Last August, burgeoning entrepreneurs entered Colgate’s Thought Into Action incubator with an idea. By April 6, twenty-six teams had turned those ideas into concrete ventures, which they presented to investors, mentors, and Colgate community members during Entrepreneur Weekend, part of the Colgate Leadership Tradition at 200 Years series.

The Thought Into Action program — now in its 10th year — has helped 529 entrepreneurs craft 349 ventures with the guidance of 158 alumni mentors. This year, student entrepreneurs have worked to form web apps, non-profit organizations, and companies like EverTights, a hosiery brand, and EDGE, a private aviation concierge service. Matthew Glick ’19, CEO of Gipper Media, says that Entrepreneur Weekend was an amazing opportunity to see what the entrepreneurial community at Colgate has to offer.

During the Bringing Businesses to Life panel, moderated by Bob Gold ’80, CEO and President at Ridgewood Capital, alumni provided insights into the best business practices for entrepreneurs across various fields.

“A person needs to have a true sense of grit,” Alexandra Thompson ’02, founder and creative director at Persifor, said. “It really takes a certain individual who has tough skin and can keep forging ahead.”

Denniston Reid ’94, Chief Schools and Innovation Officer at Excellence Community Schools, noted, “One key thing about my work is that I have to understand that it is a business. If you don’t understand that, you lose the focus of what you’re doing.”

Dan Hurwitz ’86, P’17, ’20, chair of the Colgate University Board of Trustees and founder and CEO at Raider Hill Advisors, said, “Every time you fail at something, it helps you focus on what you are good at. When you focus on what you’re good at, you’re destined to be successful.”

“There’s an excitement in the room — almost like a buzz,” said Glick. “E-Weekend is an amazing opportunity for not only the students and alumni who have started businesses but also for people to engage, connect, and hear from the expertise of members of the panel.”

Following the panel discussion, four TIA teams pitched their ventures in Colgate’s version of Shark Tank. Chris Cervizzi ’19, of the Concussion Survival Kit, won first place and a cash prize of $2500; senior Uyi Omorogbe’s NaSo venture placed second and received $1500; while both Jack Ablon ’21 of Edge and sibling-duo Maya Dunne ’21 and Kevin Dunne ’19 with Valet Seller each won $500.

Later in the program, Robert Johnson ’94 was recognized by Thought Into Action and the Alumni Corporation as the alumnus best exemplifying the ideals of entrepreneurship and was given the Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Students interested in joining the TIA incubator for the 2019–20 school year can reach out to Thought Into Action Director Mary Galvez at mgalvez@colgate.edu.

READ OUR ARCHIVES

SHARE

Did you know TIA is more than just the Student Incubator? While best known for the program that Andy Greenfield ’74 started ten years ago, we have grown TIA to include resources and programs for every stage of an entrepreneurs life. These include:

Resource Library – A collection of general research and materials valuable to any TIA or alumni entrepreneur, or member of the Colgate community.
Entrepreneur Weekend – A celebration of all things entrepreneurial at Colgate that includes speakers, student pitches, demo day, networking opportunities and panels.

Entrepreneur Weekend – A celebration of all things entrepreneurial at Colgate that includes speakers, student pitches, demo day, networking opportunities and panels.

Entrepreneur Professional Network (EPN) – A network of alumni entrepreneurs that leverage Colgate’s entrepreneurial spirit across the entire Colgate community, and across the US. EPN includes events and workshops; introducing students and alumni to fellow Colgate community members working throughout the field.

Summit Series – A yearlong series of of campus-based workshops and speakers covering broadly relevant entrepreneurial topics, open to all students and the broader Colgate community.

Student Incubator – The signature year-long incubator for launching Colgate ventures of all shapes and sizes (for-profit/social entrepreneurship/campus enrichment) powered by a network of alumni, parent, and community mentors involved in all aspects of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs Fund – A summer incubator for advanced ventures, providing seed funding, incubator space, and mentorship. The fund is open to students and recent alumni from the Colgate community.

TIA/PCD Co-Working Partnership – A collaboration between TIA and the Hamilton Partnership for Community Development to stimulate entrepreneurship in the region through the support of a new co-working space in downtown Hamilton.

