20 yeARs 2000 - Cornell Universityeship.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/eship_2012_lowres.pdf · business created by Cornell undergrad teddy Brinkofski ’13. Brinkofski, a

students19941992

eship The Magazine ofentRePReneuRsHIP@CORneLL

eship.cornell.edu 2012

2000

2009

Having a continuing impact on

students, Alumni & Faculty

Celebrating 20 yeARs OF unIveRsIty-wIde entRePReneuRsHIP

CORneLLat

3eship.cornell.edu

ABOutENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

entrepreneurship@Cornell works with all of Cornell’s schools, colleges and organizations to help create and promote entrepreneurship education, events, commercialization and experiential learning opportunities.

Our vision is to support a diverse group of university-wide activities that finds and fosters the entrepreneurial spirit in every Cornell participant — in every college, every field and every stage of life.

Annual funding for Entrepreneurship@Cornell is provided by the Governing Board, the Office of the Provost, an Alumni Advisory Council and an endowment established by Cornell alumni.

entrepreneurship@Cornell Governing Board

Advisor y Council E@C’s Advisory Council of entrepreneurs, business and organization leaders provides advice, support and financial resources. To learn

more about becoming a member of the E@C Advisory Council, contact John Jaquette at [email protected] or (607)255-1576.

CHAIR

Kevin McGovern, Class of ’70

vICe CHAIRs

Steve Benjamin, Class of ’80, MEN ’81,

MBA ’82

Bill Trenchard, Class of ’97

John Alexander, Class of ’74, MBA ’76

John Balen, Class of ’82, MBA ’86

Scott Belsky, Class of ’02

Steve Benjamin, Class ’80, MEN ’81,

MBA ’82

Emily Berger, Class of ’92

Randy Brandoff, Class of ’98

Patrick Burke, Class of ’83

J. Thomas Clark, Class of ’63, MBA ’64

Nancy Clark, Class of ’62, MA ’64

MacLaren Cummings, Class of ’02

Sharon Dauk, MBA ’89

Brian Distelburger, Class of ’01

Felix Ejeckam, MEN ’94, PhD ’97

Adam Farrell, Class of ’06

James Farrell, Class of ’77, MEN ’80

Rich Farrell, Class of ’90

Robert Felton, Class of ’61

Burt Flickinger, Class of ’80

Carl Forsythe, MBA ’82

William Frey, Class of ’79

Steven Gal, Class of ’88

Alison Gerlach, Class of ’93

Jason Gerlach, Class of ’93

Jonah Goodhart, Class of ’00

Noah Goodhart, Class of ’97

Allison Gulbrandsen, Class of ’84

Donald Gulbrandsen, Class of ’83

June Hayford, Class of ’78

Gary Hellinger, Class of ’62

Jonathan Holtz, Parent ’12

Jon Kaiden, Class of ’88

Michael Karangelen, Class of ’90

Harvey Kinzelberg, Class of ’67

Jon Klein, Class of ’87

Charles Lynch, Class of ’90, MBA ’95

Richard Marin, Class of ’75, MBA ’76

Robert Maroney, Class of ’72

William McAleer, Class of ’73, MBA ’75

Kevin McGovern, Class of ’70

James McNair, MBA ’83

Mark Miller, Class of ’85

Angela Mwanza, MBA ’00

Jeffrey Parker, Class of ’65, MEN ’66,

MBA ’70

Donald Peskin, Class of ’77, MEN ’78,

MBA ’79

Everette Phillips, Class of ’82

Leland Pillsbury, Class of ’69

Dan Ramsden, Class of ’86

David Rickerby, Class of ’91

Meredith Rosenberg, Class of ’92

Micah Rosenbloom, Class of ’98

Matthew Rubins, Class of ’90

Matthew Russo, Class of ’90

Rob Ryan, Class of ’69

Terry Ryan, Class of ’69

Peter Seidenberg, Class of ’92, MBA ’98

Samuel Seltzer, Class of ’48

Don Shaffer, Class of ’91

Savneet Singh, Class of ’05

A. Dan Sommer, Class of ’97

Bill Trenchard, Class of ’97

Vijay Vashee, MEN ’75

William Verhelle, JD ’98

William Weidlein, Class of ’77

Christopher Wilkerson, Class of ’95

Eric Young, Class of ’78

David Zalaznick, Class of ’76

From the Executive Director

welcome to the 2012 issue of “eship” magazine in which we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Cornell’s university-wide entrepreneurship initiative, entrepreneurship@Cornell (e@C), and

the growth of entrepreneurial courses, programs and culture across the Cornell community.

While entrepreneurial classes for undergraduates as well as MBAs were offered at Johnson and a Personal Enterprise Program was developed in what is now the Dyson School in the mid-1980s, the university-wide initiative started by alumni, faculty and supported by Deans Call and Merten officially took form in 1992.

Few would have guessed that the entrepreneurial culture and engagement at Cornell would accelerate so rapidly in the ’90s and ’2000s. Today there are approximately 125 related classes offered across the campus and enrollment varies between 2,200 and 2,500 each year. Over the last two years, the E@C office placed 150 students in summer internships and, if the 1,500 – 2,000 students who attended the recent Start-Up Fair sponsored by the College of Engineering and Computing and Information Science are an indicator of the future, the acceleration of entrepreneurial interest may be entering a remarkable new phase.

Our cover story looks at the past and present, and perhaps most importantly, the possible future of entrepreneurship at Cornell. You will meet some representatives of the alumni, who as a group were and still are instrumental in providing advice, support and financial resources for E@C as well as many of the programs across the campus; Deans David Call, Alan Merten and Robert Sweiringa who provided initial oversight and direction; students who participated in the activities who are now alumni; current students; and faculty, who, as always, are key for advancing the research and knowledge necessary to compete at the highest levels.

There is also an article on the CornellNYC Tech Campus and the partnership with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. It was no secret that alumni support from around the world played a key role in Cornell’s selection.

Other highlights from this issue include:

• An update on our ambitious crop of student entrepreneurs, including a profile of an undergraduate with a successful file-sharing site for musicians.

• A look at our soon-to-be-released mobile app, which will help connect entrepreneurially-minded Cornell students to the broad range of courses and events on campus, and alumni in various regions with each other.

• An update on social entrepreneurship efforts on campus.

This issue again includes updates from: The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute at Johnson, the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship, the Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise and Commercialization (CCTEC) and Cornell Business Communities (CEN, CSV, CWS).

There are many more programs and initiatives than the ones I have mentioned which support entrepreneurship across the campus and in the entire Cornell community. I invite readers to visit eship.cornell.edu (“the portal to all things entrepreneurial at Cornell”) regularly as a way of keeping in touch with this ever growing entrepreneurial culture at Cornell.

All the best, John

The vision of the E@C

initiative is to “find and

foster the entrepreneurial

spirit in every Cornell

participant in every college,

every field and every stage

of life.”

JOHnsOn

Joe Thomas,

Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean

COLLeGe OF ARCHIteCtuRe,

ARt And PLAnnInG

Kent Kleinman,

Gale and Ira Drukier Dean

COLLeGe OF HuMAn eCOLOGy

Alan Mathios,

Rebecca Q. and

James C. Morgan Dean

sCHOOL OF HOteL AdMInIstRAtIOn

Michael D. Johnson,

Dean

COLLeGe OF ARts And sCIenCes

G. Peter Lepage,

Harold A. Tanner Dean

sCHOOL OF IndustRIAL And

LABOR ReLAtIOns

Harry C. Katz,

Kenneth F. Kahn Dean

COLLeGe OF AGRICuLtuRe And

LIFe sCIenCes

Kathryn J. Boor,

Ronald P. Lynch Dean

COLLeGe OF enGIneeRInG

Lance R. Collins,

Joseph Silbert Dean

CORneLL LAw sCHOOL

Stewart J. Schwab,

Allan R. Tessler Dean

5eship.cornell.edu

studentsENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

COntentsENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

departments

features

8A LOOk At tHe FIRst 20 yeARsE@C founders, faculty and students share their stories

By Kathy Hovis

28tAke e@C On tHe ROAdNew mobile app connects CU entrepreneurs

By Aaron Holiday

29InventIve InteRnsOur summer interns add value in a short time

By Kathy Hovis

22A sPIRIt OF CeLeBRAtIOnEntrepreneurial spirit abounds at annual event

By Kathy Hovis

students 5 Meet Teddy Brinkofski 5, eLab update 6,

Social entrepreneurship 7

AdvIsORy COunCIL 34 Advisory Council News & Notes 34

ALuMnI 26

Updates from CEN and CSV 26,

Meet Marissa Evans 27

FACuLty & stAFF 18 E@C faculty list 18, Entrepreneurs in Residence 19,

CCTEC offers new services 20

Hip-Hop HavenStudent offers website for musicians

If you’re a fan of wale or Play-n-skillz, you might also be a fan of the

business created by Cornell undergrad teddy Brinkofski ’13.

