Nicole Sullivan, Founder and Chief Manufacturer of Keppel & Kismet
Loyola University Maryland’s Simon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has awarded Keppel & Kismet a $20,000 investment from the Loyola Angel Fund. Keppel & Kismet is a Baltimore startup that manufactures and selects premium, small-batch corporate and personal gifts.
Loyola will establish the Loyola Angel Fund, a $250,000 philanthropic fund, in 2021 to provide students with knowledge and experience in angel investing and support under-resourced local entrepreneurs, especially those based in Baltimore. Supported businesses run by minorities and women.
The investments follow recommendations made by students in Loyola’s Applied Angel Investing class. This class is a hands-on, interdisciplinary course in which students attend pitch meetings and analyze companies. They learn the history of early stage investing. Entrepreneurship and social inequality in Baltimore. Concepts and vocabulary in fund formation and investment vehicles. Risk management in financing and decision-making processes. and evaluation model.
“Students in this interdisciplinary elective are greatly influenced by the opportunity to make real-world financial decisions that can impact the trajectory of startups in Baltimore, and some students are in venture capital. “It solidified my interest in pursuing a career in the field and introducing new career paths,” said Simon Center. Wendy Bolger, founding director of For Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “We hope that what the students learn in class will help change the future of investors and ultimately the recipients of investments in this country.”
Loyola University Maryland’s Selinger School of Business and Management in Baltimore offers internationally recognized Jesuit business education. Recognized for its tradition of scholarship, ethical leadership, and excellence, the Sellinger School offers eight undergraduate majors and 11 minors, as well as a wide range of popular areas of study, including full-time, part-time, and fully online MBAs. We offer and accounting master’s programs.
