As the Launch Pad director, Sam Palmer-Shields strives to ensure that whoever represents the University of Miami’s entrepreneurship hub can communicate the myriad backgrounds and understanding levels of all that’s required to start, build, and scale a startup business.
Palmer-Shields, who described herself as a “human connector,” fits that description to a capital “T.”
Selected as the new director in February, she has fulfilled every imaginable role at The Pad over the past 12 years. Additionally, Palmer-Shields has held multiple roles while working in a range of departments on campus. And, as a seasoned entrepreneur herself, she’s had her share of bumps, bruises, and successes along the path.
“There’s a lot of science that supports the value of dreaming and thinking expansively, but unfortunately for the everyday Joe consumers to understand your innovation, you really have to fine-tune it,” Palmer-Shields said. “Depending on the spaces you’re in, your idea may require a lot of modification.
“So, I spend a lot of time bridging that gap,” she added. “People come here with huge concepts, and I tell them: ‘Don’t stop dreaming and thinking creatively, but if you’re going to apply your innovation in the business world, it’s going to require that you’re more concise.’ ”
While growing up in Miami, Palmer-Shields watched and learned and eventually grafted her entrepreneurial mindset from her father. A mechanic, he ran his own shop since before she was born, working six days a week rain or shine, and continues today. He ran a hotel at one point as well.
“Watching my father gave me a great example of resiliency and goal setting. It was a true representation of what it meant to be committed to something and to always have to redefine your understanding of what’s new or what needs to be changed,” said Palmer-Shields, who often helped her dad with staff-related issues.
She got acclimated to the University early. While in high school, she would visit her sisters, several of whom were either working or studying at the University. She garnered a first internship at the Law School and was hired as a temp worker in the Center for Ethics and Public service in 2009. She so impressed that her supervisor created a position to keep her on after the temp position expired. She worked later in the provost’s office.
While working, she started studies at Miami Dade College but quickly realized that she could learn far more effectively on her own time. She shifted to online studies and earned a B.A. in communications from Southern New Hampshire University and master’s in leadership and management with Western Governors University.
Active in high school fostering entrepreneurial ideas, Palmer-Shields brought that same zeal for organizing to the University. She ran the United Way campaign at the Law School and spread visibility through chili cook-offs, bingo games, and a farmer’s market, among other ventures. She started a group called “Yes to Me Time,” angled at creating more “me time” for women.
“That sparked my love for advocacy for women and creating spaces that are empowering for women,” she said, adding that she felt buoyed by the women on campus who reached out to support her.
“Yes to Me,” which included introducing women entrepreneurs, spurred another venture, “Everything in Me,” geared to self-awareness and wellness for women. Beginning in 2020, Palmer-Shields produced a podcast every week for four years, hosting workshops and inviting special guests.
A pivot to launch her own flower company, where she managed every aspect of the business from design to delivery, taught her valuable lessons.
“I soon realized that the business wanted to scale very quickly, and I wasn’t willing to give up my role here and pursue that,” she said. “It was a great experience to work with product, especially time-sensitive product like flowers – which I love and am a huge fan of today.”
Palmer-Shields got her start at the Launch Pad in 2013 as an administrative assistant. Over the years there, she sought out additional roles and earned multiple promotions.
“It’s been a beautiful roller coaster in the sense that I started at the bottom and made it all the way to the top,” she said. Along that trajectory, Palmer-Shields made it a priority to invest her time and energy not just in the Launch Pad but in the University as a whole, developing relationships with mentors such as Laura Kohn Wood, dean of the School of Education and Human Development, and Ryan Holmes, associate vice president of Student Affairs and dean of students, among others.
“The Launch Pad has been my longest role here at the University, and I’m very passionate about its development and strategy. Many of the outputs, both externally and internally, have my hands in it, and I’m just always trying to make sure that we’re agile and dynamic – because entrepreneurship has changed greatly over these years,” she said.
The Launch Pad serves often as the first step at the University for students, alumni, and faculty and staff members to experience the entrepreneurial sphere.
“I help them with defining who they are as a founder, connecting them to resources, and being that advocate for them in the other spaces they go into,” said Palmer-Shields. “It’s been my favorite part of the job, hands down. When they get it, it gives them a different lens to be able to look at things and to understand and translate that.
What makes for a successful entrepreneur? First and foremost, someone who believes in their innovation or idea, and secondly, defining what success means to you.
“There isn’t a one-size-fits-all when it comes to making a successful entrepreneur, so you have to be ready with tools and resources and pivoting,” said Palmer-Shields. “You have to be very resourceful with a strong belief system, because if you don’t believe in your venture when you encounter those unique twists and turns you have to take in order to accomplish your end goal or your version of success, you’ll get stopped very quickly.
“And so, I’m passionate about doing that to support founders in as many possible ways as I can and so that requires me to be very resourceful myself and being open to unconventional ways of pursuing a concept,” she added.
The Launch Pad will be featured in the University’s “U Innovation” booth for the upcoming eMerge Americas “Shaping the Future of Tech” conference. This year, as it has for the past few years, the Launch Pad hosted the University’s eMerge Startup Roadshow Competition. Two winners were chosen from the competition, and both will have their own tables in the University’s booth.