April Lane Schuster

April Lane Schuster is a Senior Lecturer of Management and Entrepreneurship and Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives at Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business. She has spent nearly a decade shaping entrepreneurial education and fostering innovation across academic and professional settings.

• MBA in Entrepreneurship, DePaul University
• BA in Communication Studies, University of Michigan

Her research and teaching emphasize entrepreneurship, innovation strategy, and business growth, with a focus on lean startup methodologies, interdisciplinary collaboration, and digital-first business practices. She integrates real-world challenges into her curriculum to prepare students for launching and scaling ventures.

A leader in experiential learning, April founded Launch Loyola, a university-wide entrepreneurial ecosystem, and spearheaded Loyola’s New Venture Pitch Competition and the NeuroVenture Challenge, which merges neuroscience, ethics, and entrepreneurship. Her work extends to consulting for startups and delivering advanced training to veterans through Dog Tag Inc. and Loyola’s Executive and Professional Education Center (EPEC).

Prior to Loyola, she served as Executive Director of Catapult Chicago, supporting 60 startups that collectively raised $410 million and created 800 jobs, and held leadership roles at DePaul University’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center.

April has advised numerous startups and mentored entrepreneurs, focusing on innovation and economic growth. She also founded April Lane Consulting, offering coaching and innovation training to small businesses.

Her initiatives include the Quinlan School of Business’s Launch Loyola ecosystem, NeuroVenture Challenge, and partnerships with Loyola’s Executive and Professional Education Center. She actively bridges academic theory with practical business solutions through these programs.