Brinkofski, a member of the eLab student business accelerator, is the founder of hulkshare.com, a file sharing website launched in 2009 that is used by musicians, including many hip-hop artists, to share and promote songs, demos, samples, beats and other files. Music bloggers favor his site, as well, he said, because it offers the chance to share links and music, as well as write about them. The site is also used by labels, magazines and other industry professionals.

“The customers I work with have specific needs that are different from other artists, so my site can offer custom solutions for them,” he said. “I saw the frustrations of music bloggers, so I worked to fix them.”

His site has grown so much that he now has 17 employees, who work virtually from numerous locations around the globe. More than 185,000 people have “liked” Hulkshare’s Facebook page.

So far, his site has been growing in popularity because of word-of-mouth advertising, so Brinkofski hasn’t needed to launch a full-scale marketing effort, but he plans to do so in the spring.

Through eLab, Brinkofski said he has learned a lot and been able to network and meet with other successful entrepreneurs. “I’ve learned how these entrepreneurs have accomplished their goals,” he said. “I take their advice and feedback on various levels and apply it to my space.”

“Teddy is a serious entrepreneur,” said Dan Cohen, eLab entrepreneur in residence. “By serious, I mean this is not just some project to him. Hulkshare is something that he works very hard at doing well and his progress is not by accident or luck but a result of dedication, hard work and a clear vision of where he wants this company to go.

“He started this business because he loves rap and hip hop and he’s always stayed true to that mission by making sure his users have a great experience while interacting with Hulkshare.”

To learn more, visit hulkshare.com

2012: Vol. 1eship is published by Entrepreneurship@Cornell.

eship.cornell.edu

Director | John P. Jaquette, Jr.Program Manager & Internship Director | Debra MoeschAdministrative Assistant | Natalee NelsonCommunications Manager | Becca BowesWriter | Kathy HovisDesign | Chris Cooley, CMCreative Design

We welcome feedback from readers. Address correspondence to:eship Magazine, Entrepreneurship@Cornell Cornell University, 443 Warren Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853Phone: (607) 255-1576 | Fax: (607) 255-9330Email: [email protected]

6 eship magazine 7eship.cornell.edu

students studentsENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL ENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

e-Lab supports student businesses

Students embrace social entrepreneurship

the student Agencies eLab, in collaboration with

e@C, offers mentorship to a diverse group of student

entrepreneurs — from a fledgling t-shirt company to an

undergrad with a high-tech computer application.

eLab, the student business incubator, is located in the Student Agencies building in Collegetown and provides the processes and structure to help undergraduate and graduate students manage the responsibilities of their studies while also running a business. From office space and legal assistance to business plan writing, marketing help, mentoring or venture capital advice — alumni mentors and Dan Cohen, ILR faculty member and eLab entrepreneur in residence, are available to help students build and grow their businesses.

In its three years, the eLab has created seven companies, including wiggio.com, a website that allows people to work in groups; hulkshare.com, a file-sharing website for musicians and Anjolie Ayurveda, a soap company.

The current concepts include Snappy Screen, a sunscreen-application device created by Kristin McClellan ’12, and currently being marketed to resorts; Career

while student interest in creating enterprises with a

social mission continues to climb, Anke wessels,

director of the Center for transformative Action, is in the

process of developing a more formal mentorship program

to connect students and alumni.

“We formed an advisory council of alumni last year and many of those members are looking for closer connections with students,” Wessels said. “The alumni can empower the students by providing them with valuable insight, advice and professional guidance so that they can pursue their dreams and develop their own social enterprises.”

Those alumni are already involved in social mission enterprises or businesses with value-driven ideals such as environmental sustainability, community engagement and generous employee benefits.

One student who benefits from mentorship is Zoe Wong ’13, leader of the student Society of Social Entrepreneurship and Collaborative Action and an intern supported by Entrepreneurship@Cornell, who worked during the summer interviewing more than 70 people in NYC, London, Hong Kong and San Francisco who work in the area of social impact investing.

”While financial returns are relatively straightforward to measure, social returns are much more complex to measure in comparison,” Wong said. “Impact investing is currently a nascent sector and in order to encourage greater capital flow into it, there need to be effective, proven ways for investors to measure the impact of their investments.”

Wong forged relationships with several Cornell alumni involved in impact investing during her summer research and many have become mentors.

“For me, having these mentors has been truly invaluable,” she said. “I can only imagine how much other social entrepreneurial students would benefit both personally and professionally if they had mentors with similar backgrounds and experiences to guide them.”

Wong is also working with the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and leading the efforts to launch a

Explorer, a career services website to help engineering students select their major created by Larry Slaughter ’13 and Blair Lewis ’13; technology to help turn tablet computers into movie projectors created by Josh Lakelin ’12; Bora Wear, a company to help African artists show off their talents on T-shirts, created by James Muna ’12; weareveryougo.com created by Lindsay Boyajian ’13, Hulkshare by Teddy Brinkofski ’13 (see page 5) and a company created by Yang Liu ’13 that would offer cultural tours to Chinese and American students of each other’s countries, including visits with local students, industry leaders, businesses and factories.

Along with a group of more than 30 alumni mentors, eLab students are also coached by five E@C Fellows from Johnson.

“We don’t cater to any specific types of companies,” Cohen said. “We’re a resource for students regardless of their business.”

To find out more, see elabstartup.com

student-run social venture fund at Cornell to promote and educate students about impact investing. And the Society of Social Entrepreneurship and Collaborative Action again hosted its Alternative Gift Fair in December, where shoppers donated to more than 18 student social change organizations and non-profits in someone’s name as a holiday gift for that person.

Wong said her experiences have cemented her ideas to work in the area of impact investing and social entrepreneurship after graduation. “I enjoyed being around such intelligent, motivated and passionate individuals who all shared my desire to help solve pressing social and environmental challenges, and create a lasting impact in our world,” she said.

Wessels said the mission of the center is to help students uncover the way they will create a lasting impact and that can take many forms.

“We like to tell students about the breadth of opportunities available for finding work that is aligned with their social values,” Wessels said. “They can create or work for a mission-driven not-for profit organization, a mission-driven for profit enterprise or a regular company that upholds a set of social values alongside its for-profit purpose.”

To learn more visitcenterfortransformativeaction.org

since the early 1980s, when forward-thinking Cornell alumni created endowments to support

professors of entrepreneurship, Cornellians far and wide have realized the importance of educating

the next generation of great innovators and leaders.

Cornell’s formal history of entrepreneurship began in 1980, when Don ’47 and Margi ’47 Berens established the Berens Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Johnson School. But everyone knows that Cornell was creating entrepreneurs long before any formal program was established.

Samuel Seltzer ’48, answered back in 1982 with funding to create the Personal Enterprise Program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences so that undergraduate students would have access to courses and alumni speakers.

When Deans David Call of CALS and Alan Merten of the Johnson School decided to combine their efforts to create a university-wide hub for entrepreneurship in the late 1980s, that word was just beginning to generate buzz across the country. Young entrepreneurs were creating companies, changing technology and making loads of money. Of course, students were clamoring for courses that would help them follow in their footsteps.

