Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A senior marketing major in Mississippi State’s College of Business is one of only 23 students across the U.S. selected to participate in the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council’s 2019 Student Entrepreneur Program.
Co-founder of Rocketing Media LLC in Starkville, Shelby B. Baldwin of Ridgeland is the only Mississippi student and one of two representing the Southeastern Conference in this year’s program. A digital marketing and e-commerce consulting agency, Rocketing Media LLC offers individuals and businesses a variety of services, including social marketing, branding, online strategy, advertising and e-commerce solutions. For more, visit www.rocketingmedia.com.
Based in Washington, D.C., WBENC is the largest certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S. and a leading advocate for women business owners and entrepreneurs. Through support of title sponsors FedEx and Allstate Insurance Co., the council’s Student Entrepreneurship Program fosters growth for the next generation of women-owned businesses through a tailored curriculum and mentoring from certified women-owned businesses and Fortune 500 companies.
According to the WBENC, there are 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. as of 2018. In 1972, there were 402,000 women-owned businesses, representing 4.6 percent of all firms.
Baldwin is participating in a series of entrepreneurial webinars leading up to the WBENC National Conference and Business Fair taking place June 25-27 in Baltimore, Maryland. At the conference, she and other students will take part in a live pitch competition for $20,000 in seed capital, with $10,000 being awarded to first place, $6,000 for second place and $4,000 for third place. They also will have opportunities for experiential learning through off-site visits to WBE, corporate campuses and accelerators.
After the program, Baldwin will join a network of nearly 200 students from more than 80 colleges and universities across the country who have graduated from SEP.
A third-generation Bulldog, Baldwin has enjoyed an active undergraduate experience at MSU. She has held various leadership positions, including executive director of the university’s New Maroon Camp, as well as president and vice president of the Undergraduate Women in Business organization, which she co-founded in 2017. She also was selected to serve as Miss MSU in 2018.
For more on the WBENC Student Entrepreneur Program, visit www.wbenc.org/SEP.
Founded in 1915, MSU’s nationally accredited College of Business is the oldest in Mississippi and among the oldest in the Southeastern Conference. For more, visit www.business.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.