TAMPA, Fla. — The entrepreneurial spirit continues to thrive at the University of Tampa. 

A report from the Princeton Review says UT is the top school in the south for its undergrad entrepreneurship program and in the top 15 for the entire country.

What You Need To Know

  • Princeton Review ranks the University of Tampa the #1 program in the south for entrepreneurship

  • Nationally, the rankings have UT at #15 for its undergraduate program

  • One of the businesses that was cultivated through the program, Rush Power, says UT was able to help them further develop their idea

The creator of Rush Power, one of the businesses cultivated through the program, said UT was able to help them further develop their idea.

Though the gummy candies sitting on the table of the UT Entrepreneurship Center looks like they were relatively simple to make, it was quite the process for Morgan Bierbrunner.

“We originally started making these out of our kitchen, and it was a mess,” she said.

Tinkering with recipes and formulas was the center of focus for the 22-year-old while she was in school at the University of Tampa, but this candy isn’t just for someone with a sweet tooth.

“It kind of just came to my head one day, popped out,” Bierbrunner said. “I was like, 'I really hate pre-workout.' And I was like, pre-workout gummies and that was it.”

These gummies are for fitness fans like Bierbrunner who want to use some supplements to help with their workouts and their workout recoveries.

She, along with co-founder Isbella Dillio, came up with their business Rush Power while they were undergrads.

But what pushed them even further to solidify their business and branding was being part of the accelerator entrepreneurship program at UT.

“It's just such a good center,” Bierbrunner said. “The mentors are awesome. They really try to help out students here develop a business plan, get your foot in the door and everything.”

The program is gaining national notoriety.

The Princeton Review came out with its 2024 rankings for top programs in the country for entrepreneurs and Tampa ranked No. 1 in the south and No. 15 in the country which came as a surprise to Bierbrunner.

“I mean, I knew our entrepreneurship program was good. I didn’t know how good, to be honest with you,” she said.

Bierbrunner said excelling in this program kind of came as a surprise.

She originally went to UT as a biology major and switched to entrepreneurship without even knowing the school had such a strong program.

“It was really just like a leap of faith,” she said. “It was like God telling me, 'Yes, this is exactly where you're supposed to be.'”

But now, that surprise is long gone, and Rush Power and its founders have succeeded in pitch competitions, and they’ve solidified their formula and plan to release it to the public by the end of the year.

In the meantime, Bierbrunner hopes to continue to build up this brand with the help of the program that’s leading the way in building up entrepreneurs.

Bierbrunner said she and Dillio plan to spend the next year focusing on Rush Power to see if they can get more funding and investments.