TIA works with students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members – all aspiring entrepreneurs who have an idea and would like to turn it into something viable, sustainable – REAL. TIA helps all who walk through our doors turn their thought. . .into. . . action. The seed that Andy planted ten years ago has grown and is spreading its roots to all corners of the campus, community and greater Colgate ecosystem. We’re excited to see what the next ten years bring!

Thank you all for your continued support of TIA and entrepreneurship at Colgate!

READ OUR ARCHIVES

SHARE

Christina Weiler ’21 talks with Katie Finnegan ’05 at eWeekend

An entrepreneur can start anywhere. Technology, medicine, fashion, confection, music, or trash cans. I chose trash cans. I launched my business, UCan, to address the overproduction of waste through a recycling program that enables people to make monetary donations to local social causes simply by properly recycling materials.

The very first meeting, TIA taught me that talk is the best technology we have for polishing an idea. Students were told to explain their ventures to the student beside them, and then pitch it to the room. The experience of hearing the rhythm of an idea out loud while watching the reactions of real people renders incredible feedback. TIA teaches you to look for soundboards in everything, and use them.

TIA’s team of brilliant alumni mentors is the program’s greatest asset — critiquing pitches; meeting face-to-face monthly with student ventures in Hamilton; and always encouraging diligence, resilience, and flexibility. These are the resources necessary for a student-venture to flourish.

Entrepreneur Weekend, Colgate’s annual entrepreneurship Shark Tank competition, was a pinnacle moment to apply what I’d learned. I pitched UCan to a panel of judges and competed for a $4,000 investment. I stood on a stage and communicated my idea to an audience of alumni, faculty, and students — one of the most important soundboards I had seen yet.

The moment the judges announced UCan had won was surreal. I ended up winning the $4,000 in funding plus potential distribution through Walmart offices, offered by one of the judges.

Naturally, the event tripled my list of alumni contacts, all eager to offer expertise from their unique professional perspectives. As people circulated the room, many offered instant advice such as, “have you thought about targeting this market” or “what do you think about adjusting your brand like x company?” I had trouble scratching the suggestions onto paper as fast as they were handed to me.

One contact in particular was Brian Horey ’82, a TIA mentor. He offered to connect me with an environmental lawyer who works with Fordham University, to explore installing the UCan system on Fordham’s campus. A couple conversations led to an internship with SWEEP (Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol), a certification process for Municipal Solid Waste Programs that recognizes leadership in environmental, economic and social best practices. I started interning in New York City in late May and will continue throughout the summer.

In early June, TIA invited my business UCan to be focus-grouped by the annual Hackathon Think Tank (sponsored by Colgate’s Professional Networks) attended by alumni professionals from a variety of industries, including engineering and computer programming. I left the workshop with an updated website and solutions to problems that had stumped me all semester.

This is the value of TIA that upended my life as a student into one as a student-entrepreneur. TIA fosters countless opportunities to connect with people who want to help you solve problems. My experience launching UCan trained me to keep my ears and eyes tuned to soundboards around me. I’ve consulted professors, President Brian Casey, fellow students, family, and visiting lecturing professionals to bounce ideas for UCan. I am beyond excited to tackle UCan’s outstanding challenges (for instance, marketing and logo development) informed by the perspectives of a diverse team of insightful individuals.

— Christina Weiler is a rising sophomore planning on majoring in Environmental Economics. She is passionate about sustainability and social justice. She believes in the limitless potential of the human mind and capacity to solve global issues. Christina was the founder and president of the Environmental Club at her high school and the Environmental Education Program which educates and excites pre-school, elementary, and middle school aged students about recycling and environmental stewardship. Christina is an avid reader and writer of poetry. She won a National Gold Medal for Poetry in the Scholastic Writing Awards. Her favorite author is Anne Carson, who inspires Christina to familiarize herself with the mundane, ancient, and philosophical aspects of the universe.

READ OUR ARCHIVES

SHARE

Annual Report 2017-2018

VISION
Applying liberal arts to entrepreneurship, developing leaders who take action and impact the world.