Since that time, the Entrepreneurship & Personal Enterprise Program (EPE), now Entrepreneurship@Cornell, has flourished, with many new programs and growing initiatives, including the:

• Creation of the Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN)• Birth of the eLab student business accelerator• Addition of three gateway entrepreneurship courses

which annually attract more than 1,000 students• Growth of the E@C summer intern program, which has placed more than 750

Cornell students with entrepreneurial companies during the last 10 years• Expansion of faculty in the entrepreneurship program, who now teach more

than 90 entrepreneurship-related courses• Introduction of a new undergraduate student

business competition, “The BIG Idea”• Growing commitment to social entrepreneurship• Continued commitment and engagement of deans in the

nine participating schools and colleges

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the university-wide program, we’ve asked friends to reflect on the program – both those who were around at the program’s inception and those who are benefitting today, as well as some who have been involved along the way.


1980Don ’47 and Margi ’47 Berens

endow the Berens Professor

of Entrepreneurship in the

Johnson School.

1982Samuel Seltzer ’48,

provides funding to

create the Personal

Enterprise Program.

1984First Cornell

Entrepreneur of the Year

Award made to Sanford

Weill ’55.

FeAtuReENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

sam seltzer

When I approached the Ag

school about starting an entrepreneurship

program, my major interest was to promote family business as a valid choice – and in fact the best choice – for a better quality of life than working for a major company. The truth is that my kids were ready to go to college and I wanted them to be able to study family business.

At that time, people thought that if you worked at General Motors you would have more job security, but I knew that you really have security if you have faith in yourself and what you can do. Small businesses are the engines that drive our country, plus there are so many other benefits.

I never had to worry about what my boss would think. I lived my own life the way I wanted to – to me that was very important.

My idea was that undergraduate electives in entrepreneurship would be open to all the colleges so that someone who was studying engineering could learn about financial statements or business law. I knew that students in every college could benefit from these classes. Seltzer ’48 founded Allison Corporation, a company

that manufactures and sells a wide variety of

automobile accessories. He was the

founding chairman of Cornell PEP

(Personal Enterprise Program). In

1982, he established the Moses and

Loulu Seltzer Endowment Fund in

honor of his parents.

david Call

It’s been so interesting to watch this program grow and develop to the point that entrepreneurship is so widespread – it’s one of the main themes in Cornell’s newest effort, the New York City tech campus.

When we started, two things were important to us: giving students experience so that they would know what entrepreneurship was and reaching out to young entrepreneurs to get them re-associated with the university. We knew that bringing in these young entrepreneurs to lecture and mentor students would help accomplish both goals.

It was tricky to establish the university-wide program because we needed to get all of the deans to buy into this. We knew if we got the deans to buy in, then the faculty would too.

I think the national movement related to entrepreneurship has helped propel E@C forward, but I think that E@C has helped to legitimize undergraduate businesses and the undergraduate business major. Call ’54 was dean of the College of Agriculture

and Life Sciences from 1978 to 1995 and

a founding dean of E@C.

Celebrating 20 yeARs OF entRePReneuRsHIP CORneLL@



Alan G. Merten

Entrepreneurship was a topic of intense conversation among Cornell students, faculty, deans, alumni and friends in 1990. Dave Call, then dean of the College of

Agriculture and Life Sciences, and I had a friendly competition as to which of our

academic units was doing the most and best, had the most entrepreneurial alumni, and should

be the center of academic entrepreneurial activities.At some point we decided that we should focus on

cooperating, while continuing to compete on several fronts. We asked all the deans to join us by identifying faculty, alumni, etc., who could contribute to and draw upon this effort. Dave and I were very pleased with the response, in particular, from alumni. The alumni provide significant financial support and suggestions on program form and content, curriculum and structure. Throughout the formation of this program, the deans, faculty, and alumni contributed many proposals and dealt professionally with disagreements on this important but often misunderstood topic. The broad success of the program over the years validated our belief in the interdisciplinary matters of entrepreneurism.

In 2008, George Mason University, where I am now president, was recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the most innovative, entrepreneurial, and up and coming university in the United States. I am most proud of this designation. Universities must both teach and study entrepreneurism, and we must be entrepreneurial. In a nutshell, we must preach and, most importantly, practice what we preach.Alan Merten was Dean of the

Johnson School from 1989 to 1996,

when he left to become president of

George Mason University. He was a

founding dean of E@C.

Bob Felton

In 1992, thanks to the leadership of Dean David Call of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Dean Alan Merten of The Johnson School, along with several alumni and faculty members, the Personal Enterprise Program (PEP) and the Entrepreneurship Program were merged into the University-wide Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise (EPE) Program. Deans Call and Merten invited all of the other deans to join to form the governing board.

I began my association with the EPE Council in 1988 because I believed that EPE was one of the few places at Cornell where council members had a real say in the direction of the program. This was because its operations at the time were entirely funded by the members. I particularly liked the fact that this was a university-wide program and so many of the deans participated.

I chaired the council from 1994 – 1995 and again in 1998 – 2000. In 1995 I agreed to provide five years of funding for the program which helped EPE to hire John Jaquette as its director. Felton ’61 is founder, venture

capitalist, chairman, president

and CEO of DevonWay, Inc.,

a software and services firm

for the nuclear power industry.

He was also founder of INDUS

International, Inc. (now ABB/

Ventyx). He was Cornell Entrepreneur

of the Year in 1998.

Harvey kinzelberg

When I was an engineering student at Cornell, entrepreneurship wasn’t something that was discussed or you considered. You were supposed to graduate and get a job as an engineer at one of the “Big Three.” But if we had the classes and activities then as we do now, it would have encouraged me to focus on and accelerate the timeline for starting my own business.

I started the Kinzelberg Entrepreneurship in Engineering program because, even though there wasn’t a formal entrepreneurship program in the College of Engineering, a high percentage of my fellow graduates had become entrepreneurs. I thought we needed to do something to help students who want to become entrepreneurs

learn the skills they need to know – from writing a business plan, to marketing, finance and managing the obstacles of starting a

company.Now, our students have the tools to understand all of the

responsibilities of a business owner. I also think that the faculty associated with Entrepreneurship@Cornell, are some of the best leaders at the university. I’m confident that this level of excellence will continue.Kinzelberg ’67 is Founder and

President of Sequel Capital

Corporation and was also the

founder of Meridian Leasing

Corporation. He was Cornell

Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992.

1989Bruce F. Failing Sr.,

Professor of Personal

Enterprise endowed in

the College of Agriculture

and Life Sciences by the

Failing family.

1992J. Thomas Clark ’63 MBA ’64 and Nancy

Williams Clark ’62 M. Ed. ’64, create

the J. Thomas Clark Professorships

of Entrepreneurship and Personal

Enterprise. The Entrepreneurship

and Personal Enterprise Program is

formally recognized as a university-

wide program.



Robert J. swieringa

Entrepreneurship@Cornell has dramatically increased and enhanced Cornell connections among and across colleges and departments and with alumni and others (CEN).

Performance learning opportunities through business plans in courses, competitions and internships have increased dramatically as well. E@C has become an intense, collaborative community within and beyond Cornell. Swieringa served as the Anne and

Elmer Lindseth Dean of the Johnson

School from 1997 to 2007 and is a

current professor of accounting at

Johnson.

Lee Pillsbury

I always had entrepreneurial aspirations, but as a Cornell student there wasn’t a lot of support. I think I probably spent 10 years longer than I needed to in becoming an

entrepreneur because I didn’t have the access to the same opportunities and learning experiences students have today.

When my wife Mary and I established the Pillsbury Institute at the Hotel School, there were three things on our minds:• We wanted students to have more exposure to the issues entrepreneurs have to deal with

every day.• A number of Hotel School students already come from entrepreneurial families – who run

everything from hotels to duck farms. So there’s already a high level of interest in owning and building a business.

• Entrepreneurship is the key to economic growth for our country. It’s not the large Fortune 50 companies who are creating jobs; it’s the smaller companies. We need to show students how to start those companies.

I’ve always felt that even if you’re an art history major, you’re an entrepreneur of your own life and career. Whether you’re a company president or managing your own veterinary practice, you will benefit by knowing how to write a business plan, how to manage your employees and how to make decisions.

