Sean Dwyer

Sean Dwyer is a fourth-year PhD candidate in Entrepreneurship at Baylor University. He teaches Social Entrepreneurship in the Hankamer Business School and is focused on understanding how entrepreneurship can make a positive difference in the world. Dwyer’s interest in entrepreneurship stems back to his college days at Tulane University. Originally a science major with ambitions to make a difference in the world through medicine, his plans shifted after listening to entrepreneurs like Blake Mycoskie explain how entrepreneurship could be leveraged as a force for good in the world. Changing majors to business, Dwyer embarked on a learning journey an aim of eventually getting working in the realm of entrepreneurship. Participating in Tulane’s business plan competition and receiving a small grant from the university for a new venture idea, Dwyer’s passion for entrepreneurship was further sparked. Dwyer went on to receive a Master’s of Accounting and a Bachelor’s in Finance from Tulane University before entering the professional world.

In 2014, Dwyer began working at Grant Thornton, LLP as an external auditor, where he had the opportunity to earn his CPA (certified public accountant) license and learn the ins and outs of large-scale business as an external auditor. After making it the senior level, Dwyer decided to step out of his role to pursue starting a venture of his own. He launched a clothing line called Good Word Co. with an aim to make an impact on peoples’ lives through a one-for-one type giving model and creation of inspirational apparel. During this time, he also began working for a management consulting firm called Crossmark Management Group focused on providing outsourced CFO services. Dwyer had the opportunity to work closely with entrepreneurs seeking to get out of financial distress and/or grow their ventures. Through this experience, Dwyer broadened his understanding of entrepreneurship and had the privilege to experience how business—via consulting—could make a positive impact on the lives of others.

In 2019, motivated to make a difference for those in need overseas, Dwyer took time off from working in the business world to volunteer with a non-profit organization named Youth With A Mission where he traveled to nations across the world. During this time, he observed a need for entrepreneurship unlike he had ever seen before, witnessing people in desperate need that had the ambition for entrepreneurship but lacked the means to take action due to lack of opportunities. Moved by this experience, Dwyer decided to pursue his PhD to understand how entrepreneurship could be used as a force for good and making a difference in the world. He is enjoying his time at Baylor University, spending much of his time working on a range of research projects.

While Dwyer works on a variety of research subjects, his research interests center largely on how individuals can leverage entrepreneurship as a force for good in the world. At an individual level, Dwyer is interested in integrating psychological constructs such as purpose in life into entrepreneurship literature to better understand the antecedents to entrepreneurial behavior and outcomes. With plans to graduate in 2024, Dwyer aims to publish meaningful research outside of the classroom and contribute to the success of the next generation of business leaders inside of the classroom.