MISSION
Thought Into Action, Entrepreneurship at Colgate (TIA) supports, promotes, and advances entrepreneurial activity across the Colgate community.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP OFFERINGS
TIA is best known for the program that Andy Greenfield ‘74 started nine years ago, which we now call the TIA Student Incubator. In addition to the incubator, we have grown TIA to include the following components (listed in order of increasing level of commitment by student entrepreneurs):

• Resource Library – A collection of general research and materials valuable to any TIA or alumni entrepreneur, or member of the Colgate community.
• Entrepreneur Weekend – A celebration of all things entrepreneurial at Colgate that includes speakers, student pitches, demo day, networking opportunities and panels.
• Entrepreneur Professional Network (EPN) – A network of alumni entrepreneurs that leverage Colgate’s entrepreneurial spirit across the entire Colgate community, and across the US. EPN includes events and workshops; introducing students and alumni to fellow Colgate community members working throughout the field.
• Summit Series – A yearlong series of of campus-based workshops and speakers covering broadly relevant entrepreneurial topics, open to all students and the broader Colgate community.
• Student Incubator – The signature year-long incubator for launching Colgate ventures of all shapes and sizes (for-profit/social entrepreneurship/campus enrichment) powered by a network of alumni, parent, and community mentors involved in all aspects of entrepreneurship.
• Entrepreneurs Fund – A summer incubator for advanced ventures, providing seed funding, incubator space, and mentorship. The fund is open to students and recent alumni from the Colgate community.

STUDENT INCUBATOR
TIA concluded its 9th year of the Student Incubator this April. This year so many great stories emerged from the Incubator that exemplified all aspects of the entrepreneurial journey: resiliency, adversity, success, iterating, learning, collaboration and more. Below are some highlights:

Highlights from selected 2018 TIA Ventures

• ISO is a creative content agency that develops cinematic-quality content for both clients and their own productions. The team has participated in both the 100 Level and 200 Level. They finished this year as one of our most progressive ventures. They have a long list of impressive clients that they’ve worked with, and their average client engagement is in the neighborhood of $5,000. They will be participating in the Entrepreneurs Fund this summer and then going full-time on their venture in the fall when they move to LA. Equally exciting, they were invited to make a film this summer with Colgate alum (and Academy Award-winning producer) Jeff Sharp ‘89. ISO is a great example of the variety of ventures that TIA helps nurture and grow. (Brandon Doby ‘18 & Lauren Sanderson ‘18)

• Lisa Heller Music is the story of a very talented singer songwriter, who after three years in TIA, is graduating and pursuing her career full-time. Through the Incubator she learned to build a business around her talent and networked to numerous key players in the music industry through the TIA and broader Colgate network. Lisa has performed in front of 5,000 person audiences, is recording her next album, and putting together a tour to debut her latest work. She is another great example of how TIA and our mentors help grow ventures of all shapes and sizes. (Lisa Heller ‘18)

• Gipper is a service for high school and college athletic departments to help their programs stand out on social media with engaging video content. TIA is very happy to have the Gipper team back for their third year; they have already participated in the 100 level, the Entrepreneurs Fund, and the 200 level this year. They are on track this summer to be generating over $30K in annual recurring revenue, and are just scratching the surface of their sales pipeline. They’ve built a highly complimentary team of software engineers, content and video experts, marketers and more. Most impressive has been their openness to learning and willingness to pivot away from things that haven’t worked, even after sinking lots of time, resources and capital into those strategies. The result is that they currently have a client base of top tier high schools and colleges who love their product and are renewing their contracts. They are working full-time this summer on the venture. (Matt Glick ‘19, Jack Zamore ‘20, Ruchit Shrestha ‘20, Abby Waxler ‘19 & Daniel Gathogo ‘20)