Cornell has a unique model for entrepreneurship across the university, one that’s a great strength and a great challenge. I hope that 20 years down the line, every school and college at Cornell can adopt a strong entrepreneurship component as part of its core curriculum.Pillsbury ‘69 and his wife Mary founded the Pillsbury

Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at the School of

Hotel Administration. He is the CEO

and co-chairman of Thayer Lodging

Group, founded Grand Heritage Hotels and

had a 20-year tenure at Marriott Corporation.

Rob Ryan

I would say that the most important accomplishment of the entrepreneurship program at Cornell has been building a community so that people interested in entrepreneurship can connect to each other.

That was my idea in starting the Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN). There’s a whole world of people who want to be entrepreneurs, but most people don’t know how to begin

or they don’t have an idea. By developing a support system and a community, we can change that poor equation.

Now that CEN is established and successful, it’s time to take the next step. I’d like to see a set of courses offered – either online or on campus – that help people get started, both current students and alumni. Beyond what’s being offered in the 100 or so entrepreneurship courses on campus, these courses would help people move all the way from having a blank sheet of paper to a business.

When we started expanding the work of Entrepreneurship@Cornell, entrepreneurship was a footnote on campus, but now I would say that entrepreneurship has really taken hold.Founder of Ascend Commnications and Entreprenuer America, Ryan ’69 now runs a boot camp for promising entrepreneurs at his

Montana ranch and mentors Cornell students. He was Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002.

1993The Harvey Kinzelberg

Enterprise Engineering

Program is endowed by

Harvey Kinzelberg ’67.

2000Rob ’69 and Terry ’69 Ryan

provide five-year funding to

support the creation of the

Cornell Entrepreneur Network

(CEN).

david Bendaniel

Entrepreneurship@Cornell is the best example of a successful university-wide program at Cornell. There have been many other attempts to develop programs that involved a variety of schools and colleges, but those have broken down over time. E@C is viewed by everyone as a successful example of how schools and colleges can work together.

One of the best things to come from the program has been the Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN), which has been wildly successful, especially on the west coast.

And there are definitely a tremendous amount of entrepreneurs who come from Cornell – it’s almost a factory for entrepreneurs (according to the recent study by Ted Zoller of the University of North Carolina.) And that’s not so surprising considering that Cornell was started by an entrepreneur for his time.BenDaniel is the Don & Margi Berens Professor of

Entrepreneurship at Johnson.

scott Belsky

My most valuable lesson learned at Cornell was how to boldly pursue genuine interests and engage others in the process. This was a lesson learned not only in class, but as a budding entrepreneur on campus.Prior to arriving at Cornell, I had started a small sportswear

business with a high-school friend. I considered it a hobby-turned-business and didn’t know much about entrepreneurship at the time.

But something about the start-up experience fascinated me. My first Cornell defining moment occurred second

semester of freshman year. An older classmate suggested I drop by an office in Warren Hall to learn more about entrepreneurship. At the time, the Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise Program (EPE) was relatively new. Nevertheless, I was encouraged to join the Cornell Entrepreneur Organization (CEO) and ultimately took six entrepreneur-flagged classes in three different colleges.

I was struck by the diversity of the classes and the students’ passion to develop their skills and pursue their interests. I learned how to write a business plan and conduct market research. More importantly, I began to develop ideas with my peers outside of class. Late nights were spent in the library doing research and plotting marketing strategies

Looking back, my Cornell experience helped develop an invaluable skill set for making ideas happen. After a five-year stint at Goldman Sachs, I earned my MBA from Harvard Business School. And while I enjoyed the MBA curriculum and case studies on start-ups, it was my experiential education in entrepreneurship at Cornell that emboldened me to start my own business upon graduation.

Over the past few years, my team at Behance has expanded to 30 extremely talented people. But Cornell continues to run strong in our company’s DNA — our company has hosted interns through E@C and I proudly serve on the Advisory Council.Belsky ’02 is the co-Founder and CEO of Behance, the leading

online platform for the creative industry to showcase and

discover creative work. He is also the author of the international

bestselling book “Making Ideas Happen”.



deborah streeter

From its early days, when many programs simply seemed an outgrowth of the dot.com boom (and bust) and thus focused on technology start-ups, entrepreneurship education has moved into a broader arena. Today it seems everyone wants to claim to be focused on entrepreneurship, not just business programs, but engineering, the arts, law, medicine, etc. The trend fits Yusuf’s definition that pegs entrepreneurship as “creating value through change.”

Painting with a broad brush, value can be measured with money (profit) or meaning (social outcomes) and change can be the result of any of the following: applying creative business models, solving social problems, finding production efficiencies, inventing new technology solutions, looking for innovative materials, finding ways to reach a new scale of business, applying new management strategies, optimizing the supply chain, creating new markets, and much more.

Some feel this new, broader approach simply muddies the water (they ask: what the heck — is everything entrepreneurship?), but I find the approach more inclusive, and as long as one keeps the context in mind, many of the same principles (e.g., cash flow is king, everything revolves around people issues) apply whether you are commercializing a cancer cure or growing a pizza shop.

Entrepreneurship education has nurtured and inspired optimism in the students I encounter. Although it may be an illusion that being entrepreneurial gives one more control (after all, the customers really control everything), the courses and extracurricular experiences offered to students provide a new sense of empowerment, a feeling that they can tackle what is ahead for our globe. Their optimism is contagious!Streeter is the Bruce F. Failing Sr. Professor of Entrepreneurship

at the Dyson School.

2001EPE is named a

NASDAQ Center

for Entrepreneurial

Excellence.

2002Deborah Streeter, John Jaquette, and

Kathy Hovis publish “University-wide

Entrepreneurship Education:

Alternative Models and Current

Trends,” a nationally-recognized

working paper.


Into the future: E@C is actively realizing its vision

to “create a diverse, university-wide

program that finds and fosters the

entrepreneurial spirit in every Cornell

participant – in every college, every

field and every stage of life.”


Bill trenchard

I’m a strong believer that the earlier you start as an entrepreneur, the greater

your chances of success. I started my first company at 19

and my second at 21, both while I was at Cornell, and had success as an

entrepreneur right after graduation.When I was a student, since I was already

starting a business, I wanted to absorb as much as possible from my classes and from the interactions I had with visiting entrepreneurs. Some of the best conversations and “teachable moments” happened after class. I was able to put into practice what I was learning almost immediately with my own business.

Cornell has all of the raw talent, resources and brain power to have amazing companies coming from our students, graduate students and professors. They just need the right environment and the exposure. I want to be someone who helps those people chase their dreams.

I believe that young people really do change the world and I believe that there are at least one or two Facebooks or Googles spinning around in the heads of our students right now. Their early experiences at Cornell are critical to their success in the future.Trenchard ’97 is CEO of LiveOps, Inc.;

founder and former CEO of Callcast; and a past

managing director at idealab!

Zoe wong

Entrepreneurship classes at Cornell have exposed me to the many realities and challenges

faced by entrepreneurs. It has been eye opening to

meet various entrepreneur guest lecturers and learn from

their experiences, including any mistakes they might have made along the way.

In Fall 2010, I co-founded the Society for Social Entrepreneurship and Collaborative Action (SSECA), an umbrella organization at Cornell that strives to promote social entrepreneurship and encourage collaborative action between student change makers on campus. Through SSECA’s two main annual events (Cornell’s Alternative Gift Fair in December and Social Entrepreneurship Conference in April), I have the opportunity to interact with and support many current and aspiring social entrepreneurs on campus. It has been most rewarding bringing together these

like-minded individuals and helping them to achieve their goals.

My involvement and experience working with

social entrepreneurs at Cornell have made me realize that many of them have difficulty in raising funds and capacity building. I hope to pursue a career in impact investing

where I can provide social entrepreneurs with both

financial and technical support to achieve their missions and

scale their impact. Wong ’13 is a sociology major in the College of Arts

and Sciences and has been an intern at Entrepreneurship@

Cornell, focusing on social entrepreneurship.

winston Feng

My participation in entrepreneurship activities has been the greatest influence on my Cornell experience outside of academia.

