Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence Celebrates 10 Years of Connecting Regional Businesses with University Contracting and Purchasing Opportunities
Nearly 100 small business owners from across Western Pennsylvania filled the O’Hara Student Center ballroom to hear from departmental leaders across the university – from athletics, to foodservice, IT, planning, design, and construction, University Stores and more to learn about opportunities to become Pitt vendors and suppliers at the 10th Annual Doing Business With Pitt event hosted by the Institute of Entrepreneurial Excellence, Small Business Development Center (part of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship).
About a third of the attendees raised their hands when asked if they had been a Pitt vendor in the past or currently. And several in the audience had previously been participants in IEE educational programming.
Nicole Hudson, director of strategic connections and opportunities at the IEE, said the Doing Business With Pitt event expanded in 2026 to not only highlight the nearly $600 million in local business opportunities at Pitt, but also to provide access to regional government and nonprofit business support agencies, such as the federal U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), as well as planning and economic development officials from the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and the IEE’s own Small Business Development Center (SBDC), to name a few.
Small Business Participation is Possible at Pitt
Jennifer Barnes from the university’s strategic sourcing procurement team, who works to increase the level of goods and services provided by local suppliers, told the attendees that she is the first stop for regional businesses seeking to do business with Pitt.
She said that large, multi-year contracts that typically last 3-5 years and involve a competitive bid process often include smaller opportunities for local businesses to participate. She added that departmental-level contracts below the $15,000 threshold are also available.
She directed attendees to keep an eye on upcoming solicitations on the university’s “Purchase, Pay, and Travel” Website.
Bri Fields, assistant athletic director for business and finance, informed the audience that Pitt athletics is being creative in forming partnerships with regional businesses to support athletes who can now pursue endorsement opportunities via the Name, Image, and Likeness rules adopted by the NCAA.
“We are trying to think of things we have never thought of before or haven’t been able to do in the past,” Fields said.
The event included a keynote from Gina Bleck, Pitt’s vice chancellor for planning, design and construction, who outlined several upcoming capital improvement projects under the Campus Master Plan over the next several years that present opportunities for local businesses, including the Posvar Gateway project, Barco Plaza improvements to make the heavily trafficked bus stop safer and more pedestrian friendly, a re-imagining of the Litchfield Plaza on Fifth Avenue to add greenspace and seating while improving accessibility, and a project to connect Thackeray Hall, the Gardner Steel and Student Success Center buildings on O’Hara Street to form a new Collaboration Hub.
P.J. Dick, the general contractor on the recently announced new first-year residence hall to be built at Fifth and Ruskin avenues, was also available at the event to discuss subcontracting opportunities.
Mary McKinney Flaherty, the City of Pittsburgh’s deputy director of economic development, spoke on new city initiatives to streamline permitting and zoning, touted a new forgivable loan program, and a $500,000 business façade improvement program.
She also thanked the University for it recent commitment of $5 million over five years to support neighborhood parks, the Main and Main neighborhood business corridor program, and public safety initiatives.
A Morning Well Spent
Rissa Witul of Heeter Printing, a Canonsburg-based printing company and IEE member company that has done business with Pitt in the past, graduated last year from the IEE’s Entrepreneurial Fellows Class program, which helped earn her a promotion into a sales role at the company.
“Entrepreneurial Fellows helped give me a better understanding of the different parts of the business and a mindfulness of the different factors that contribute to profitability,” she said.
She said she came to Doing Business With Pitt to learn about potential new opportunities for her company in different areas of the university.
Similarly, Andy Chirinos, owner of Dr Freeze Cooling and Heating LLC, who has relied on the SBDC at Pitt to get his business off the ground, was eager to learn how to become a service provider to the university, either directly or as a subcontractor.
Timothy Jones, a graduate of the IEE’s Community Power to Prosper program, said he tries to take advantage of all the opportunities to network that the IEE provides, including the Doing Business with Pitt event.
“That six-month (Community Power to Prosper) program set me up for success,” he said. “The resources from Pitt have been helping me build this company brick-by-brick, user-by-user.”
Jones, whose company Colorful Voices offers wellness training and tools for veterans and stroke survivors and their caregivers, said he rarely misses IEE-sponsored events.
“If you’re not showing up, you’re not showing out,” he said. “Pitt wants to do business with us, and everyone wants to do business together.”
Mia Isbell, another Community Power to Prosper alumna, said she appreciated the opportunity to network and learn more about the resources offered by some of the new participants in this year’s event, including the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the SBA.
Isbell is growing her business, M&M Beauty, which provides training, education and mentorship for people in the beauty industry.
“You never know what valuable connections you will be able to make, and I am grateful for this opportunity to hear more about developments at Pitt.”
Hudson, the event’s organizer, said she received strong feedback from other event attendees who viewed it as an opportunity to build relationships and increase visibility for their businesses.
“ The participation and contributions of University departments, resource partners, and business owners made this year’s event a experience for the business community and the more than 90 entrepreneurs in attendance, highlighting the power of collaboration and the collective commitment to expanding business opportunities across the region,” she said.
