{"id":164767,"date":"2026-08-05T12:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=164767"},"modified":"2026-08-05T12:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:07:16","slug":"endowment-provides-catalyst-for-aspiring-business-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/endowment-provides-catalyst-for-aspiring-business-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Endowment Provides Catalyst for Aspiring Business Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alumna Katherine Avery hopes gift helps motivate student entrepreneurs<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For more than 20 years, the Gillespie Business Model Competition<\/strong> has provided student entrepreneurs at the University of Mississippi<\/strong> with professional feedback, mentoring, and financial capital to pursue their dreams. An Ole Miss alumna hopes to help expand those opportunities with a new endowment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Katherine Avery<\/strong>, a financial services consultant in Houston, Texas<\/strong>, gave $50,000 to establish the Avery Family Entrepreneurship Award Endowment<\/strong> in the School of Business Administration<\/strong><\/a>. The endowment will provide financial awards to students who place in the Gillespie Business Model Competition<\/a> each spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Establishing the endowment is our family’s way of giving the next generation of students the foundation we were fortunate to have,” Avery said. “Entrepreneurship runs deep in our family, as it is how we were raised to see the world, and we hope these awards help students who have that same spirit but need someone to believe in them first.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The possibility of financial incentives helps motivate students for the competition, said Clay Dibrell<\/strong>, professor of management and co-director of the university’s\u00a0Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Money changes behavior,” Dibrell said. “When students know there’s real money on the line through the Avery Family Entrepreneur Award, they refine their business plans more rigorously, do the customer research more seriously, and treat the venture like a business rather than a class project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But what makes the Avery award distinctive is\u00a0what\u00a0it rewards: specifically, collaboration and sustainability. Students competing for the award learn to pull in other students, who may be stronger marketers, coders, or understand finances better, and to think about whether their venture creates lasting value.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even small prizes can provide a crucial edge for budding businesses, Dibrell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’ve seen students go from a rough idea to a functioning company because winning awards like the one endowed by the Avery family through our business venture competitions gives them the runway to figure things out,” he said. “These aren’t just cash checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Avery Family Entrepreneur Award adds something further by telling students that the entrepreneurial spirit is worth recognizing and the one that builds with others and builds to last can succeed. That’s the Avery family legacy, and our students carry it forward.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several students have used the feedback and financial support from the competitions to launch successful businesses. Some notable successes include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n