Megan Henning loves to see ideas turn into action.
As manager of the University of Georgia Entrepreneurship Program, she gets to do just that each day.
“I love the energy and the pivots and the back and forth of coming up with new ideas,” she said.
Henning earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Terry College of Business in the early 1990s and then took part in a retail management program, leading the women’s shoes, cosmetics and women’s fashion areas for Parisian. Eventually, she and her husband decided to leave Atlanta and return to Athens, and she took a position as marketing director for Downtown Athens, which she held for 14 years.
In that position, Henning worked with many local entrepreneurial businesses and helped launch the first Downtown Athens website and the Downtown Athens gift certificate program, an early version of e-commerce for downtown businesses. She then moved on to a role in hotel and event sales that enhanced her relationship with UGA. When she heard about a position with the Entrepreneurship Program, she knew it’d be a good fit, and she’s been in her current role for nine years.
“It’s so exciting to be part of a program that has seen unbelievable growth,” she said.
When Henning started working with the Entrepreneurship Program, it consisted of an undergraduate certificate program, a graduate certificate program and pitch competitions. Now, the program includes an entrepreneurship study abroad, the Kickstart Fund for students, accelerator programs, the Launch Pad Living Learning Community for first-year students and the Georgia Bulldog Angel Network, which are monthly meetings where UGA student and alumni businesses can present or pitch to a group of angel investors, mentors and advisers.
“It starts shaping the entrepreneurial mindset for students, which is truly what it’s about,” she said.
The goal of the program, Henning said, is to connect people from across campus who are interested in starting a business. Some students come with an idea for a business and are looking for more information on how to start it. Others lean toward the certificate programs because they are interested in the academics. And others may simply be interested in maximizing potential connections to funding. Henning helps make all of that happen.
Promoting, recruiting and strategizing are all part of Henning’s role. On any given day, she might be tabling across campus, then working on events at Studio 225, then responding to inquiries and applications. She keeps the pipeline flowing with new program participants and the donors and alumni who support them. Most importantly, she creates opportunities for connection, whether that is finalizing details for a pitch competition that brings together student entrepreneurs and investors or creating a watch party where students can gather for inspiration when program alumni appear on national shows.
“It’s very motivating to see people turning their ideas into action and having the confidence to move forward with that,” she said.
Henning finds the students’ entrepreneurial spirit energizing, and she knows they are learning lessons that will take them far beyond business. They’re finding ways to work together, building resilience and beginning to understand that businesses might fail, but people don’t.
“The students are what make it magic,” she said. “That’s where it all comes to life.”
Even outside of work, Henning continues to bring people together. She loves planning events for friends and family, particularly during football season. She also enjoys traveling and cooking and still keeps up with the latest footwear fashions.
And Henning knows that the things people enjoy doing can lead to more.
“I want this to be an opportunity to get someone involved in the program who didn’t realize that their hobbies can be more than hobbies,” she said.