Whitman Student Uses Entrepreneurship Courses to Help Run Business

Wanting to study both business and communications at a university with a strong alumni network, Phoebe Gullingsrud ’24 (WSM/NEW) knew that Syracuse University would be the right place for her. 

The dual major, studying entrepreneurship & emerging enterprises (EEE) at the Whitman School of Management and advertising at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, has been able to discover her passion for entrepreneurship and marketing. 

She says, “During my time at the Whitman School, I have become a critical and strategic thinker, a problem solver, a leader and so much more.”

Through her EEE courses, Gullingsrud has taken the content she learns from class and directly applies it to what she does outside of Whitman. In her free time, she runs her own marketing consultancy. Her company, POV Marketing Co, launched in 2021, offers digital marketing for businesses including brand identity formation, social media management and website builds. 

She is also the vice president of marketing for her sorority, Alpha Phi, overseeing all marketing efforts for the chapter and creating recruitment campaigns. 

Gullingsrud has seen a smooth transition from the knowledge she gains in classes to running her business. One way she has seen her course content apply to POV Marketing Co is through learning the importance of tight financials. This was something she felt professors emphasized in classes, and now she has led her finance team to take more rigorous steps to ensure proper financials. 

Additionally, Gullingsrud finds EEE 422: Entrepreneurial Turnarounds to be the most beneficial course she is taking this semester. She says, “I felt that a lot of my classes in the past focused on how to make sure your business is prosperous. I really enjoy this course because we talk about mistakes that occur when running a business, how to fix your mistakes and ways you can identify them early.” 

Gullingsrud finds that as an EEE major it is important to continuously be exposed to other businesses. Reading case studies in classes and continuously learning about businesses helps her learn and gain insight into her entrepreneurial career.

In the spring, Whitman awarded Gullingsrud with the Internship Opportunities Fund award. With this grant, she was able to travel to New York City and visit the office she interned for this summer remotely. “I was able to use the money to go for a week in person and network with my manager and other coworkers, along with meeting the other interns I worked alongside all summer. I also got to experience life in NYC and see what it is like working as a young professional, which was a great experience,” she says. 

In the future, Gullingsrud hopes to continue leading her company, POV Marketing Co, and start other businesses, as well. Additionally, her interest in consulting intrigues her to potentially pursue that career path one day and help create solutions for other companies. 

“I love Whitman and am so thankful for everything I have learned here! Whitman classes have made me a hard and diligent worker and they have pushed me to be the businesswoman I am today,” she says. 

By Anna Rooney  ’24