• NaSo is a clothing company that marries West African and American culture with beautiful prints and accents. The founder Uyi Omorogbe hit his stride this spring when one of our mentors pushed him to figure out how to start ‘hacking’ the product and actually going from thought to action by integrating his prints into existing garments. The bell went off in his head that he didn’t need to set up an entire manufacturing facility or develop a full line of clothes, but instead he could realize his vision immediately while on campus with existing wardrobes and a sewing machine and some trial and error. The results were really compelling – he styled a number of initial prototype garments, with which he did some market research to determine what the final product should look like. At the same time he created a website supported by beautiful video content that he created in collaboration with TIA venture ISO. This summer he is spending time in Nigeria collecting fabrics, developing partnerships and getting inspired to come back to TIA in the fall and join the 200 level. (Uyi Omorogbe ‘19 & Olajide Awelewa ‘18)

• Campus Coat Check provides coat checking as a service for events, bars and restaurants. This year in the 200 level they really hit their stride, and developed a successful business. The team built software from scratch to power their operations and create a seamless and intuitive experience for users. They pivoted away from their direct to student service for bars downtown, and focused on a B2B strategy, finding a very receptive client in Colgate Special Events. They successfully ran the coat check for a number of Colgate events this year, generating revenues in the range of $500-1,000 per event. In addition they helped power a number of Greek organization events. We’re confident they will develop a repeatable sales process and begin franchising to other campuses by next year. They are also exploring additional services, such as car valet. Most impressive is that they have run this as a proper business since day one, with all the necessary insurance and liability, as well as with thoughtful employee training, all the while constantly listening to the needs of their customers and reiterating as needed. (Ben Sharf ‘20, Chase Headrick ‘19, Brandon Gardner ‘19, Katie Bray McGhee ‘20, & Eli Byers)

• Dunne Marketing is a social media-marketing agency. The team is laser-focused on building a business that they can run full-time after graduation, and there isn’t a mentor in TIA that believes this won’t happen. The team has been incredibly successful in securing yearlong contracts with clients who are paying ~$1,000 / month. At any one time they are engaged with 8-10 clients, across industries including automotive, education, food and beverage, consumer technology, and more. They will spend next year building out their pipeline while narrowing their customer focus, and at the same time increasing the product offering and growing the team. They are participating in the Entrepreneurs Fund this summer as well. (Sheila Dunne ‘20 & Luke Goodwin)

• Halligan is a software tool that helps with the equipment and truck check process for fire departments and EMTs to ensure safety. The team has a great product and probably the most traction of any recent TIA venture, generating in excess of $100K+ in annual recurring revenue with a client base of over 150 departments. They participated in the eFund last year. Their biggest challenge has been the partnership, as two of the founders are older alums, and the other is a student, Adam, who carried the torch in the TIA Incubator. With support and mentorship from his TIA mentors, Adam decided this spring to part ways with the team, but not before negotiating a stock agreement as well as leveraging the entire experience to get a dream job as a software engineer. The amount of experience and learning he accumulated during his time in TIA is astounding, from product development, partnership disputes, building a sales pipeline, closing contracts, providing customer support and so much more. (Adam Pratt ‘18)

• Natural Beauty manufactures an all-natural fiber, organic, toxic-free breast prosthesis. The venture was founded by Jill Nelson, a Hamilton community member, and is great example of how TIA and the mentors are supporting local entrepreneurs in addition to students. Jill was awarded a $35K grant from the Partnership for Community Development (PCD) / NY State for her venture. She has done extensive market testing, has purchased the necessary equipment for initial inventory, and is in the process of setting up her e-commerce as well as negotiating wholesale accounts. She will be back in the fall for the 200 level and has a very innovative product that will be making a difference in the lives of women who are breast cancer survivors. (Jill Nelson)

Incubator Stats
The Incubator is separated into two groups. The 100 level is composed of first-time teams that are embarking on their first experience with entrepreneurship (much like learning a new sport). The 200 level is composed of teams that have completed the 100 level and return to continue growing their venture for a second (and in some cases third) year.

This was our third year running a 200 level program for ventures that have been in TIA for more than one year. While the 100 level is focused on the beginning entrepreneur and developing entrepreneurial competencies, the 200 level is focused more on the actual venture and includes more skill-based topics such as marketing, financial record keeping, board creation, growing sales, etc. With each successive year, we are seeing that the 200 level ventures are the ones that get the most traction and have the greatest potential to turn into viable, sustainable businesses and nonprofits.

Following is a high-level breakdown of students and ventures that participated for 2017/18.

