When you spark the creativity of an Acadia University student, there’s no telling what may happen, especially when that student has a flair for entrepreneurship.

Alex MacLean ('14), owner of East Coast Lifestyle Clothing Inc. and a full-time marketing student, has been named 2014 Student Entrepreneur Regional Champion for Atlantic Canada. The competition is run by Enactus Canada, the country’s largest student leadership development organization, and supported by the John Dobson Foundation. National championships will be held in Calgary on April 28–30, 2014.

What began as a sale of 30 hoodies for a class project has gone viral. The East Coast Lifestyle Facebook page has more than 100,000 likes. In only one year, the business has sold more than 150,000 sweatshirts, T-shirts, tank tops and accessories, all bearing the East Coast Lifestyle logo.

A life-changing class

MacLean’s life changed when he took Dr. Michael Sheppard’s Venture Creation course last year. Although he had begun his studies in biology, MacLean switched to marketing when a battery of aptitude tests revealed that his future lay in working with people, not science. After trying a few different courses to keep his options open, he discovered courses in entrepreneurship.

“I very quickly fell in love with entrepreneurship and started taking all the courses that Acadia had to offer,” MacLean says. “And then in February of 2013, I took Venture Creation, which is a very small classroom-oriented course. I took the class mainly because I wanted to do an invention. I had no ideas when I first took the course, but it was a brainstorming class.”

The course had only eight students, each of whom received individual attention and support.

Venture Creation is part of the F.C. Manning School of Business’s new Entrepreneurship and Innovation major in its BBA program. “Venture Creation is the capstone course in that major,” Sheppard says. “The goal of this course is really to get students building on an idea and taking that idea out to the market, which is exactly what Alex did.”

Students initially look at creativity and how to take ideas and convert them into designs. “The students enjoy that one,” Sheppard adds. “And then we think about turning their ideas into opportunities.”

Students are expected to come up with a product and get real customer feedback on it. “Alex actually achieved this within the space of the term,” Sheppard says. “He went from idea to minimum viable product to actual paying customers within a few months, which was amazing.”

MacLean credits Sheppard with helping to get the business going. “Dr. Sheppard was a great help for the brand very early on,” he says. “I went to him for advice in the early start-up before the clothing was a big hit. He really helped me get the ball rolling.”

Built into MacLean’s business model was that the company would be a social venture and give back to the community. It has donated T-shirts to homeless shelters in Halifax and supported Acadia’s SMILE program, which fosters motor development in kids with special needs.

The social side of the business also attracted interest and helped kick it off, drawing support from such celebrities as Sidney Crosby.

The clothing line is available on the company’s website and through Pseudio Clothing Company’s 25 retail outlets in Atlantic Canada.

“It’s a great opportunity.”

Despite having to juggle a full course load and manage the business, MacLean plans to graduate this May.

“I really think that Acadia is unique,” he says. “You can go to Acadia and make 300 connections that you’ll have your whole life, because you’re in small classroom settings and you get to know everyone in your class. You not only graduate from Acadia with a great degree, but you also build a great connections group. It’s a great opportunity.”

MacLean and his team are now working to grow the East Coast Lifestyle brand. This summer they’ll be touring Atlantic Canada and New England. “My goal is to get Nova Scotia and this clothing line known all across North America,” he says.

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Watch AcadiaTV feature on Alex MacLean. Learn more.