Recent graduate Luisa Santos (C’14), founder of Lulu’s Ice Cream, attributes her success to help from the university’s entrepreneur initiatives.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 LUISA SANTOS (C’14), FOUNDER ofLulu’s Ice Cream, attributes her success as a young entrepreneur to the help of a faculty and alumni network and the university’s entrepreneurial programs.
“My family gives me wonderful support and are my biggest cheerleaders, but for concrete, business-related guidance, I have relied heavily on my Georgetown family,” says the political economy major from Miami.
Lulu’s, which Santos founded nearly a year ago, uses liquid nitrogen to freeze varying flavors of ice cream bases right in front of its customers. She markets flavors such as Nutella, coffee, banana-peanut butter and Bellini at local farmers markets and through her catering arm.
A 2014 graduate, she won theStartup HoyaRocket Pitch challenge last fall during Georgetown Entrepreneurship Day, where she presented a two-minute business pitch to a panel of esteemed alumni, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs for a cash prize of $2,500.
She won first place for a commercial track business, a People’s Choice Award and Student Entrepreneur of the Year during the Hoya Challenge atEntrepreloozalater that spring.
Santos spent this summer working with theSummer Launch Programon strategic planning that she hopes will sustain her ice cream business beyond the summer months.
“Most of the farmers markets run through December, so we’ll definitely close out the season at the markets. We’ll also continue our catering arm,” she explains. “The business will slow down in the winter months. That’s natural. But we are also looking at other cities maybe to expand operations, especially during winter when other cities may be warm.”