Springfield College MBA Graduate Enjoying Success as Entrepreneur

By: Damon Markiewicz

For Springfield College alumna Madison Daly ’23, G’25, she recently celebrated the accomplishment of earning her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, while also enjoying the grand opening of the first in-person location for her business, Preloved Club by CT Thrifts.

The opening of her brick-and-mortar is another milestone in her successful journey as an entrepreneur, a path that started in high school and continued throughout her entire collegiate career. 

“Up to this point, I was strictly selling items online, but it got to a point where I received a push from my parents to open the in-person site because I was taking over their basement with all of the items I am selling,” explained Daly. “Opening this location has been a dream of mine for the last six years, and it feels awesome that it has become a reality.”

Located at 284 North Maple St. in Enfield, Conn., the in-person location is called Preloved Club by CT Thrifts, and it is nestled right on the Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut border. It’s a short drive from Alden Street, which allows for her extended Springfield College family a chance to watch her business grow.

“I have been open for about a month, and I am fortunate because I am in a little plaza that is very busy with a popular Italian restaurant, Buona Vita, right next door,” explained Daly. “My neighbors in the plaza have been great in helping me, and so far, it’s been really busy, so hopefully that continues.”

During her time at Springfield College, Daly had the experience of promoting CT Thrifts at pop-up events at colleges, breweries, and farmer’s markets. Those experiences prepared her to get used to dealing with people in person and not just rely on online transactions.

“It’s really cool now to see people who have been picking up items at my house for years, now being able to come to a location where they can try things on,” explained Daly. “There were some items that were hard to sell online. Pants were one item that people wanted to try on, and this set-up now allows for that. So far, the opening has exceeded my expectations, it almost feels surreal.” 

During Daly’s college career, she balanced life as a student-athlete, competing on the soccer team. She was a Business major and Marketing minor as an undergraduate before enrolling in the MBA program as a graduate student. While overseeing her online business as a student, Daly was able to utilize what she was learning inside the classroom, and directly relate that to the professional experience she was gaining simultaneously.

“There would be projects and homework assignments that I would be doing, and I could directly relate them to what I was doing with CT Thrifts,” explained Daly. “I loved taking my Social Media Marketing class. That experience was probably my favorite. My educational experience at Springfield College was preparing me so well for current and future success.”

As part of her online sales accomplishments, Daly maintained two Instagram accounts, one for CT Thrifts, and a second titled Preloved Club.

“I was also stitching and creating my own clothing, so I wanted to separate my thrift sales with the clothing that I was making on my own,” explained Daly. “One of my dreams when I started the online business was to have my own clothing brand as well.”

Daly found her passion for thrifting starting at a young age, and it has only blossomed during both her high school and college years.

“When I was younger, I used to go thrifting with my grandma all the time and it was just something fun I always did with her,” Daly said. “I would also go thrifting by myself. One day, I remember that I found this Champion hoodie and I thought I wouldn’t wear this, but somebody else would. That’s kind of when it all started for me.”

Because of that vision at an early age, Daly now has the opportunity to watch customers walk into her own store and share that same love for thrifting. Daly hasn’t forgotten all the help she has received to get to this point. From family and friends, to her college teammates, and of course her business management faculty members, she is grateful to everyone who has played a part in helping make Preloved Club by CT Thrifts a success.

“I loved my Springfield College experience,” explained Daly. “So many people have supported me and have helped make this opportunity successful. The faculty gave me the confidence as a student. It’s been awesome to have coaches, teammates, and faculty visit the location since I opened.”

One of those visitors was Business Management professor Stephen Sheffield, who served as Daly’s faculty advisor as part of the MBA program.

“We are so proud of Madison, this shows how driven a student she was during her time at Springfield College,” explained Sheffield. “She was an outstanding student with a determined focus.”

For Daly, the guidance she received from Sheffield was a prime example of what helped make her Springfield College experience so memorable.

“Professor Sheffield helped me so much, and I am just so very thankful,” concluded Daly. “Having that support from faculty means everything to a student, and I am forever grateful that I am a Springfield College graduate.”