At the Hen Hatch 2023 event, a gathering of outstanding young entrepreneurs demonstrated their dedication and willingness to put in the work to compete for funding based on their ventures. Amongst the other entrepreneurs participating in the innovation showcase and the finalist round, Samantha McGhee shined bright. She was able to pitch Miss Boulevard with grace and charisma that engaged the crowd and judges. Landing her some crucial funding for her entrepreneurial journey.
Samantha McGhee is a junior double majoring in Entrepreneurship and Fashion Merchandising, and she is the founder of Miss Boulevard, a loungewear brand centered on self expression. Though she is known for this specific venture, there is so much more to Samantha professionally and personally. She is an ambitious and bright young creator with passion radiating into everything she works on. Through this Q&A, we were able to learn more about her and what she is all about.
Horn: How did Miss Boulevard come to be?
Samantha: So Miss Boulevard started during COVID when I was bored. I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but didn't know how to exactly start. So with my boredom, I began realizing what I was actually passionate about as I was entering college. So I wrote down a list of everything that I loved, which included fashion, design, creativity, having my own business, and more. Eventually that brought me to my loungewear brand. I began coming up with designs, ordering T-shirts, sweatshirts, things like that, and then eventually started heat pressing them to create the garment. Later on I started creating my own website, and selling clothes online through my Shopify website, as well as marketing on social media.
Horn: What has being a CEO taught you about yourself?
Samantha: I would say it's taught me a lot of self initiative and productivity. As well as time management, I feel that before starting my own brand, I never really knew what to do or how to begin. But after starting my own business, I found that in life there is always something that you could be doing. So I decided to take more initiative and time block to really make my day efficient and be productive.
Horn: Tell us about some of your extracurricular roles?
Samantha: It's probably a very long list. Aside from being the founder of Miss Boulevard, I am part of Horn’s student experience team as a lead ambassador, a Siegfried Fellow, a concierge at a retirement home, and a previous member and merchandise chair for the business fraternity, Phi Chi Theta. For Horn, I have been very active within horn entrepreneurship since I joined as a freshman. My role started on the student experience team, where I was actively planning various events and community building things around the VDC as well as just helping with anything. Anything in general. My position has really taught me a lot and it has pushed me into being a part of more programs because I felt that I couldn't just work here, I should be able to participate in all the programs. So I joined Entrepreneurship Club, VDC community sessions, Venture On, and then as of recently I've just completed summer founders program. Next as a concierge throughout high school, I was working a lot with the seniors there and I absolutely love that job. I was a customer service agent and sat at the front desk. I distribute packages to them, have people check in every morning, call someone incase of emergencies, make sure that all the garages were open so people could exit the facility if they needed to, things like that. I still work there every now and then part time. I just love interacting with them, they are some of the sweetest people ever. Lastly, during my time at Phi Chi Theta, as the merchandise chair, I was able to create their merchandise and make sure that it was distributed. I made their rush merch during recruitment. They actually came to me and asked me to apply for the position because of my knowledge of clothing and the fact that I had my own business. And then I actually went through with the application and pitched my skills to get the job.
Horn: What was your Hen Hatch experience like?
Samantha: My experience was kind of on a whim. When I came in as a freshman I could have never seen myself doing that, it seemed so scary and out of my comfort zone. But then as I grew older, and learned more about entrepreneurship through participation, I got that boost of confidence I needed to participate, I got lots of guidance and advice from close friends in Horn and also some faculty. After that whole process I got up there the day of and I pitched very well and I was able to answer all the questions. I think I wouldn't have had such a great experience, if I didn't participate with all those programs and meet with all the faculty that I did. If I didn't have that great of a relationship with them, it probably would have been a different story. Now looking back on it, I'm glad I did it, because it really gave me validation that I am worthy of being up there along with all those other Horn students who have done it in the past. When I was a freshman I was so inspired by them. Going through summer founders also really helped me with my Hen Hatch pitch, because I polished my presentation and knew it so well from presenting all the time
Horn: What are some of your personal goals at UD and also some goals for Miss Boulevard?
Samantha: My personal goals at the moment are trying to figure out what's most important to me, and what I see myself doing post college. Right now I'm actually in the early stages of another venture and am doing a lot of research on it now. I'm actually very interested in doing event planning, for fashion shows, the Met Gala, and red carpet events.. Even a wedding or a corporate event too. But that's definitely where I see myself after college, working those types of events. So that's a really big personal goal of mine. For Miss Boulevard, I would say to allow myself to keep growing it when I see fit. When I see an opportunity, I will take advantage of it. As of right now, Miss Boulevard may be a hobby for me, not so much of a business venture anymore. I could better use my time in my new startup. Lastly, for the rest of my time at UD, I am making an effort to have fun. When I was a freshman, I didn’t really allow myself to have fun because I was constantly in work mode. So for my senior year coming up it's my time to just relax and enjoy my last year. Also I want to keep on encouraging, inspiring and educating those who step into the VDC or all around campus about entrepreneurship and Horn.
About Horn Entrepreneurship
Horn Entrepreneurship serves as the creative engine for entrepreneurship education and advancement at the University of Delaware. Currently ranked among the best entrepreneurship programs in the US, Horn Entrepreneurship was built and is actively supported by successful entrepreneurs, empowering aspiring innovators as they pursue new ideas for a better world.