Mentor Engagement
We have 147 active alumni, parent, and community mentors. A total of 43 mentors came to campus for at least one TIA session this past year. We averaged 22 mentors for each of our Saturday workshops. Of the total mentors this year, 9 are new. This year, mentors donated 2,880 hours to TIA. Over the past nine years, our mentors have given over 23,000 hours of their time to our students.

Our mentor advisory board consists of 10 lead mentors who have been with TIA for at least five years and make a commitment to come to at least seven of our eight monthly sessions. The group advises on curriculum, fundraising, marketing, etc. In addition, these 10 mentors provide 1-on-1 mentorship to the 200 level student entrepreneurs as well as to the 100 level groups in the afternoon breakout sessions. Lead mentors provide continuity to the ventures (so that students don’t feel that they are constantly bringing new mentors up-to-speed), while also sharing best practices with our newer alumni/community mentors.

Seed Grants
The purpose of the Seed Grant Program is to provide funding for eligible ventures in the Student Incubator to accelerate their progress and validate with real customers and stakeholders. Students may apply for up to $1,000 to use towards advancing their ventures. A detailed policy and application process is in place and can be found on the TIA website. This program is funded through the TIA gift fund.

This year we had 12 teams apply for a seed grant, with nine receiving funding for a total of $6,496. These include:

• The Viewing Room – awarded $200 for for rental of a space to screen a movie.
• Xpedite – awarded $250 for survey expenses.
• Dunne Marketing – awarded $1,000 for market validation purposes.
• UCan – awarded $1,000 (in two installments) for design and purchase of recycling containers and payment for bottle pickup.
• Strata Printing – awarded $1,000 (in three installments) to purchase supplies to make a printer.
• Alz You Need – awarded $1,000 for technical needs (developer fees).
• Campus Coat Check – awarded $742 for supplies (coat racks, hangers, etc.)
• NaSo – awarded $1,000 (in two installments) for purchase of shirts, labor, website and photo shoot.
• Eva & Aiden – awarded $304 to hire an illustrator to have pages of book ready for eWeekend.

SUMMIT SERIES
This year we partnered with the Partnership for Community Development (PCD) for programming content. Together we presented four workshops and two speakers. Workshops include:

• Writing for Social Media – Matt Hames, Communications Strategist, Colgate University
• Selling on Etsy – Sarah Dustin, owner of the Adirondack Ink
• Startup Experience – a two-day, design and entrepreneurship bootcamp followed by a three day immersion trip to NYC to visit startups including Cobani, Fair Harbor, Chicory, Swig, and Hinge
• “IRS!? TAXES!? INSURANCE!? PAYROLL!?” The Fundamentals of Starting a Business – the Small Business Development Center

We hosted 2 speakers:

• Brand Yourself – Patrick Ambron, CEO and Co-founder of BrandYourself.com
• Student-Athletes and Startups: How My Time as a Colgate Student Athlete Helped Me From Dorm Room Dream to Shark Tank Reality – Jimmy DeCicco ‘15, CEO Sunniva Super Coffee (in partnership with the Department of Athletics)

ENTREPRENEURS FUND
The Entrepreneurs Fund was established in 2013 to grow and advance the ventures of Colgate student and alumni entrepreneurs who are solving problems and demonstrating an ability to execute.

This year we had 17 total applications, which were narrowed down to a field of nine for second round interviews, with a total of five teams chosen to each win a $13,000 award.

eFund judges included Alvin Glymph ’94, Tim O’Neill ‘78, Janice Ryan ’91, Amy Jurkowitz ‘85 and Steve Rock ‘85.

