We have Selected a Recipient of the Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship!

Vikingmergers

We have Selected a Recipient of the Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship!

Congratulations to Gabriel Kauper of Capella University!

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As a team of entrepreneurs, we believe in fostering the new generation of small business leaders. Small businesses truly are the backbone of America and in an effort to cultivate the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, we created the Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship. Established in August 2015, the Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship aims to assist young leaders in their journey towards entrepreneurship. We hope to offset the costs of education while fostering a community of inventive, enthusiastic millennial entrepreneurs.

Selection of the recipient has been difficult. With so many creative thinkers and innovators out there, we enjoyed reviewing applications that offered a glimpse into what the future of small business looks like. We want to take this opportunity to thank our applicants for taking the time to apply and applaud you on your work ethic, talent and dedication.

After reviewing dozens of extraordinary applications, we are excited to announce the official winner of the Spring 2017 Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship: Gabriel Kauper!

Gabriel is currently earning his PhD in Business Management at Capella University, which is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Gabriel sees business as a transformative force for good, which is why he’s majoring in Business Strategy and Innovation. He believes that entrepreneurs are vital to creating shared prosperity in our country and world. He believes that entrepreneurs of the future must generate financial and social value in their work – to expand the pie and enable others to succeed.

Our scholarship essay asked applicants: If you could start a company or business with a celebrity (dead or alive), whom would it be and why? Also, what type of company or business would you start with that celebrity and why?

 Here are the opening lines of Gabriel’s winning essay:

“Benjamin Franklin and I would found a strategy consultancy together. Our specialties would include the advanced science of advertising. Why Benjamin Franklin? Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father of America; without him, it’s unlikely this scholarship would even exist. He was a political powerhouse and a polymath: inventor, statesman, diplomat, scientist, and businessman. He was an author and printer whose innovative forms of advertising his ideas made the vision of America a reality. Imagine if he was your advisor; imagine what you could accomplish.”

Gabriel sees education as a way to open new doors and become his own boss. His goals include becoming a strategy consultant, author, professor and advisor to companies and non-profits. When asked about entrepreneurs, he said: “Sometimes, when something doesn’t exist, you have to create it. To me, that’s what an entrepreneur does. It takes hard work, grit, and often luck. And it doesn’t always work – like if the timing isn’t there – but you don’t give up. Later, when you do succeed, I believe that we have a responsibility to pay it forward.”

“We are happy to be able to assist a young entrepreneur in pursuing their dreams,” says Jay Offerdahl, President of Viking Mergers & Acquisitions. “Small business is not easy, but it’s worth it, and we are excited to see what the future of small business looks like,” Jay continues. Viking Mergers & Acquisitions offers the Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship on a bi-annual basis and encourages millennial entrepreneurs to apply for the upcoming Fall 2017 semester. Congratulations again to Gabriel Kauper and best of luck to all future applicants!

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