Entrepreneurship PhD Student Named Finalist in International “Shark Tank" Competition

The International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA) “Shark Tank” competition named Florida Atlantic’s Megan Harper, a first-year student in the College of Business’ Entrepreneurship PhD Program, as a finalist this summer.

Harper advanced from her semi-final round, where doctoral students presented research ideas to a panel of leading international scholars. Harper, the only Ph.D. student from an American university in the competition, presented an IFERA Summer School project that combined her hands-on experience in her family’s restaurant with her academic focus on family business research. Her success earned her a spot in the finals, held at IFERA’s annual conference in Zagreb, Croatia.

“In addition to her competition at IFERA, we are very proud of what Megan has accomplished in her first year in the Entrepreneurship PhD Program,” said Roland Kidwell, Ph.D., Desantis Distinguished Professor of Management/Entrepreneurship. “She brings a strong work ethic, years of practical experience in a family-owned restaurant, and a passion for family business academic research. All of these elements make our program stronger and more diverse in terms of our students’ interest in different aspects of entrepreneurship.”

Ethlyn Williams, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Management Programs, added: “Megan is completing her first year in the PhD program in Entrepreneurship, and we are proud of the way that she was able to represent FAU in the recent IFERA competition. Developing students’ academic credentials is a main goal of the program, and this type of exposure provides invaluable experiential development and networking opportunities.”

Harper’s presentation in the finale featured the early stages of a research project with Dr. Kidwell exploring executive compensation decision-making within family firms. Advancing to the finals gave her the chance to travel and present before a crowd and a panel of three “sharks,” who are leading scholars in the family business field, each with more than 20,000 academic citations.

For Harper, the competition was the culmination of a Family Business Research Methods course she took last spring alongside her FAU PhD coursework. “As I am interested in researching family firms and the dynamics that occur within the family, this course helped provide me with a more in-depth understanding of the research process: how to pose interesting questions, collect data and make connections with family firms, and properly analyze data. It also provided tips on getting your research out into the world for both theoretical and practical contributions,” she said.

“While I did not win, I received great feedback on our research and how to continue to improve the data analysis we are doing,” Harper said. “This additional course, the conference, and ‘Shark Tank’ experience enhanced my methodological skills, which is a major part of this PhD experience to continue to add to the world of entrepreneurship research and practice.”

Harper hopes to co-author a paper on the project within the coming academic year, further adding to her success and to FAU’s reputation as a leader in entrepreneurship and family business research.

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