The five awardees were:

Deco Slides is an online retailer and manufacturer of unique slide sandals with swappable straps. (Chase Jackson ’13, Sam Jackson)

Dunne Marketing provides social media management and social media marketing solutions for businesses to increase brand awareness and drive sales, saving both time and money. (Sheila Dunne ’20, Luke Goodwin, Tyler Jones)

ISO Film is a creative content house that specializes in full service film and video production. ISO walks the line between art and commerce by bringing a high level of artistry to business projects, which distinguishes our product and makes our customers stand out in the corporate world. (Brandon Doby ’18, Lauren Sanderson ’18)

Profillic is an AI-powered knowledge discovery platform for data science R&D that connects scientists with research, industry developments, peer reviews, projects, and more relevant to their work and interests. (Gaurav Ragtah ’13, Himanshu Ragtah)

YourYard provides on-demand access to fun lawn and beach games like spike, kadima, and wiffle ball, through a network of phone-activated lockers. (Dean Koman ’17, Nathan Weinrauch, Zach Flyer)

ENTREPRENEUR WEEKEND
eWeekend was held April 7 this year on campus in the Hall of Presidents. The weekend followed an abbreviated format to previous years, as we combined all of the programming into only the Saturday event, without the Friday night feature. Approximately 250 people attended this event.

Twenty-three TIA teams presented at booths in the Hall of Presidents during the “DemoDay” portion of the event, where attendees were able to mingle and spend time at each booth while enjoying a buffet lunch. In addition, four teams were featured to pitch their ventures to the audience:

Strata Printing

NaSo

Natural Beauty

The Viewing Room

In the afternoon a panel discussion kicked off with panelists: Bob Gold ’80, CEO and president of Ridgewood Capital; Jon Klein, co-founder of TAPP Media and former president at CNN/US; Jeffrey Sharp ’89, academy award winning filmmaker and president/CEO of Sharp Independent Pictures; and Katie Finnegan ’05, principal and founder at Store No. 8 and vice president at Incubation Walmart. Finnegan was also awarded the Alumni Council’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Following the panel, we chose four of our best TIA teams from this year to go on stage and pitch the panel for the “SharkTank” portion of the event. The four teams competed for a total purse of $7,000, which the “sharks” broke down into 1^st, 2^nd, and two 3^rd place awards that were subsidized by the panelists (an additional $2000). The awards were paid out of the TIA gift fund. The teams that pitched were:

1. ISO Film – a creative content house that specializes in film and video production founded by Lauren Sanderson ’18 and Brandon Doby ’18, earned $1,000 and was given a chance to make a film with Academy Award-winning producer Sharp.
2. Loophole – a rubber ring phone grip and kickstand — and its founder Patrick Crowe ’18 earned $1,000; also, Gold and Finnegan placed orders for more than 2,000 units of branded products.
3. Gipper – an automated athletics communications service for high schools and colleges, earned $3,000, and Finnegan offered San Francisco office space to its founders Matthew Glick ’19, Jack Zamore ’20, Ruchit Shrestha ’20, and Abby Waxler ’19.
4. UCan – a social recycling system for colleges and universities that channels generated funds toward local anti-poverty organizations, earned $4,000 to expand its operations. Finnegan offered to connect UCan’s founder Christina Weiler ’21 with Walmart’s operations team to expand the project in Walmart retail stores.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH
This past year TIA has strengthened its partnership with the Partnership for Community Development (PCD) in order to reach more local entrepreneurs / business owners. As noted above, we’ve worked with the PCD on programming, putting together a variety of workshops and speakers that addressed the needs of our students as well as local entrepreneurs.

We are currently collaborating on opening up the incubator as a co-working space for local entrepreneurs. We will be renting space for $30 / month that includes: work space, internet, printing, a conference room for meetings, a private phone booth for phone calls, and a kitchenette stocked with essentials. We will be opening up and marketing the space beginning July 1.

This year we had 8 community members and 1 alumnus who participated in the TIA Incubator, with three of those participating at the 200 level. Seven finished the year and presented at eWeekend; one dropped out due to family commitments in the spring semester. Over the past three years, we have had 16 community members go through the Incubator. Of those, 2 (Good Nature Brewing, Carrie Blackmore ‘08 and Flour & Salt, Britty Buonocore ‘12) also participated in the Entrepreneurs Fund, each receiving $15,000 grants to go towards growing their local business.

CAMPUS VENTURE INITIATIVE
The Campus Venture Initiative was created in partnership with the Dean of the College and the Office of Finance and Administration to foster an environment on campus that enables students to realize their entrepreneurial pursuits. We work to ensure that school policies and processes reflect our dedication to entrepreneurship at Colgate and the desire to see our students succeed. Students do not have to be in TIA to apply to and be approved by the CVI. We did not have any applications to the initiative this year.