Before Cornell, I believed that starting a business was a necessary (and perhaps sufficient) condition of being an entrepreneur. But after interning at Entrepreneurship@Cornell, attending guest lectures by successful alumni entrepreneurs and networking with entrepreneurial students, I learned that being an entrepreneur was something much deeper. The simple diversity of everyone’s experiences taught me that it is neither a product nor a result, but rather a guiding attitude toward taking control of one’s life and career. It’s a universal spirit that drives successful individuals in start-ups, non-profit social organizations and even the largest corporations alike to take risks, make the most out of the situation and lead in the context of change and uncertainty. And it

is with this spirit that I have transformed my original curiosity in finance into a passion, and finally, a pragmatic path for my career.

I did not start a single business in college, nor do I know if I ever will. What I do know, however, is that I will take away forever the entrepreneurial spirit that was instilled by my Cornell experience — wherever I am, whatever I do. Feng ’12 is an ILR major and has been an intern at

Entrepreneurship@Cornell.

Jeff Parker

When we first started talking about the potential of forming a university wide entrepreneurship program some 25 years ago, it was catalyzed by the idea of putting the Personal Enterprise Program in CALS together with the Entrepreneur of the Year Program in the Johnson School. Back then, entrepreneurship was just coming into its own. There weren’t many young people starting things like Facebook and Google. Most graduating business students headed off to Wall Street or to consulting.

Initially, the entrepreneurship program was just a bunch of interested alumni meeting periodically to discuss early stage businesses and ways to start more entrepreneurial activities in and around the university. It didn’t take long to realize that if our efforts were to go anywhere we needed to hire a full time person who would be based at the university. We funded a professional executive search and were lucky to find John Jaquette to take on the role of director. I remember telling John that the success of the program would rest essentially on his shoulders since he really didn’t have anyone on campus to report to.

Over the past 20 years, I can sincerely say that the program has benefitted immensely from John’s leadership. That being said, we probably never dreamed that there would be more than 100 courses in entrepreneurship across the University in addition to programs like CEN and the eLab student business accelerator.Parker ’65, MEN ’66, MBA ’70, is managing director of the Parker Family Limited Partnership and a Venture Partner at GrandBanks

Capital (Boston). He was also co-founder and CEO of CCBN, a founder of FirstCall and a past CEO of Thomson Financial. In addition

to being the past Chair of the Johnson School Alumni Council, he is a Trustee Emeritus and was the Entrepreneur of the Year in 2001.

2004The Entrepreneurship and

Personal Enterprise Program

becomes Entrepreneurship@

Cornell.


FACuLty & stAFF FACuLty & stAFFENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL ENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

Entrepreneurship in the Classroom E@C Program Faculty

Entrepreneurs in Residence provide mentoring and advice from experience

David BenDanielJohnson

Alan BiloskiJohnson

Robert BloomfieldJohnson

Vicki BoganCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Susanne BruyereSchool of Industrial & Labor Relations

Diane BurtonSchool of Industrial & Labor Relations

Kathryn CaggianoCollege of Engineering

John CallisterCollege of Engineering

Susan ChristophersonCollege of Architecture, Art and Planning

Ralph ChristyCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Daniel CohenSchool of Industrial & Labor Relations

Christopher CollinsSchool of Industrial and Labor Relations

Sheila DankoCollege of Human Ecology

Mark EisnerCollege of Engineering

Cathy EnzSchool of Hotel Administration

David FunkCollege of Architecture, Art and Planning

Steven GalJohnson

Bruce GanemCollege of Arts and Sciences

the Cornell entrepreneur in Residence (eIR) program focuses on mentoring and

advising Cornell-connected start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The EIR actively works with entrepreneurially minded members of the Cornell community including all Cornell undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni. The EIR assists these constituents in developing proposed business ideas (including business plan review), solidifying business strategy, identifying market position, securing intellectual property and obtaining funding. The EIR mentors and advises start-ups, particularly those in the early stages of development and those seeking to commercialize Cornell technology. In addition, the EIR works with aspiring Cornell entrepreneurs to move potential ventures from the idea phase to start-up, and helps Cornell inventors (including professors and PhD students) create businesses around Cornell technology.

Alison B. Gerlach ’93 is the EIR for 2011-12. Gerlach is a successful serial entrepreneur, investor, business executive, strategic management consultant and lecturer with expertise in and passion for building businesses. After doing extensive research in optimizing the business start-up process while pursuing her MBA at MIT, Gerlach went on to build successful businesses in industries including media, technology, entertainment services, consumer packaged goods and professional services. Prior to her entrepreneurial endeavors, she was a strategic management consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton specializing in supply chain management, business process redesign and revenue building strategies for Fortune 100 consumer companies. In addition, she has experience in overseas investment banking specializing in M&A and new product development.

Across campus, other entrepreneurs in residence provide guidance in their areas of expertise:

• At the School of Hotel Administration, Elizabeth Ngonzi ’98, founder and chief executive officer of Amazing Taste, LLC; James H. Quest ’56, an entrepreneur with more than 40 years of experience with small and large companies; and Jacob Wright, co-founder and president of Action Companies, all serve as entrepreneurs in residence.

• Johnson’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute has assembled a group of alums and friends with a wide range of industry experience to be “Virtual Entrepreneurs in Residence.” Members of this group are active business people and service providers, not resident at Johnson, who are willing to talk with Cornell affiliated people (students, alums, faculty and staff) about their businesses and business ideas. The Institute also maintains an active roster of VCs in Virtual Residence, who offer the same expertise.

Johannes GehrkeFaculty of Computing and Information Science

Emmanuel GiannelisCollege of Engineering

Melvin GoldmanJohnson

Don GreenbergFaculty of Computing and Information Science

Stuart HartJohnson

R. Brooke HollisCollege of Human Ecology

Daniel HuttenlocherFaculty of Computing and Information Science

Arturs KalninsSchool of Hotel Administration

Jan KatzSchool of Hotel Administration

Adam KlausnerSchool of Hotel Administration

John KuderCollege of Human Ecology

Aija LeiponenCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

William LesserCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Mark MilsteinJohnson

John NesheimJohnson

Anil NetravaliCollege of Human Ecology

H. Pike OliverCollege of Architecture, Art and Planning

Pedro PerezCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Per Pinstrup-AndersenCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Jim QuestSchool of Hotel Administration

Stephani RobsonSchool of Hotel Administration

George SchneiderJohnson

Robert SeemCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Zachary ShulmanJohnson

Wesley SineJohnson

Barry StraussCollege of Arts and Sciences

Deborah StreeterCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Neil TaralloPillsbury Institute of Hospitality Entrepreneurship

Michael ThonneyCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Michael TimmonsCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Pam TolbertSchool of Industrial and Labor Relations

Cindy Van EsCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Lou WalcerMcGovern Center for Venture Development in Life Sciences

Rhett WeissJohnson

Anke WesselsCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

William WhiteCollege of Human Ecology

Alison B. Gerlach


FACuLty & stAFF FACuLty & stAFFENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL ENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

CornellBESTEnhancing entrepreneurship through technology transfer

New leaders take entrepreneurship and business posts on campus

three new leaders have recently taken posts at various

entrepreneurship centers and offices across campus, bringing new

energy and ideas to the entrepreneurial spirit at Cornell.

Rhett Weiss, the new executive director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute at Johnson, also serves on the faculty, teaching and advising graduate students in the areas of entrepreneurship, private equity and venture capital. Weiss has more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, consultant and attorney who led domestic and foreign strategic transactions. Prior to joining Cornell, Weiss served as a senior team leader for strategic development at Google.

Neil Tarallo is the new academic director of the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at the School of Hotel Administration. Tarallo, also a senior lecturer, was most recently a clinical assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, where he taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. He is also the executive director of the Empowerment through Entrepreneurship program, which provides students with an opportunity to experience entrepreneurship around the world.

Louis Walcer ’74 is the new leader for the Kevin M. McGovern Family Center for Venture Development in the Life Sciences, Cornell’s life sciences incubator housed in Weill Hall. Walcer, previously a senior commercialization officer at Cleveland Clinic Innovations, has extensive experience developing start-ups and commercialization ventures. Before his Cleveland Clinic position, Walcer served as president of Medimop USA, a drug delivery company, and was in marketing, new product and business development with Schering-Plough and Wyeth.

