For many entrepreneurs, the hardest part of starting a business isn’t developing a solution to an unmet need in the marketplace. It’s reaching would-be customers in the first place.
That’s doubly true as AI and algorithms reshape how consumers find products on the web and social media.
Enter DePaul marketing and business analytics students. In a collaboration with AltheonAI — a firm that utilizes interdisciplinary research to find real-world applications for AI — DePaul students are partnering with small businesses to offer their expertise in navigating SEO, websites, social media, and more. They’re providing data-driven insights — and infusing creativity into the process.
Altheon AI partnership pairs small businesses with academic expertise — and students with career paths
The collaboration with AltheonAI began in spring 2024, when the company partnered with the M.S. in Business Analytics program to give students hands-on experiences working with real-world companies in their capstone class.
After that partnership, DePaul faculty and company representatives began strategizing how to expand the collaboration. A new phase was born; AltheonAI would now partner with the College of Business and the School of Computing.
This October, the firm connected a group of DePaul students to Junk on Demand. The fledgling, Chicago-based junk removal business needed help rethinking its website and social media presence in order to attract more customers.
Among the employees working with DePaul students was Anasuya Sikdar, a recent alumna of the M.S. in Business Analytics program.
As a student, Sikdar had been part of the initial phase of the collaboration with Altheon AI. Connections she made from that work helped her secure an internship at Junk on Demand. From there, she pitched the full-time analyst role she holds now.
“It was definitely challenging, especially for a startup company,” Sikdar said. Datasets could be sparse; data collection could be uneven. But it was also, she added, “very rewarding. You learn things on your own. It pushes you towards something better.”
In analyzing data, students find opportunities for creativity
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Over the course of five months, one team of students focused on the company’s website, while another analyzed its social media presence.
They were assisted by faculty and resources from DePaul’s BETA Hub: a center that facilitates company-sponsored projects as well as interdisciplinary research and gives students, faculty, and community members access to cutting-edge research technologies.
For both teams, the project was equal parts technical and creative.
Business analytics master’s student Richa Agarwal had firsthand experience navigating marketing as a business owner. She spent several years selling art commissions and teaching art. But technical aspects of online marketing were new to her.
“I learned so much about keyword optimization, about search engine optimization,” she said. “These terms that I knew about but had never applied. And there are so many layers that go into them.”
Students dove into the data to understand how Junk on Demand’s online presence compares to its competitors. Over time, they figured out how tweaks as seemingly minor as optimizing the site to appear in searches for “best junk removal services” (as opposed to “junk removal services”) could make a difference.
Along with data-driven insights, students infused their proposals with creativity.
Agarwal’s team proposed ways that the company could organically grow its presence on social media. One idea involved bringing in artists to conduct upcycling workshops. Another involved timelapse videos of the junk removal process. Paired with analysis, actionable ideas like these were a key part of the project, and the value students brought to it.
Project prepares students for meaningful careers
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Sikdar and her teammates pose outside of the DePaul Center.Reflecting on the project, students echoed Sikdar’s sentiments about the value of experiential learning.
For Agarwal, the project has been an invaluable talking point in interviews.
“Not everyone gets the chance to work on projects like this,” she said. “It helps you stand out. It’s a chance to grow; you’re getting out of your milieu.”
Student Kreena Bhavin Shah entered the project with prior experience in marketing analytics. Working in a startup environment pushed her skills — problem-solving in particular — to the next level.
“This project gave me hands-on exposure to real-world data in a way a classroom simply can’t,” Shah shared. “In this setting, the decisions you make have actual consequences. That pressure was challenging, but it made the experience far more meaningful and helped me strengthen my problem-solving skills.”
Indeed, Shah said, the experience has helped her understand how AI and analytics fit into the bigger picture.
“This experience really highlighted the importance of my field,” she said. “Whether you’re launching a startup or working within a company, it’s not just about having data — it’s about understanding the technical side behind it. Collaborating with both tech and marketing teams gave me a well-rounded view of how different functions align to drive business growth.”
As the case shows, Driehaus students don’t just learn the latest tools. They apply them creatively and with ingenuity, showing the power of technology to level up their own skills and business practices alike.