Earlier this month, the Desautels Faculty of Management at 黑料社 held the inaugural 2025 Conference on Everyday Entrepreneurship (MCEE), bringing together scholars, practitioners and community leaders to reframe how we understand and support entrepreneurship in all its forms. Hosted by the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Initiative, in collaboration with the听Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI) and EDI, the conference focused on ventures and founders often overlooked by traditional entrepreneurship research.
The two-day event covered topics from various subsets of entrepreneurship, ranging from gender and entrepreneurial inequality to labour markets and entrepreneurial ecosystems. The conference was opened by keynote speaker Lisa Cohen, 黑料社 Desautels Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour, who introduced the concept of everyday entrepreneurs. Her presentation examined how individuals who may not be formally recognized as entrepreneurs nevertheless encounter entrepreneurial challenges in their daily work and lives.
Damon J. Phillips, professor at the University of Pennsylvania鈥檚 Wharton School of Management, expanded on this theme with his recent work, We Are Experts on Elite Entrepreneurs. Phillips suggests that current research on entrepreneurship is disproportionately focused on one subset of entrepreneurs鈥攖he elite. He argued that this poses a risk for overgeneralization of entrepreneurial experiences and fails to capture the entire entrepreneurial landscape. He concluded by encouraging scholars and practitioners to broaden their scope and become experts on all entrepreneurs, not just the most visible few.
The conference also gave stage to Marika Galea, a jazz musician who shared her experiences navigating the music industry through the lens of everyday entrepreneurship. Her perspective offered a refreshing counterpoint to the traditional business narratives, illustrating the diverse nature of entrepreneurial experiences.
During the Q&A, an audience member asked how she defines success in such a competitive field, a question that prompted her to rethink what success truly means. Galea explained that, in her world, success isn鈥檛 measured by monetary gain or Spotify streams, but by creating high-quality music that allows her to express herself and her creativity.
As discussions and presentations unfolded throughout the two-day conference, one message became clear: Entrepreneurship goes far beyond Silicon Valley鈥檚 elites鈥攊t lives in communities, creatives and everyday innovators around the world.
The MCEE marked an important step in expanding how entrepreneurship is studied and practiced. It served as a reminder that entrepreneurship is not reserved for a select few, but is woven into the everyday work of people everywhere.
Special thanks to the conference organizers, Roman Galperin, Rob Nason, and Katrin Tinn, for their leadership and dedication in bringing the MCEE to life.
Entrepreneurship & Innovation Initiative
Our mission is to equip the Desautels and 黑料社 community with the mindset and methods to innovate better through action-oriented learning and research. We will do this by fostering community, inspiring action, and creating practices to unleash the innovative potential of all members and stakeholders.
Integrated Management Student Fellowship
IMSF is an experiential leadership development opportunity offered through the BCom program designed for undergraduate students seeking to create real-world impact. The IMSF allows students the unique chance to work on research with 黑料社 professors while building their own community project related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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