The co-founder of an organization that raises money and provides bikes to children around the world will speak at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday in the Hunter Welcome Center to begin The Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy’s Entrepreneur Speaker Series.
Dan Austin, co-founder of 88Bikes, and his team, Nicolas Arauz and Jared Austin, began this mission by giving 88 bikes to kids at an orphanage in Cambodia. According to the 88Bikes website, this organization has given out more than 2000 bikes since its start in 2006. Austin has focused his entrepreneurship on  “joy-based philanthropy,” said Aubrey Kunkle, assistant director of the Griggs Center. This fits in with the Griggs Center’s philosophy of entrepreneurship going hand-in-hand with philanthropy.
The Entrepreneur Speaker Series allows students to hear from and interact with successful entrepreneurs in the world today. Students who attend this event and the others in the series can expect to learn more about how to make an idea turn into an actual business model. Members of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization will get to make personal connections with faculty, staff, community members and the speaker.
Other speakers in the series include Jarrod Brown, Ryan Dunagan, Chris Westfall, Cade Thompson, Darbie Angell and April Anthony. The Griggs Center is focusing on inviting speakers with “quite a bit of variety as far as age and what they’re doing,” Kunkle said. This variety means the series will interest a wide group of students.
The focus of this series reaches farther than entrepreneurship and business, she said.
“As part of ACU’s mission we are striving to enable people to serve throughout the world,” said Kunkle. The speakers lined up for this series are real life examples of how to give back to the world. Students can take away the lesson that a career can be beneficial to society.
The Griggs Center was founded by Jack Griggs, former professor of business and member of the Board of Trustees. While most of this series is open only to members of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization, the first event will be open to all students. Other events hosted by the Griggs Center include the upcoming Elevator Pitch.
Students can register for a free ticket and find a full schedule of events at www.acu.edu/academics/coba/griggscenter/.
