Meet Sarah Spitsen, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship @ Nebraska Wesleyan University

Wesleyan launched its innovation and entrepreneurship degree program in 2024. 

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur or support other entrepreneurs?

I was one of the many accidental entrepreneurs. I studied psychology for my undergraduate degree, set on being a psychologist. It wasn’t until the very end of my program that I realized: I loved learning about psychology — drained by practicing it. 

Thanks to a college hobby, I’d learned how to make candles. I thought to myself: “How hard could it be to open and run a candle store?” Thankfully, I was young and stubborn enough to assume it was easy — and my first business was born. 

Quickly, I came to find just how difficult it was. However, even with all the difficulty, I deeply loved it. It was my first business, but it wasn’t my last. Through failures and success, I’ve now had five under my belt (two that I still run). Every piece of entrepreneurship — from the toughness to creativity to the community — has become a part of who I am and where I thrive. 

I choose to help others in the community because I know how revolutionary it can be to find your place, and I am grateful that I get to grow alongside other amazing entrepreneurs on their journey. 

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to when you were just starting out?

Take your time up front. Most people get so wrapped up in the “Ooo, what if?” phase of problem solving that they fall in love with an exciting solution but not the problem, or the people who experience the problem. I was no different in my early days. 

Taking time to stay empathetic and putting yourself in a position to deeply understand the people needing your solution keeps you flexible, humble and, most importantly, focused on the people. At the end of the day, if we’re not taking the time to do that, we’re just a flash in the pan.

How do you stay motivated when things feel overwhelming — or stagnant?

When things become overwhelming, I tend to turn inward and reflect on what I’ve already overcome. That reflection grounds me and reminds me that I have real proof I can do hard things, even when they feel insurmountable.

Once I feel like I have my feet under me again, I start to systematically break the problem down — identifying which pieces I feel confident tackling and where I feel a little less steady. When I layer a system over the overwhelming parts, it creates space to build a team and bring in the right people with the right skills to start chipping away at the issue.

Working this way, the sense of overwhelm tends to fade pretty quickly. And what’s left is, at minimum, a clear first step forward.

I’m also much more comfortable taking my time than I used to be. Ironically, I’ve found that when I give myself permission to slow down, I usually move through problems faster than when I try to push through overwhelmed.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge I’ve faced wasn’t financial hardship or living out of my car (which have both happened) — it was learning what to do when an organization I founded was no longer a fit.

I spent years building a company, but eventually internal dynamics within the team became unhealthy in ways that no longer aligned with who I wanted to be as a leader. I reached a point where I had to decide whether to stay in something that looked successful on paper or walk away and rebuild my career with integrity.

Choosing to leave was difficult and humbling, but it fundamentally reshaped how I define success. That experience now guides how I mentor entrepreneurs, build programs and create environments where people can do their best work.

How can the Nebraska community support you?

More conversations. I find each time I engage in a conversation with a creator, builder, innovator or entrepreneur, I leave feeling like I’ve both given value and gained it. There is always something good that comes from conversations between creators, and I feel so lucky to be in a place where I cross paths with some phenomenal creators. 

I need no agenda, but if you are a creator, builder, innovator or entrepreneur, I would love to sit down for a conversation and see where we can empower the work we’re each doing.