Dushan Nikolovski

Dushan Nikolovski has taught business management and entrepreneurship courses at Purdue University Northwest (Purdue’s Chicago area campus) for the past 23 years where he currently serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship & Business and as the former Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Success. Dushan is also the Founder and CEO of The Great Pitch entrepreneurship competition, a motivational speaker, an international consultant, and the creator of the Big Sell, a nationally recognized and attended idea competition awarding over $100,000 in cash & prizes. His business startup book, Pivot to Success, is scheduled for release in 2017 which will detail his 30 years of experience.

At age eighteen, he and his partner established a young adult night club, and they went on to create a thriving entertainment business in the Chicagoland area for more than 10 years. Thereafter, Dushan went on to establish several more startups including a fine dining establishment, banquet facilities, fast food chain throughout the Midwest, and consulting services. For nearly 10 years, Dushan has been consulting in China and has the distinction of being the first and only foreigner to ever to hold a workshop for 200 middle managers at the prestigious Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (China Aerospace).

Dushan also enjoys giving back to the community by volunteering his time to sit on community boards and speaking at various public events. He also organizes free programs for college students, regional high school students and community members. Dushan serves as the current vice-president of the ECIER Foundation which teaches young, underprivileged high school students life skills while providing an entrepreneurial education.