Alumni Spotlight: Janine DiPaula Stevens, MBA ’01, Sellinger School of Business

Janine DiPaula Stevens, MBA ’01 graduated from Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business in ’01.

DiPaula Stevens started Vircity, a back-office resource center, providing cost-effective solutions to entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations looking for assistance and guidance in establishing and growing their business, in 2005. She sold the company on May 14, 2016.

Since graduation, DiPaula Stevens has started and sold a business, created a caffeinated chewing gum, teaches entrepreneurship, led two professional women’s organizations and became part-owner of a commercial property in Canton all before she turned 40.

DiPaula Stevens recently sat down with members of the Sellinger communications department for an interview. In the interview, she was asked what’s next for her in own business growth:

“I have so many business ideas right now. For starters, there is a product my husband and I developed called Power Play Energy Gum, a caffeinated chewing gum. I would like to get it beyond the internet and into convenience stores. I look at entrepreneurship as an open invitation, a clean slate, to build and create change.”

DiPaula Stevens said that after growing the business, meeting her goals and positioning Vircity for future growth, she’s ready to pursue other opportunities.

“I have a drive to control my own destiny. I guess you could say I just want to do things when I want and how I want. I want to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes and use that information to help other businesses grow.”

DiPaula Stevens told the Sellinger school that she had been growing her business career since she was 12 years old:

“I said yes to any job that came my way and let my mentors push me to gain as much experience as I could in as many fields as possible. Some parents cart their children to sporting activities; mine were constantly taking me to and from work.”

Lastly, DiPaula Stevens gave a little advice to any other prospective MBAs who are looking to be entrepreneurs.

“Life isn’t a dress rehearsal, so sometimes you just have to jump. An entrepreneur needs to be willing to take risks, accept that they will stumble along the way and have the courage to keep going,” she said. “You never know where the next great idea will come from, but it will most probably come from an entrepreneur.”

regions: Baltimore

About the Author