{"id":246863,"date":"2026-04-12T22:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T22:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/246863\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T22:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T22:44:12","slug":"uta-students-practice-their-entrepreneurial-skills-at-mavmarket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/246863\/","title":{"rendered":"UTA students practice their entrepreneurial skills at MavMarket"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Bianca Rodriguez-Mora, Arlington Report
April 10, 2026<\/p>\n

Alexis \u201cLino\u201d Reyes, owner of Saint Lino Studios<\/a>, carefully finished a tooth cast at his booth, which he uses to create his handmade grills, at the University of Texas at Arlington Entrepreneurship Club\u2019s MavMarket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reyes, a senior at UTA, specializes in making the flashy coverings for teeth as well as other jewelry. Two hours into the market, sponsored by the college\u2019s Entrepreneurship Club, Reyes said he felt like he had learned how to sell his products better.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reyes was one of more than 100 vendors at the Mav Market, which sprawled across Brazos Park on April 6. The market gives students a low-cost chance to practice their entrepreneurial skills, with many vendors selling their products for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Items ranged from handmade jewelry, art, glass-blown ceramics and vintage clothing, to homemade Spam musubi, matcha lattes, and mac and cheese.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"(ChristineConstruction management senior Alexis \u201cLino\u201d Reyes makes molds for customer\u2019s grills during the MavMarket on April 6, 2026, at the University of Texas at Arlington. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

Abhishek Nagaraja, a UTA alumni, started the market after watching students sell on campus from booths in 2023. At the time, Nagaraja had just created the Entrepreneurship Club and felt there was a lack of opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nagaraja and his mentor, UTA professor Matthew Clark, surveyed students and staff about whether they would participate in a market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They hosted the first market with 60 vendors in spring 2024. This year, the club received over 200 applications for the spring market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nagaraja estimated students generated between $160,000 to $200,000 through the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very important thing for me personally as well, because I started something that\u2019s helping actual students, not only to make money, but as a proof of concept for their future to run their actual businesses,\u201d Nagaraja said.<\/p>\n

\"(MariaJovi Henderson of Anchovy Arts sells blown glass and art at the University of Texas at Arlington MavMarket on April 6, 2026. Henderson is a junior majoring in glass blowing. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n

\"(MariaJovi Henderson of Anchovy Arts sells blown glass at the University of Texas at Arlington MavMarket on April 6, 2026. Henderson is a junior majoring in glass blowing. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n

UTA junior Jovi Henderson, owner of Anchovy Arts<\/a>, has sold her blown-glass goods at the market for three semesters. The dependable foot traffic has been essential in her sales and in her learning process, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think it\u2019s a really big part of learning that can\u2019t really be taught in the classroom,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cYou just have to do it and get better at it every single year, which I feel like I definitely have. I\u2019ve learned a lot since my first market, and I feel like every semester I\u2019m improving.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chaitanya Sant Kumar, current president of the Entrepreneurship Club and organizer of MavMarket, emphasized the importance of affordability for student entrepreneurs. Table fees are minimal, so students have a space to comfortably learn and grow, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The market allowed Reyes to try something new and fail without risking too much of his product, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving something like this for students, where it\u2019s affordable and gets your name out there, allows you to learn,\u201d Reyes said. \u201cNow that I\u2019m seeing how everything runs, I\u2019m going to be a lot more prepared for next time. And I\u2019m not losing $300 to find that out. I\u2019m only losing 15 bucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Mocoberry mobile cafe serves matcha during the MavMarket on April 6, 2026 at the University of Texas at Arlington. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

For other students, the market allows them to expand the hobbies they explore outside their busy schedules.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UTA sophomores Nayab and Hadia Akhtar created their mobile matcha and coffee booth, Mocoberry,<\/a> as a way to raise money for their local mosque. They have since expanded it as a creative outlet and business venture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The twin sisters said this was their second semester participating in the market. They enjoy working alongside peers with similar goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community is great. People are hard workers here, and they decide to put their business forth, and take the time to do that, even though they\u2019re studying at the same time,\u201d Nayab Akhtar said. \u201cThat\u2019s really inspirational.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bianca Rodriguez-Mora is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at bianca@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/04\/10\/uta-students-practice-their-entrepreneurial-skills-at-mavmarket\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Arlington Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n

<img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&post=482647&amp;ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/04\/10\/uta-students-practice-their-entrepreneurial-skills-at-mavmarket\/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } <\/script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js”><\/script>