Entrepreneurial Alumni

Tara Killmer

Posted 01 October 2016

London Program

August 2014 Intake

Entrepreneur Tara Killmer MAEL (London, August 2014), a graduate of Cleveland State University, OH, completed her MA in Entrepreneurial Leadership in Global Business with Mountbatten in August 2015, and currently works for a media entertainment company specializing in film and television finance, development and production. In addition, Tara has also recently been involved in the launch of a website and social media platform aimed at encouraging female engagement in sports. Here she describes how she has gone about it.

Describe your business and your role within it.
I am in the process of helping launch Sports-ish.com, a website and social media platform that encourages female engagement in Sports through easy to read and entertaining content. My role in the company is the CMO. In addition to creating content, it is my responsibility to determine the best method of growing our following and determining how we can monetize our site.

How did you get into this line of business?
I have always been a huge sports fan. When I returned from London, a friend from high school reached out to see if I could help her with a business she wanted to start, as she knew I just finished up my MA in Entrepreneurial Leadership in Global Business. I went in expecting to offer some suggestions and left a fully committed partner!

How did you go about setting it up and getting established?
I was brought in right after the initial launch so my partner created the concept. My role in the launch has been to utilize social media platforms and targeting athletes/teams that will help us grow as fast as possible. We are very much in what I consider the beta phase and have a long way to go to get to what I view as the established site.

What else is in the pipeline?
We are currently in negotiations to partner with local sports apparel companies to create a line of clothing that woman will want to wear. We are also in the process of looking for other ways to monetize the site through either partnerships or affiliate marketing campaigns. We also have several interviews lined up with professional athletes that will be going live on the site in the next few months.

What has been the proudest moment in your working life thus far?
For me so far just agreeing to take on this project has been a huge step. I am generally very hesitant when making business decisions but this felt right so I went for it.

What has been your biggest mistake/learning experience?
Our biggest challenge so far has been determining the right balance of content to attract our demo market. It has definitely been a learning curve but something I look forward to mastering in the near future.

Any words of advice/wisdom would you impart to others thinking of setting up their own business?
Just do it! It will never be the right time or perfect time to start a business. It’s great to have a plan, but even the best-laid plan will run into problem after problem in a start up. Set up a good outline and learn as you go.

We are always looking for passionate people to help out! If you have a team you love or just love sports in general we’d love to talk to you about posting content! Please reach out! tara.killmer@gmail.com

Website: http://sports-ish.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sportzish
Instagram: @sports_ish
Twitter: @sportsish_