Rhett weiss, the new executive director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute at Johnson.

neil tarallo, the new academic director of the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at the School of Hotel Administration.

Louis walcer ’74, the new leader for the Kevin M. McGovern Family Center for Venture Development in the Life Sciences, Cornell’s life sciences incubator housed in Weill Hall.

A new program from the Cornell Center for technology enterprise & Commercialization (CCteC) is helping

Cornell entrepreneurs form new businesses based on Cornell technology.

CornellBEST (Cornell Big Red Entrepreneur Services and Training Program) highlights resources, services and training provided by CCTEC and other units at Cornell, to encourage and aid Cornell inventors in forming new businesses based on licensed Cornell technologies. CCTEC provides support throughout each stage of the start-up life cycle including idea incubation, organizing the start-up, licensing and company growth and development.

“CornellBEST is an enhanced technology transfer platform that connects elements of technology, technical talent, business and management talent and financial resources to provide a nourishing ecosystem for entrepreneurs,” said Laura Cima, Director of CornellBEST and CCTEC’s Outreach and Economic Development Manager. One of the program’s goals is to leverage Cornell innovations to promote the formation of new businesses for regional economic development.

The formation of new businesses fulfills an important expectation of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and the University’s Land Grant mission to New York State. The Bayh-Dole Act encourages universities to retain titles to inventions made under federally-funded research. Technology transfer is the key portal in the commercialization of such inventions to benefit society. New business formation is one of the ways of commercializing inventions for regional benefit.

“As the Land Grant University of New York State, Cornell has a mission to develop innovations into products and services that will benefit the citizens and economy of the state,” said Alan Paau, Vice Provost for Technology Transfer and Economic Development and Executive Director of CCTEC. “Cornell start-ups support this mission by creating jobs and enhancing economic vitality of the state.” To learn more, visit cctec.cornell.edu

An attendee at CCTEC’s New Business & Emerging

Technology Showcase during Celebration 2011 talks with a

representative from Novomer, a Cornell start-up.

For more information, see:• hotelschool.cornell.edu/industry/centers/pihe/• biotech.cornell.edu/index.cfm/page/bizinc.htm• johnson.cornell.edu/Entrepreneurship-and-Innovation-Institute.aspx



By kathy Hovis

entrepreneurship@Cornell’s Celebration 2011 brought together nearly 1,000 people April 14 and 15 — for

presentations, symposia and networking. the 2012 Celebration event will offer a similar opportunity to

celebrate everything entrepreneurial at Cornell.

The conference opened with a roundtable on family business featuring Peter H. Coors ’69, chairman of Molson Coors Brewing Co., who told audience members that the family business has survived and thrived for more than a century because of their willingness to think big, take some risks and be creative.

A highlight of the two-day conference was the recognition of Harris Rosen ’61 as Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year 2011. Rosen, a graduate of Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, told audience members that education opened the doors for him to succeed as an entrepreneur. After years of success in the hotel industry – Rosen is founder and president of Rosen Hotels and Resorts Inc., the largest private hotel group in Florida – Rosen is now also known for the creation of a self-insured healthcare program for his employees and for his commitment to the Tangelo Park neighborhood, where he provides free preschool and college or trade school education for neighborhood children.

“I do believe that there is as much intellectual talent in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in the U.S. as there is in the most affluent neighborhoods,” he said. “My dream is that one day we’ll have hundreds if not thousands of Tangelo Park programs throughout the United States.”

Participants at Celebration also enjoyed numerous panel sessions focused on topics as diverse as the business of local foods, critical junctures (when to grow or sell a company) and sports marketing and management.

Panelist Josh Tetrick ’04, CEO, 33needs, took part in a Friday afternoon group focused on social entrepreneurship. His business connects investors to social enterprises in need of venture capital.

“I tell entrepreneurs to think about the big needs and how your business can be successful by meeting those needs,” Tetrick said.

Celebrating entRePReneuRIAL Cornel lSpirit @

Ithaca businessman Don Ellis, director of technical planning for Ithaca’s GORGES Web Development & Internet Solutions, said he attends the conference to network with potential clients and take advantage of the educational offerings.

“I have three entrepreneurial ideas I will work on as a result of the sessions I attended yesterday,” Ellis said during the conference breakfast on its second day. Ellis’ company was a sponsor of Celebration 2011.

“I’m so impressed with the collaborative environment and the willingness of everyone here to be part of each other’s support network,” said Emily Berger ’92, director in the investments office at The Rockefeller Foundation and a member of the Entrepreneurship@Cornell Advisory Council.

Other Celebration highlights included:

• The finals of two business plan competitions. Carolyn Witte ’12 and Jaser Faruq ’12 won “The BIG Idea” competition for their idea, Malaria TechNet, a technology-enhanced bed net that helps prevent malaria while using solar power to help residents charge cell phones and run fans to make using bed nets more comfortable. And SynAirCo Inc., presented by the management team of Crista Shopis ’95, Adam Conderman MBA ’11, and Charles Hamilton ’95, MBA ’04, won the $10,000 first-place prize in the 2011 Cornell Venture Challenge.

• A new business and emerging technology showcase from the Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise and Commercialization, which featured new agriculture and plant varieties, advances in biomedical and bioengineering applications and life and physical sciences innovations.

• The Technology, Business and Resource Expo, where more than 40 exhibitors shared information and offered connections for entrepreneurs.

• Numerous opportunities for networking and engagement with other entrepreneurs.

For more information about Celebration 2012 or to sign up, visit eship.cornell.edu/activities/celebration/2012.

From top to bottom: Shelley Porges ’74, M.A. ’77, senior advisor, Global

Women’s Business Initiative, US Department of State, spoke on a

Celebration panel.

Winners of “The BIG Idea” Competition stand with Vijay (MEN ’75) and

Sita Vashee, who fund prizes for the contest through their Promising

Entrepreneur Award Endowment Fund.

CCTEC’s New Business & Emerging Technology Showcase allowed Cornell

inventors to show off their technologies to interested alumni, students and

entrepreneurs.

Photos by Jon Reis



Top: Leaders of the student business DANI,

who exhibited at the expo, hope to help people

curb their appetites by providing tools for

portion control.

Right: Harris Rosen ’61, president and

chief operating officer of Rosen Hotels and

Resorts Inc. in Orlando, Florida and Cornell

Entrepreneur of the Year 2011, speaks with

students after his keynote address.

Left: Michael Huyghue ’84, commissioner

of the United Football League spoke on a

Celebration panel on sports marketing.

Right: Attendees learned about student

and alumni businesses and resources for

entrepreneurs during the Technology,

Business and Resource Expo.

Photos by Jon Reis

Alexander named CEY 2012

John Alexander ’74, MBA ’76, a founder of the CBORd Group Inc., will be honored on campus April 19-

20, 2012 as the Cornell entrepreneur of the year 2012.

Inspired by his food-service experience gained while working at Cornell Dining, Alexander founded CBORD in 1975, when he was a physics major in the College of Arts and Sciences, in partnership with two other Cornellians. The company operated out of his apartment in New York City before moving to its first office, a house on State Street in Ithaca. The business, which initially focused on computer software systems for food and nutritional services, made its first sale to Syracuse University.

Alexander served as CBORD’s CEO and president until 2004, when the corporation had grown to more than 240 employees, serving more than 4,000 clients worldwide. The company now provides cashless campus card systems, food and nutrition service management software, nationwide student discount and off-campus commerce programs, housing and judicial process management software, and integrated security solutions. Alexander sold the majority of his shares in the company in 2004; he served as chairman until 2008, when CBORD was sold to a public company.

In the philanthropic arena, Alexander works with the United Way of Tompkins County, serving as an emeritus member of its board, and the Food Bank of the Southern Tier, where he is heading its first capital campaign. John and his wife, Elaine ’77, were co-chairs for the Hangar Theatre’s capital campaign in 2009-10, which resulted in major renovations to the Ithaca theater.

Alexander was an alumni-elected Cornell trustee from 2000 to 2004 and a trustee-at-large from 2004 to 2008, and he served on numerous committees and chaired the Audit Committee for four years. He now serves on the boards of the Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise and Commercialization and the Cornell Research Foundation, and on the Entrepreneurship@Cornell Advisory Council. He is an emeritus member of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management’s Advisory Council.


