Staff Spotlight: Hustle Program Lead John Sandor
My first year at UVA I joined Hustle acting on what was at the time a small interest in entrepreneurship. Halfway through the course, I partnered with Bilt to host a survivor hour for charity. We raised $200 for feeding America. It was a small project, but it was fun to make something happen and get people excited about it. I never expected that that experience would lead me down the path I’m on now.
While I was still in the course, I began talking to my sister, an artist, about taking some of the patterns she’s working on and creating a small business around it. For the last year or so, we have been making this idea a reality, selling wallpaper and textiles around Charlottesville and getting valuable experience in skills such as photography, branding, web design, and sales. Hustle helped me to see opportunities around me and resources I already have access to. Since then, I have run small ventures such as a small burrito delivery company making up to $200 profit every Wednesday by the time we had proven the concept.
Reluctant to leave the budding community of entrepreneurs that Hustle attracts, I decided to assist my program lead, TJ, in teaching the course last semester. Remembering how neutral I was coming in to Hackcville, I still find it remarkable how it has become the one organization that I can say defines my time at UVA in the best way possible. This semester, I couldn’t be any more excited to be leading the newly revamped Hustle course! Coming out of this course you will have the skills, confidence, and experience to expand your engagement any community–whether that be from seeing opportunities everywhere you go or diving into starting a venture.
In Hustle, our entrepreneurship course, You’ll learn the end-to-end process of starting a business. You’ll pick up hard skills such as sales, marketing, and branding, in addition to entrepreneurial thinking and an expanded network of resources. After this course, you’ll have the skills and experience needed to launch your next venture — and any profits from the business you’ve already started. Learn more and register here.
