Daniel Bloomfield ’26, founder of Sportifi, with his mother Dawn Bloomfield at the 2026 Eckerd College Commencement. Photo by Lisa Presnail.
Six ambitious Eckerd College student entrepreneurs delivered four engaging pitches and fielded tough questions from the audience during the final session of this spring’s Venture Creation course.
The businesses ranged from sporting apparel to time management resources, with a splash of alcohol thrown in as well. The prospective businesses were presented as investment opportunities in a pitch session at the end of the spring semester.
Senior Daniel Bloomfield came into the class ahead of the game. His company, Sportifi, has already launched a line of athletic grip socks and workout shirts. Despite his advanced business acumen, the marketing and international business student from Port St. Lucie, Florida, saw great value in the class to learn more about brand building. His business concept was born from his knowledge of the high cost of similar products his men’s soccer teammates were using, but he soon realized how much more was involved in growing a business.
“When you start a business, you’re just learning every day,” Daniel says. “I learned so much from the class, every class I learned something new, like from the legal side of it, or knowing what it was like to meet people and grow the relationships that can help grow your business. It’s even just as simple as what it means to be a small business owner and understanding the ups and downs that come with it.
Nate Hilton’s pitch for Boozy Boys wasn’t his first foray into the beverage industry, as he currently operates Boba Bros alongside co-founder Gavin Stella (right). Photo by Ryan McCormick ’27.
Jennifer Knippen, Ph.D., associate professor of management, has built a network of current business leaders and retirees, including Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College members, who help educate and mentor students. The class also conducts a series of site visits to local businesses to meet with founders and learn about the challenges new businesses face as they get off the ground. The connections students make are invaluable, not just from the guidance they share but also in helping students expand their own networks.
Daniel Bloomfield ’26 presented his business idea at Delta Sigma Pi’s pitch event and got good responses. Photo courtesy of Daniel Bloomfield ’26.
“I think Professor Knippen’s teaching style is one of the best I’ve had at Eckerd, and the structure of the course is even better,” says Daniel. “The course content, the trips off campus, getting to meet real St. Pete area business owners, that was all amazingly impactful for myself and our class.”
“We have some longstanding relationships,” says Knippen. “Every year we go to Green Bench (Brewing Company) and meet with one of the co-founders, Nathan Stonecipher, and they’ve proven to be a great example as the first microbrewery in the St. Pete area. They had to go through all the zoning challenges that go with being the first. He is always very candid with the students about the challenges and changes and how they’ve grown from year to year.”
Daniel is also quick to point out that the Venture Creation students learn extensively from each other.
“Being around so many other business-minded students who have taken that leap as well, like I have, to actually start and manage a business, it was amazing,” says Daniel. “We can bounce ideas off each other, talk about the struggles we’re going through at times, and everybody kind of relates to each other in that way.”
Nate Hilton, a sophomore marine science student from Bend, Oregon, partnered with Ben Goldberg, a junior management student from Potomac, Maryland, to develop Boozy Boys, a food truck concept for mixers blending ice cream and liquor. The idea isn’t Hilton’s or Goldberg’s first foray into the food and beverage industry. Hilton co-founded Boba Bros, an on-campus boba tea shop, while Goldberg is a manager for Glizzy Guys, a late-night food truck that has operated on weekends for about five years.
Venture Creations is the final course in the entrepreneurship minor at Eckerd. Not every student who takes the class is a business major, something Knippen is mindful of in her orchestration of Venture Creations.
Nate Hilton interacts with customers at Boba Bros. Photo by Ryan McCormick ’27.
“I aim to make them think critically about the problem they are trying to address, as well as making sure, regardless of their major, that they feel as though they have the business acumen and the professional skills they would need to clearly present their idea,” says Knippen.
Kenzie Riffel’s venture, Bloom Planners, targeted college students looking to strengthen their time management skills. The junior business administration and marketing student from Papillion, Nebraska, designed a customizable product line that would include physical planners, trendy accessories, and schedule templates adjustable for each new semester’s course load.
Senior management students Addie White from Apex, North Carolina and Laura Levi from D’Iberville, Mississippi, formed an entrepreneurial tandem, developing a venture targeting avid beachgoers. The pair pitched Grounded Towel Co., focusing on entering the market for wind-resistant, sandproof towels.
“One of the things that is so valuable about the class and the environment is the fact that it’s such a small class that we work on building a community of support and developing the resources each of the students needs, wherever they are in their process,” says Knippen.