ALuMnI ALuMnIENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL ENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN), Cornell Silicon Valley (CSV) and Cornell Wall Street (CWS)

Help for the fashion- challenged wonder if the leopard print tunic you’re

trying on really flatters your shape?

Or if the smoky gray eye shadow looks good

with your date-night attire? Just ask a friend

– or 300,000 or so of them online.

Marissa Evans ’06 is trying to make fashion faux pas a thing of the past with her website, gotryiton.com, which allows people to upload photos of clothing or makeup and seek advice from others on their look.

“I was noticing that when my girlfriends were getting ready, they were always asking ’which one do you think I should wear?,’ “ Evans said. “When my sister went away to law school, I found myself sending her photos of my outfits, but she was busy and couldn’t always help.”

Thus was born the idea for her site, which launched in March of 2010 and has more than 300,000 app downloads so far.

Her users are 80 percent women who most often post work or casual outfits to be reviewed by others. The men who post are normally getting ready for a date or a wedding and want to look their best.

People seeking advice can either post to a general public page or select only “personal

Cornell entrepreneur network (Cen), Cornell silicon valley (Csv) and Cornell wall street (Cws) continue to

provide world-class programming and valuable net working opportunities for Cor nell alumni, students,

parents and faculty. the events that take place throughout the country (and, in the near future, globally), via

online webinars and livestreaming are designed to help attendees develop business relationships with each

other while reconnecting with Cornell. throughout 2011, the three programs featured alumni industry leaders on

today’s timely topics including: tech entrepre neurship, cleantech, web marketing, cloud computing, intellectual

property, social entrepreneurship, sports marketing, food entrepreneurship, healthcare, venture capital,

international business, start-up stories, the state of the economy and many others. + To find out more, visit cen.cornell.edu

stylists,” friends or people they meet on the site, to comment on their looks. Users are told to be respectful and offer only constructive comments, she said, which are read by a team before they’re posted.

Evans said she’s enjoyed seeing the popularity of her site grow by word of mouth or mentions in blogs or e-newsletters such as Daily Candy, a daily e-mail on fashion and style.

“Every night, I see an upload from a girl in Korea who shows her outfit for the next day,” she said.

Evans began her entrepreneurial career at Cornell with a T-shirt business targeting the Greek community. She also worked with Campus Promotions at Student Agencies and names Deborah Streeter, a Dyson School entrepreneurship professor, as a valued mentor.

“I took the women and entrepreneurship class and was so fascinated and inspired by what I learned,” said Evans, who has been back to campus as a speaker in Streeter’s class.

“If you want to be an entrepreneur, just take the first little step and write it down on a piece of paper,” she said. “Do that one little step and then take another. All those little things will add up.”

From her own first little steps, Evans’ business now employs 10 people and has raised two rounds of venture capital funding.

“You’ll talk to all kinds of people who will tell you why your idea won’t work, but keep persevering and go for it,” she said.

For more, visit gotryiton.com

event HIGHLIGHts:

new HOsPItALIty RuLes FOR A new eCOnOMy: LOs AnGeLes with Elizabeth Blau, Founder & CEO, Blau & Associates; Greg Dollarhyde ‘80, MBA ‘81, President & CEO, The Veggie Grill, Inc.; Susan Sarich ‘91, Founder, SusieCakes; Chris Simms ‘97, CEO & Founder, The Lazy Dog Café; Michael Simms ‘00, Managing Partner, Simmzy’s, Tin Roof Bistro, and Manhattan Beach Post

MOBILe PAyMents: tHe next teCH GOLd RusH?: sILICOn vALLey with John Balen ‘82, MBA ‘86, General Partner, Canaan Partners; Jeff Fenigstein MBA ‘01, Director, Solutions Architecture, American Express; Ken Kruszka ‘94, Executive Vice President of Product & Service Delivery, m-Via; Secil Watson ‘93, Sr. Vice President, Internet and Mobile Banking Services, Wells Fargo

A new BReed OF entRePReneuR In tHe BusIness OF HOsPItALIty, FOOd & dRInk: BOstOn with Tom Pedulla ‘60, Vice President Real Estate, Au Bon Pain Co Inc.; James Carmody ’81, Vice President & General Manager, Seaport Hotel and WTC (World Trade Center); Warren Q. Fields ‘85, Principal and Chief Investment Officer, Pyramid Hotel Group, LLC; Allison Goldberg ’89, CEO of New England Cranberry Company; Ming Tsai ‘MPS ‘89, Chef, Restaurateur, Author & TV Host


studentsENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL ENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

28 eship magazine 29www.eship.cornell.edu

FeAtuRe FeAtuReENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL ENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

Cornell ConnectionsUnlock the Ties that BindBy Aaron Holiday MBA ’12

entrepreneurship@Cornell is thrilled to be developing a tool

to help Cornellians connect with each other and to connect

with news from campus!

Cornell Connections is a geo-location based mobile application that connects entrepreneurially-minded Cornellians to alumni, students, professors, events and information relevant to their business and personal interests.

The mobile app, currently in beta testing, can be downloaded to a phone, ipad or other mobile device. Users can use a GPS tool on the app to locate and connect with Cornellians in the nearby area by interest and industry. The app can also deliver news on applied science and start-up business ideas, alert users of events via an Entrepreneurial Event Notification system and aggregate social media news relevant to entrepreneurship.

The current version connects Cornellians who are interested in entrepreneurship, commercialization of Cornell’s intellectual property, venture capital, and private equity; but we envision an application that will eventually connect Red Bears worldwide whose interests span different industries and topics. Cornell Connections is being developed by Aaron Holiday and Gen Furukawa, both MBA ’12, and will be led by Jenny Delaney, MBA ’13, when Holiday and Furukawa finish their degrees.

Inventive InternsE@C students add value during the summer

entrepreneurship@Cornell placed 71 student interns

in entrepreneurial businesses across the country

during the summer of 2011, to experience firsthand the

life of an entrepreneur.

“The position gave me a better perspective of how businesses operate in the greater context of the economy,” said Jennifer Werbitsky ’13, who spent the summer conducting in-depth analyses of investment opportunities for High Bar Capital in New York City. “Every day was different. And it was so exciting having this real-world practice of the things I’ve learned in classes.”

For Chris Wilkerson ‘95, founder, president and CEO of High Bar Capital, “Jennifer also helped us with ongoing operations projects that we’ve had but haven’t had the bandwidth to address.”

While Werbitsky spent the summer doing investment analysis, Megan Kaminska ’11 and Candice Elliott ’11, helped retail clothing store owner Michelle Li ‘00 build her fledgling store, Onassis Clothing LLC, in New York City.

Elliott, an apparel design major, worked on designs and accessories and even designed a bracelet the company planned to offer this year. Kaminska, an applied economics and management major, worked on finance and marketing efforts, sometimes shopping “undercover” to compare prices and designs with other stores, and also helped develop the company’s employee handbook. True to a real entrepreneurial effort, the pair also got to visit flea markets around the city, searching for unique items they could use to decorate the new store.

“Working with a start-up, you see things from the ground up, both the successes and the failures,” Kaminska said. “It’s great to be able to say ‘I was a part of that.’ ”

“The students who go through our internship program consistently say their summer experiences help them to solidify their future career paths,”

Jennifer Werbitsky ‘13, center, spent the summer of 2011 interning

with High Bar Capital in New York City, working with associate

Carl Runge, left, and founder, president and CEO Chris Wilkerson

‘95, right.

Sam Seltzer ‘48, worked with intern host company Fountain House on

a new jewelry business, spearheaded by intern Yuan Cai MHA ‘11,

standing.


ENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELLFeAtuReENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

Interns, continued from page 29

By kathy Hovis

samantha Brummell’s ’12 summer placement with

the company e2e Materials helped her focus on two

areas of interest — sustainable technologies and start-

up environments.

From developing an operations plan for finishing equipment to researching and writing testing procedures to flying to California to see the company’s products being installed in an office, Brummell said her experience as a Kessler Fellow helped her refine her long-term career plans, as well as some short-term goals.

