Summer Side Hustle sits between the goal posts of entrepreneurship and education, and Mitchell, who earned his bachelor’s in English and history from Wilfrid Laurier University, has trained over 2000 students to score since 2020. A consultant and coach for 15 years, he began his career as a high school teacher who sought more flexibility than the classroom afforded. Beloit College is one of four colleges and universities currently working with Mitchell’s boutique online education company that specializes in delivering niche training programs for side hustlers. “Side hustling is the onramp. So much of the culture is focused on start-ups and high-growth tech, but that’s a small percentage of student entrepreneurs,” says Mitchell. “There’s a higher percentage of young folks interested who don’t see themselves as founders or business owners, but identify as side hustlers, the soft landing into entrepreneurship.”

When Mitchell reached out to Brian Morello ’85, director of Beloit’s center for entrepreneurship (CELEB), the two saw the opportunity to widen the playing field on campus by adapting Mitchell’s program as part of the college’s career ready initiatives.

“Young adults are start-ups in themselves. They need practice, rehearsals, experiments that go through the steps of finding out what the customer wants and getting used to rejection in a concentrated, manageable, fast way,” said Morello, “With this experience, people will want them on their team.”

Staats was already on a team, playing goalkeeper for Beloit College Buccaneer’s men’s soccer. He set a school record with a nation-leading 152 saves in 2025 and was named All-Midwest Conference (MWC) 1st Team, by leading the MWC in saves for two consecutive seasons. Morello knew Staats from class and his participation as a consultant with the student-led Belmark Associates. Staats signed up for Summer Side Hustle because he recognized it as a way to incorporate his current skills towards a new goal — earning money — while increasing access to skills in the community that shaped his love for the game.

Staats, who’s from Boise, Idaho, initially planned to run one camp in Pocatello, Idaho. But after he met with Mitchell and connected with his local community about the need for specialized instruction, his vision expanded to two camps, multiple age groups, and future add-ons that include one-on-one coaching and small group training with personalized feedback. He quickly learned that success is less about giving your time, and more about not giving up.

“It’s exciting and terrifying to put yourself out there and sell yourself, and there’s a lot of failure, but it’s a refreshing failure,” he says. “Goalkeeper is the most high pressure position in the game. If the other team scores, I don’t get it back. Failure here is not getting a response. I get to try again.”

Mitchell has observed how prevalent entrepreneurship is on campuses today. He is continuously inspired by how dynamic and different college students are as entrepreneurs, building portfolios of work in different forms.

Working with and getting to know Staats impressed upon Mitchell how student-athletes have a foundation for entrepreneurship because they have experienced failure as athletes.

“Human foundational skills are what you need to be successful. Creating a web page for registration or designing a flyer in Canva are skills you can learn quickly. The important skills to succeed in the workforce are harder to build — persistence, resilience, grit, curiosity,” he says. “Student-athletes are used to building a routine and skills and being coached. Athletics might be one of the strongest entry points to entrepreneurship. They have experienced failure and growth in deep ways that others haven’t.”

Mitchell and Staats recognize it takes time to get used to hearing ‘no’ and that each attempt, each conversation illustrates the importance of maintaining connections. Staats’ ability to identify these connections grows with each consulting call with Mitchell, and he is enjoying reaching out to previous coaches, updating people from his past, and discussing future opportunities which includes his own future career goals to be a financial advisor who will be regularly interacting with clients face-to-face.

“The concept of a side hustle demystifies the idea of what it means to be an entrepreneur,” Mitchell says. “Athletes get back up, come back from injuries, overcome challenges on the field, and can use this mindset in this entrepreneurial context. It’s a massive competitive advantage.”

Staats and Mitchell have been meeting since fall 2025 while Staats laid the groundwork in his local community. Staats is currently enrolling youth in the camps in Idaho, and will facilitate them during summer 2026 as Mitchell continues to cheer him on from the sidelines.