The inspiration was deeply personal. Although her mother is from Panama, Young and her sisters had never learned Spanish. \u201cI wanted to connect with my family, to be able to speak to my grandparents,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve always been surrounded by the language, but I never actually knew what they were saying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the center\u2019s help, Young refined her concept while also collaborating with one of Associate Professor Amanda Stojanov\u2019s communications classes on the platform\u2019s user interface and experience design. Young later pitched Dialeco at HawkTank, the center\u2019s annual business pitch competition, where she was a finalist, and from there she was accepted into the National Science Foundation\u2019s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, which provides mentorship and funding for early-stage ventures to do customer discovery. Most recently, she completed a New York City accelerator program and is pursuing seed funding to bring her idea to market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in her senior year, Young is preparing to launch Dialeco upon graduation, the result of three years of sustained development and support since her freshman year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlexandria\u2019s story is a great example of impact-driven entrepreneurship,\u201d says Gilbert. \u201cThrough reflection, she discovered what truly drives her. Dialeco isn\u2019t just about language learning\u2014it\u2019s also preserving cultures and connecting generations. She\u2019s starting with Spanish, and the platform can eventually expand to other languages and dialects. It has a scalable model, addresses a market opportunity, and creates impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

A Detour Leads to Discovery<\/h2>\n\n\n

Alexander Kalina \u201925, who graduated last May with a bachelor\u2019s degree in biology and molecular cell physiology, took a less direct route to entrepreneurship. He entered Monmouth planning to pursue a Ph.D. and a research career in pharmaceuticals, but midway through college, he began to rethink that path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a sophomore-year internship in global drug development with Novartis, Kalina gained firsthand insight into how new medicines move through clinical trials, discovering a major obstacle: patient recruitment. Roughly 80% of trials fail to meet their enrollment goals on time, costing companies millions and slowing the delivery of new treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kalina had identified a significant problem but lacked the entrepreneurial framework to address it. So, when he returned to campus for his junior year, he reached out to Gilbert to learn what resources the center could offer someone with an idea still in its early stages. Together, they mapped out a plan for exploring the issue further. That process led to LINK, a digital platform designed to match patients with clinical trials that align with their medical histories and needs.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Conceptual<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

What followed was progression through the center\u2019s development pipeline. Participating in HawkTank gave Kalina the opportunity to test his concept with mentors and judges who pushed him to build on his research thinking with entrepreneurial strategy. Winning first place solidified his confidence to keep building. He then applied to and was accepted into the NSF I-Corps program, where he spent a month interviewing more than 20 pharmaceutical professionals. Those conversations deepened his understanding of industry needs and helped him refine LINK\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond Monmouth, Kalina\u2019s venture earned statewide recognition when he won first place at UPitchNJ, a competition judged by a panel of executives from Nokia Bell Labs, besting student teams from 13 New Jersey universities. The experience, he says, provided invaluable validation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now working in a leadership development program in global clinical trials at Johnson & Johnson, Kalina has temporarily stepped back from LINK to build industry experience. He says the long-term goal is still to relaunch the venture, potentially after completing an MBA, when he is better positioned to scale it. In the meantime, Gilbert remains a sounding board as he continues shaping the idea\u2019s future direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlex identified a real industry opportunity, validated the solution through competitions and customer discovery, and now he\u2019s setting the foundation for LINK, gaining expertise and experience for building this platform,\u201d says Gilbert.<\/p>\n\n\n

Designing for the Front Lines<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

While Kalina is building industry experience before relaunching his startup, Naja Morgan \u201924M has been managing both worlds simultaneously. A nurse practitioner with more than a decade of experience, Morgan juggles multiple roles\u2014telehealth provider, crisis nurse, and clinician at both inpatient and outpatient facilities\u2014while developing her health care apparel company, Dark Matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her idea was born from long days on the job. After years of 12-hour shifts and countless wardrobe frustrations, she realized how limited most scrubs were: either functional or flattering, but never both. She wanted to change that by designing apparel that\u2019s comfortable, breathable, and moves with the wearer, yet still \u201clooks cute,\u201d as she puts it. Nursing is hard work, she says, and even a small confidence boost can make a big difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morgan connected with the center during her final year of earning her master\u2019s degree in nursing after discussing her idea with one of her professors, Cheryl Leiningen. Through the E-Lab program and later as a HawkTank finalist, Morgan refined her business plan and pitch deck and began shaping a strategy for going to market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days, she\u2019s working with a New York designer on a second round of prototypes and, with Gilbert\u2019s continued guidance, preparing to fundraise for a 2026 launch. Gilbert meets regularly with her for coaching and accountability sessions\u2014support that Morgan says has been crucial as she balances a demanding clinical career with business development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morgan\u2019s story illustrates how impact grows from front-line experience, turning daily frustrations in health care into product innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNaja is applying her domain expertise to create a business that supports the people who spend their days supporting everyone else,\u201d says Gilbert. \u201cThat\u2019s building for impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

The Bigger Picture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

What unites Young, Kalina, and Morgan is how they each used Monmouth\u2019s Center for Entrepreneurship to turn personal insight into purposeful innovation, and through the center\u2019s mentorship, found a way to turn that spark into something bigger: ventures that create both value and impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That balance is what the center strives to cultivate, says Gilbert. \u201cWhat I\u2019m seeing now is that most are already thinking about impact,\u201d she notes. \u201cThe center\u2019s role is helping entrepreneurs channel that intention into action to create the businesses they envision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That approach works because it meets entrepreneurs where they are, whether they\u2019re still exploring an idea or actively building toward launch, and supports them through each stage of development. With entrepreneurs from across disciplines participating, the center is helping aspiring founders pair their purpose with entrepreneurial skills\u2014and, in the process, positioning Monmouth as an emerging hub for impact-driven entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b9 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, U.S. Report.<\/em>
\u00b2 Deloitte Global Marketing Trends Report, 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through Monmouth University\u2019s Center for Entrepreneurship, the next generation of innovators is learning that success can create value and drive change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":21622,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"{\"x\":53,\"y\":71}","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Features","issue":"Fall\/Winter 2025","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21597"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21631,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21597\/revisions\/21631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}