Maxine Chapman’s first venture into business started in her family’s kitchen.

Growing up, Chapman would help her father – a chemist – brew batches of sunscreen at home. Compared to store-bought brands, it was cheaper, better for your skin, and for the environment. Each batch would go into a tupperware container until it was time to make some more.

“It wasn’t ready for consumer use then,” Chapman said. “But it worked really well, didn’t sting your eyes, and was good for the ocean, so all my surf buddies and friends would use it.”

Years later, Chapman had graduated from the kitchen and tupperware, and turned her family recipe into a business called SurfDurt. She got the company off the ground with the help of her business partner and various accelerator programs, refining the recipe before eventually getting her sunscreen into local surf shops. But now it was time to take the next step and expand. Chapman didn’t have a background in business and wasn’t quite sure where to go next, but was directed to somewhere she could get help – the University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business.

But Chapman wouldn’t be enrolling in classes.

The Knauss School of Business is home to the Ahlers Center, which itself houses a number of programs that provide services to local businesses and entrepreneurs. One of those is the Global Readiness Program, which enlists faculty and students to consult developing businesses.

“It’s a diagnostic. Students perform an assessment for local businesses to determine how ready they are to export,” said clinical professor of international business Eileen Daspro, who runs the programs.

When Chapman came to Daspro, she was exploring which international markets might be good fits for her sunscreen, and what it would take to get it there. E-commerce is one thing, allowing businesses to ship directly to customers around the world, but getting product on store shelves overseas presents all kinds of challenges.

“(Some businesses) don’t know if there’s demand for their product overseas. And they don’t know if they can actually access an overseas market, like in terms of technical standards or tariffs,” Daspro said.

That’s where USD came in. The Global Readiness Program isn’t just a service for the community, but a crash course – with real-life stakes – for business students as well. Each semester, Daspro’s classes take on the role of consultant, performing real-world analyses for a local business, to give them the information they need to break into new markets. And it’s no small task. In the case of SurfDurt, for example, sunscreen is considered an over the counter drug, opening it up to a whole host of regulatory processes.

Students were assigned a country, trained in specialized databases to research market potential, and then tasked with determining whether the country would be a good match for SurfDurt.

“It’s a faculty-led program, but it’s student-driven. So students do the work,” Daspro said.

One of those students was Maddy Mai-Prasarnsuk, who’s entering her junior year. After working with her classmates to compile a report, they put together a presentation for Chapman.

“That was really cool because I’d never done anything like that,” Mai-Prasarnsuk said. “To pitch it to the actual CEO of a company made me feel less like I was in a class, and more like real-life. I was learning something that I could use going forward.”

In Mai-Prasarnsuk’s case, her group was explaining why Australia would be a prime market for SurfDurt, and some of the things the company would have to navigate to enter that market.

In the business world, these kinds of consultations can be crucial, but also cost tens of thousands of dollars. But Chapman says while USD was offering its services pro bono, this didn’t come across as a typical student project.

“I was really blown away by their presentations,” she said. “International markets are really complicated with the exports and imports and customs laws. And another wrench for our company is that sunscreen is considered an over the counter drug, not a cosmetic. Even navigating all that in the U.S. was really complicated.”

The students had to take that into consideration, and explain steps SurfDurt would have to take to sell the product abroad in compliance with all overseas legal requirements. The information was invaluable for Chapman, who says having those details at the ready is key to getting investors on board, and preparing for expansion.

Daspro calls the whole process a win-win. Students get hands-on experience – in real-world situations – to apply some of the concepts they learn about in the classroom. Small businesses with tight budgets get the information they need to take their company to the next level.

And it doesn’t end there.

Those businesses also get exposed to students who are becoming experts in the field – and prime candidates to fill job openings.

Daspro says she’s lost count of how many students have gotten internships through the program. At the end of the program, she reminds businesses that her students are often looking for internships, and then gets the word out among students who are interested.

Word got to Mai-Prasarnsuk. After her presentation she learned that SurfDurt was looking for an intern, and decided to apply.

Chapman knew her from the presentations, and Mai-Prasarnsuk says she felt comfortable when she walked into SurfDurt’s office, having already worked with the company.

She landed the internship, which she says was a great experienc. Now she’s excited for what’s next.

“The Global Readiness Program, and doing the project for SurfDurt, made me realize that I really like consulting,” Mai-Prasarnsuk said. “This has been my favorite thing I’ve done at USD.”