2017/18 TIA PRESS

• Students create app for migraine sufferers
• Lauren Sanderson ’18 wins 1819 Award
• Ben Sharf ’20 on How to Start a Startup @ Colgate
• UCan featured on WKTV in Utica
• 2018 Colgate Entrepreneurs Fund Winners
• The art of entrepreneurship: A day in the life of Brandon Doby ’18 and Lauren Sanderson ’18
• Student ventures receive funding during Entrepreneur Weekend
• Alumni Column: On the Benefits of TIA
• Halligan Works to Improve the Lives of First Responders
• TIA Summit Series
• Trial in Shark Tank spurs alumnus to forge ahead
• Alumnus Ryan Diew ’17 dives into Shark Tank
• TIA student making waves in the music industry
• Entrepreneurs Fund in Action
• Taking the leap to full-time entrepreneur by Cody Semrau
• 2017 Entrepreneurs Fund winners at work in TIA Incubator
• Our experience in the Entrepreneurs Fund
• TIA Insider: The Waffle Cookie
• TIA inCite’s Passion for Business
• Alumni Council Column: Innovation and Leadership

SHARE

Lauren Sanderson ’18 accepts the 1819 Award from President Brian W. Casey. Photo by Mark DiOrio.

Lauren Sanderson ’18 is an entrepreneur, student-athlete, academic all-star, and a soon-to-be published poet who now adds Colgate University’s most prestigious student recognition, the 1819 Award, to her impressive résumé of accomplishments.

The 1819 Award is given annually to one graduating student whose character, scholarship, sportsmanship, and service to others best exemplify the university’s spirit and the value of a liberal arts education.

“Lauren has distinguished herself as a gifted poet who has won a national contest to have her first book of poems published,” wrote nominator Peter Balakian, professor of English and winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. “Lauren was also the captain of the women’s volleyball team and an athlete of high distinction in her four years here. She remains an unusual student and one with real leadership qualities and contributes greatly to the intellectual life of the student body.”

Hailing from London, Ontario, Sanderson is an English major with an emphasis on creative writing. She was the 2017 winner of the Lasher Prize for outstanding talent and has received the Dean’s Award every semester of her Colgate career. On the volleyball court, she was ranked first in setting by the Patriot League and 13th nationally for assists.

While attending department-sponsored workshops, Sanderson organized her own writing roundtables, encouraging and teaching friends and classmates to express themselves through writing. She is a member of the board of organizers for Lounge, an organization that hosts open-mic nights off campus. A peer tutor on campus, Sanderson also volunteers her time in Sherburne, N.Y. to mentor middle school students.

Outside of the classroom and off the court, Sanderson is an active member of the Thought Into Action Entrepreneurship Incubator, where she and Brandon Doby ’18 earned $1,000 in funding during Entrepreneur Weekend for their film-production company, ISO, and was named one of this year’s $13,000 Entrepreneur Fund recipients.

“Every person has a tale to tell, but a rare few hone their storytelling skills across multiple media, across multiple topics; some difficult, others beautiful.” said President Brian W. Casey during the university’s Awards Convocation on May 4. “Our 1819 Award winner has spent the last four years at Colgate working with words, sharing them rather than holding them close. Through her art, she focuses on issues of gender inequality and violence. She has acted on the belief that, if we put our joy and pain on paper, readers will recognize commonalities in the human experience, celebrate differences, and overcome divisiveness.”

Sanderson’s poetry manuscript is slated to be published by Write Bloody Press in March 2019, and she will be embarking on a 20-stop promotional tour after graduation. She plans to apply to graduate school to earn an MFA in creative writing.

READ OUR ARCHIVES

SHARE

Photo by Andrew Daddio

For Brandon Doby ’18 and Lauren Sanderson ’18, entrepreneurship exists at the intersection of business acumen and creative risk. These two seniors are both artists and business owners: They created ISO Film, a production company, as a Thought Into Action (TIA) venture in 2016, and have been making experimental films together ever since.

