Maija Renko, Ph.D.
Originally from Finland, I am a professor at DePaul University in Chicago, where I serve as the Coleman Chair of Entrepreneurship at the Driehaus College of Business. I joined DePaul in 2019 after twelve years at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
As a researcher and educator, my focus is on how entrepreneurs build financially successful businesses that contribute to positive social change. I shed light on subjects such as crowdfunding strategies, social impact entrepreneurship, inclusive management styles, company values, leadership styles, early-stage startup success, and more, all detailed here.
I have dedicated much of my life to studying and helping entrepreneurs with disabilities and those that have been historically disenfranchised understand their unique strength in the market.
In 2016 I worked with the Disability Studies Scholars, alongside Sarah Parker Harris and Kate Calswell, to establish a Coleman Foundation funded training program (CEED program) for entrepreneurs with disabilities. After CEED, I co-built and co-taught the first UIC-SEA Social Enterprise Certificate Program. Presently, I am a co-principal investigator on a $2.4M grant awarded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) for research on how entrepreneurship can help youth with disabilities.
Teaching Philosophy
Founding a company is one of the most exciting and daunting endeavors a business person can take. Through my instruction, I encourage a deep understanding of the benefits and challenges of being an entrepreneur, and empower my students to believe they can succeed.
I bring “action” and “doing” into my classroom. Students engage in immediate application of the learned principles and tools, often in their own business ideas. By the end of semester, the students have taken the first practical steps towards building their own businesses. In addition to working on their own business ideas, students in my social entrepreneurship classes work on projects for Chicago area social enterprises, helping them tackle key strategic issues by applying lessons learned in our classroom.
Here are readings I recommend for anyone considering the entrepreneurial path:
Recommended Books
Field Involvement
→ Consulting Editor, International Small Business Journal
→ Editor, Journal of Business Venturing
→ Editor, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice
→ Member, Review Boards, Journal of Management, Small Business Economics, and Management Decision
→ Board Member, Social Enterprise Chicago
→ Board Member, National Able Network
→ Creator, UIC - SEA Social Enterprise Certificate Program
→ Adviser, DePaul's NetImpact Student Chapter
→ Board Member, HHPLift
Would you like to get in touch? I can’t wait to hear from you!