“I loved the idea that e2e (which creates a soy-based fiberboard and currently focuses on the office furniture industry) is creating technologies that can replace materials we use every day, and one day I hope I can have that impact on an industry,” said Brummell. e2e Materials was co-founded by Cornell professor Anil Netravali and is led by CEO and President Patrick Govang, formerly the director of the Cornell Center for Materials Research.

The Kessler Fellows Program in the College of Engineering, now beginning its fourth year, offers 12 juniors a full year of entrepreneurial experiences as they pursue their dreams of creation and innovation.

The program was founded by Andrew Kessler ’80, who wanted to give engineering students a better understanding of the business side of invention and innovation. Fellows receive mentoring from a senior officer in their host company.

Kessler Fellows begin their experience in the spring semester, with a class that includes a series of

30 eship magazine 31www.eship.cornell.edu

Brian Schiffer ’12, spent his summer with Zeo, a company

developing a non-invasive device to help people improve their sleep.

Michelle Li ‘11, owner of Onassis Clothing in the city, looks over bracelet designs

with Candice Elliott ‘11, a 2011 intern who helped the company with designs and

accessorie for its new store.

said Debra Moesch, Entrepreneurship@Cornell program manager and internship director. “They receive fabulous mentoring from top-level entrepreneurs and learn what it takes to succeed in an entrepreneurial environment.”

Yuan Cai, MHA ’11, spent her 2011 summer working with an entrepreneurial non-profit, Fountain House, also in New York City. Cai worked with members of Fountain House to develop a new jewelry business within the organization.

Fountain House helps people with mental illness by providing opportunities for members to live, work, and learn, while contributing their talents through a community of mutual support.

E@C Advisory Council member Sam Seltzer ’48 also lent his expertise to the new jewelry business, helping Cai and Fountain House members navigate the complicated area of customs and import regulations, as well as offering advice on business start-ups.

To learn more about the program or sign up to sponsor an intern, visit eship.cornell.edu/activities/internships/company.

Kessler Fellows make contributions to company growth


introductory entrepreneurship lectures and workshops, as well as class exercises that help students uncover their strengths, interests and passions. They also benefit from plenty of individual guidance from Tracey Brant, director of the Kessler program.

“The summers are so successful because of the energy the students are willing to put in during the spring in terms of self-discovery,” Brant said.

Those sessions prepare the Fellows for the main piece of their experience – a summer placement with a small to mid-sized entrepreneurial company.

To learn more, visit engineering.cornell.edu/kessler



’Game-changing’ tech campus

CORneLL, teCHnIOngoes to

By Anne Ju, Cornell Chronicle

new yORk — After months of negotiations, cheerleading and pleading their case, Cornell and partner the

technion — Israel Institute of technology was announced the winner of a bid to build a groundbreaking new

campus in new york City.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg named Cornell and Technion the winners of his highly publicized competition to create what he called a “game-changing” applied sciences and technology campus. The project, he said, promises to spur economic growth, job creation and high-tech entrepreneurship.

The announcement came at a press conference at Weill Cornell Medical College that was packed with New York City media, Cornell and Technion leadership, Cornell alumni and other supporters. It followed just days after Cornell announced a $350 million gift in support of the tech campus.

Congratulating the winners, Bloomberg invoked Cornell’s history as New York state’s land-grant university. With the promise of an 11-acre parcel on Roosevelt Island and $100 million in infrastructure improvements from the city, Bloomberg called the proposal a “new land grant” that will power economic growth.

“We believe this new land grant can help dreamers and entrepreneurs from around the world come to New York and help us become the world’s leading city for technological innovation,” Bloomberg said.

Cornell’s united front in support of the new campus was symbolized by a live shot, shown during the announcement, of students and alumni who packed

an overflow room at Weill Cornell. Cheering supporters at Technion were also broadcast from Haifa.

In the months since Cornell first announced its intention to win the bid, there was mounting evidence that it had support from many corners — a fact not unnoticed by the mayor and his staff. Deputy Mayor Bob Steel mused that of the approximately 50,000 New York area alumni, “most of them called me directly”; others sent him a book of 21,000 signatures petitioning for Cornell’s bid.

This groundswell was a large factor in Cornell’s success, noted Cornell Provost Kent Fuchs: “I think we were the only university that had unanimous support from the administration, faculty, staff, students and alumni.”

Flanked by Cornell and Technion officials and by members of the New York City Economic Development Corp., politicians and Roosevelt Island representatives, Bloomberg waxed about why Cornell and Technion had emerged as the ideal choice for the plan.

The Cornell-Technion proposal, Bloomberg said, was the boldest and most ambitious, as it included an enrollment of 2,500 students, 300 faculty and 2 million square feet of state-of-the-art classroom and research space.

To see a video flyover of the new campus, visit cornell.edu/video/?videoid=1811

Peretz Lavie, president of The Techion – Israel Institute of

Technology, and Cornell president David Skorton congratulate

each other during the announcement of the partners’ successful

bid for the CornellNYC Tech Campus, by New York City mayor

Michael Bloomburg, right.

Photo by Robert Barker, University Photography

Bottom: An artist’s rendering of the CornellNYC Tech Campus

on Roosevelt Island.

Photo courtesy University Photography

34 eship magazine

AdvIsORyENTREPRENEURSHIP@CORNELL

Advisory Council News and Notes

Terakeet Corporation in Syracuse, New York, has announced plans for exciting new growth of its company in 2012 and beyond. During 2011, Terakeet hired 12 new employees, including Brian Dalton, previously with Adobe, who assumed the role of vice president of sales and marketing. Terakeet also landed Universal Studios, Boston Scientific and PerkinElmer as new clients, among others. Co-founded by Mac Cummings ’02, Terakeet builds online presence and intelligent visibility through search engine and social media optimization on behalf of its clients for the products or services they provide. terakeet.com

Brian Distelburger ’01, president and founder of Yext, is working to revolutionize local search. Yext’s PowerListings launched less than a year ago, and is already the central system for local search for over 35,000 business locations across the country. In order to help businesses get their information into local search results on web, mobile and navigation devices, Yext has partnered with 36 properties including Yahoo!, MapQuest and Foursquare. Yext’s PowerListings Turbo was featured on Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital and TechCrunch. iMediaConnection named Yext as one of the “10 Tech Start-Ups Who’ve Wowed Them.” yext.com

A serial entrepreneur who’s led two highly successful IPOs, Bob Felton ’61 leads DevonWay, which is fast becoming the premier provider of innovative, next-generation enterprise software solutions for utilities and process industries. DevonWay is already the established leader in enterprise-class, hosted solutions for the nuclear power generation industry, serving over 50% of the U.S. nuclear fleet. DevonWay is expanding to address fossil, renewables, new plant construction and more. Proven results include lower operating costs, safer operations with increased asset optimization and human performance improvement. devonway.com

On July 27, 2011, Canaan Partners, a leading multi-billion dollar global venture capital firm, became the first venture firm to ring the NASDAQ stock market bell. Eric Young M.Eng. ’78 (third from left) founded Canaan Partners in 1987 and John Balen ’82, M.B.A. ’86 (second from left) has been a general partner with the firm since 1995. In honor of the occasion, the firm’s entire global team convened at the NASDAQ in New York City, recognizing the pivotal role the exchange plays in launching high-growth companies on the public market. Canaan Partners invests in visionary entrepreneurs and provides them the networks, insights and operational guidance required to valuable global companies. canaan.com

eship.cornell.edu.

“Finding and fostering the

entrepreneurial spirit in

every Cornell participant in

every college,

every field and

every stage of life.”

For the latest news, events, and all things entrepreneurial at Cornell visit us online ateship.cornell.edu 2012

entRePReneuRsHIP@CORneLL

Cornell University, 443 Warren HallIthaca, NY 14853 The Magazine of

entRePReneuRsHIP@CORneLL

Twitter: @CornellEship, Celebration hashtag: #eship12Facebook: Entrepreneurship@Cornell Celebration

20 yeARs 2000 - Cornell Universityeship.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/eship_2012_lowres.pdf · business created by Cornell undergrad teddy Brinkofski ’13. Brinkofski, a

Documents