Advisors in Action: Paul Rafferty & Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU)

October 2026

At Sales Xceleration, leading with a servant heart is one of our core values — we strongly believe in lived out service to others. That’s why we created the Advisors in Action program: to spotlight the work that our Advisors are doing in their communities and around the world.

This month, we are highlighting Advisor Paul Rafferty, based in Charlotte, NC, for his work equipping young entrepreneurs with the sales skills they need to succeed through the University of Notre Dame’s IDEA Center and its sister school, the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv, Ukraine.

Teaching the Skill Most Programs Skip

Like many universities, Notre Dame — Paul’s alma mater — runs a startup incubator through its IDEA Center, helping students and faculty develop and launch their own companies. But also like many universities, its core academic curriculum doesn’t include professional selling skills. For a founder, that gap can be the difference between a great idea and a business that actually gets off the ground.

When Paul was introduced to the program’s director, he was asked to build an 8-hour session on Sales Strategy and Product Positioning. He has now led two day-long workshops for the IDEA Center and has become an ongoing part of the program. He has also served as a judge for a 20-team “Shark Tank”-style competition, and provides continued coaching to the program’s leaders and private sessions for individual students and founding teams.

From South Bend to Lviv

Paul’s work at Notre Dame soon led to an invitation from UCU, where aspiring entrepreneurs are building businesses under extraordinary circumstances. Since the war began, Ukraine has faced a significant “brain drain,” with talented people leaving the country. For the program’s leaders, developing the next generation of business leaders at home is a critical part of the country’s future.

Paul has now delivered three virtual workshops to UCU students, reaching roughly 60 aspiring entrepreneurs, alongside private coaching sessions with many of their founding teams. His work has since become a formal part of UCU’s curriculum, with workshops held twice a year and his fourth session scheduled for November 2026.

The partnership between the two schools has also grown in person. This past summer, a small group of UCU students traveled to Notre Dame’s IDEA Center, a visit Paul was invited to attend.

Paul’s first meeting with the UCU team came at a difficult moment, and he expected a challenging start. Instead, he found a group of students whose resilience left a lasting impression. The war is never far from their work. One of the students’ classmates was killed in a bombing, along with three members of their family. Even through that loss, the students have continued to show up, learn, and build.

“I am humbled by their passion and their bravery,” Paul said. “I get goosebumps and draw inspiration from these incredible young people.”

Investing in the Next Generation of Leaders

At Sales Xceleration, our Advisors help business owners build the sales strategy and structure they need to grow. Paul is bringing that same expertise to founders at the very beginning of their journey. Some are building in a college incubator in Indiana, and others are building in a country at war.

By sharing the skills he uses every day, Paul is helping young entrepreneurs on two continents turn their ideas into businesses. For the students at UCU, that also means building something lasting at home.

To learn more about the UCU Ideas Center and its work supporting Ukraine’s next generation of entrepreneurs, visit their website.