Nthanda Manduwi is an MBA student specializing in business development management in the Broad College of Business.
When I was looking for potential MBA programs for myself, the entrepreneurial ecosystem was quite central to my explorations. I visited Michigan State University for the Diversity Preview Day in 2023, and I was quite wowed by the sense of community all round. I remember meeting Elliot Smith, founder of Motmot and a 2024 Broad MBA entrepreneur. Over lunch during the day, he told me, “You need to check out the Burgess Institute. It’s not just a program—it’s a community.” That one conversation reshaped my lens on what was possible at MSU.
He was absolutely right.
The Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is the reason I chose MSU. I was newly considering pivoting—but because I saw something that’s still rare in academia: a deep belief that entrepreneurship belongs inside education, not outside of it.
At Burgess, students don’t have to wait until after graduation to start building. They are encouraged—and equipped—to test ideas, fail fast, iterate, and grow while still in school. And it’s not about glorifying startup culture. It’s about nurturing the entrepreneurial mindset: resilience, adaptability, creativity, and strategic thinking.
It’s what I needed.
It’s what I came for.
It’s what I’m now proud to be part of.
Burgess isn’t just a building. It’s a pipeline—a full ecosystem that meets students where they are and walks with them through the journey of innovation.
Here’s what that looks like:
- Discovery and Launch Program: For students with an idea but no clue where to start. It gives you a structure—milestones, feedback loops, and access to advisors. Once you’ve validated your idea, Burgess helps you refine, fund, and scale. Think: pitch coaching, seed capital, and pre-accelerator sprints.
- Student-Made Marketplace: For makers, creatives, and sellers—this initiative gives student businesses a literal shelf on campus (and online).
- Courses & Curriculum: Through the Minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Burgess embeds its values in the classroom. Every student can learn how to think like an innovator, no matter their major.
- Community: From pitch competitions to fireside chats, co-working space to peer mentorship—there’s always something happening at Burgess.
- And then there’s 2DAY VENTURE (2DV)—a 36-hour intensive where Spartans from all disciplines come together to build, pitch, and iterate. I have mentored over a dozen teams in previous 2DV iterations, and just this semester, I flew in from New York on a red-eye to serve as a judge. Full-circle moments like that remind me how far I’ve come, and how important this community has become to me.
As I am working on my next venture—Q2 Corporation—I’m beyond excited to be doing so with the support of Burgess. Q2 is my vision for the future: a supply-chain intelligence company focused on smart village infrastructure across Africa. It’s a massive undertaking. It involves agri-tech, local currencies, power systems, and simulation games. It’s bold. It’s complex. It’s deeply personal.
And having a university-backed entrepreneurial institute like Burgess behind me gives me a foundation of accountability, mentorship, structure, and community. I’m not just building this in isolation. I’m building it with a network that sees me, supports me, and challenges me to go further.
In a world that often forces entrepreneurs—especially Black, immigrant women—to build from scratch and alone, Burgess has offered me something rare: scaffolding. Belief. A seat at the table before I’ve “made it.”
In many countries—especially in parts of Africa—entrepreneurship is seen as the alternative to education. Something you do instead of school. But what Burgess demonstrates so clearly is that the two don’t have to be in conflict.
Entrepreneurship can be the highest form of education—the space where learning becomes living. Where students become builders. Where failure becomes feedback.
That’s the model I hope to take back.
That’s the kind of space I’ve always wanted our Ntha Foundation hubs around the continent: Kwathu Kollective, to be.
And that’s why I chose MSU.
If you’re a student, a builder, or a dreamer who’s looking for more than just a degree—this place might be your home too.