“To sustain yourself as an artist and to give yourself the opportunities to create exactly what you want to create, you need to master the business side, too,” said Doby, a studio arts major from Chicago.

Doby and Sanderson’s business venture took center stage during Colgate’s annual Entrepreneur Weekend April 7. The day was packed with pitching and networking, and it contained a few surprises for the pair.

Brandon Doby ’18 gives Jeff Sharp ’89 (left) a tour of Case-Geyer Library’s studio space

10:00 a.m.

While other student entrepreneurs arrived at the Hall of Presidents to set up their TIA booths, Sanderson and Doby had an impromptu breakfast meeting with Jeffrey Sharp ’89. A panelist during the event’s Shark Tank­­–style pitch competition, Sharp is a successful filmmaker who is known for Boys Don’t Cry and Proof.

The pair gave Sharp a tour of the state-of-the-art audio and video studios they use on the first floor of Case-Geyer Library. Before the studios were built, aspiring musicians and filmmakers like Sharp had to get creative with what Colgate had to offer.

“When we wanted to record music or sound for our movies, we would use the rehearsal spaces in Dana [Arts Center], or in the Chapel basement,” remembered Sharp. “When I think about why Colgate is such a great place for the arts, it’s because there are little spaces like that, available to anyone who’s looking for them.”

11:30 a.m.

Doby and Sanderson put the finishing touches on their ISO Film booth. The pair had clips of their previous projects — including music videos and experimental shorts — rolling on a TV screen and copies of screenplays on the table for visitors to look through.

ISO Film has two branches: ISO Works and ISO Labs. Through ISO Works, Sanderson and Doby take on commissioned projects like event coverage and music videos. Those paid projects help fund ISO Labs, which is the more experimental side of the business; through ISO Labs, the pair have directed several short films and recently finished a documentary.

1:30 p.m.

For this partnership, the main event was the Shark Tank-style competition. Doby and Sanderson gave a concise and compelling pitch to the panel of four “sharks” under a strict time limit — an ominous gong sound-effect rang through the Hall of Presidents when were up.

2:00 p.m.

The panel of “sharks” deliberated and awarded $1,000 to ISO. Sharp, however, had his own gift to give the ISO team: The filmmaker announced he would commission ISO to work on a small project for his production company.

Doby and Sanderson also won a $13,000 grant through the Colgate Entrepreneurs Fund. The program awards student-entrepreneurs with a seed grant, incubator space for the summer in Hamilton, and mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs.

“We’re going to take this full speed ahead,” said Sanderson, an English major. “We’re putting everything we have into the film production company, and hopefully the freelance projects coming in will be enough to sustain us, on top of our funding for our next project.”

Added Doby: “Where we’re at is kind of art commerce. And when we approach commerce, it still has our artistic imprint on it. It still has the poetry in it.”

Doby and Sanderson plan to move to Los Angeles together to grow their company, which has recently been incorporated in California. Also, Sanderson has another creative outlet — her book of poems, published through Write Bloody Publishing, comes out next March, which will be followed by a 20-stop book tour.

“I love that feeling of no net. No matter how big the checks get, there’s a no net sense of individual entrepreneurship that I think drives a lot of great art, because there’s a sense of survival in it,” Doby said.

READ OUR ARCHIVES

SHARE

Student entrepreneur Christina Weiler ’21 pitches her venture to a panel of alumni. Photo by Andrew Daddio

During the 7th annual Entrepreneur Weekend, more than 250 alumni, parents, students, and friends came to campus to celebrate and advance the entrepreneurial endeavors of Colgate student entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur Weekend is the capstone to the Thought Into Action (TIA) Incubator, a yearlong commitment in which students develop an idea and make it go live with the help of alumni mentors.

Last Saturday, students presented their TIA ventures in hopes of gaining further mentorship and financial support from the Colgate network. These ventures included for-profit, not-for-profit, and campus/community initiatives.

“Today is a day that can truly transform the trajectory of our students’ lives,” said Wills Hapworth ’07, a co-founder of TIA and the alumni director. “What you see here is how students turned their ideas into reality and, by doing so, begin to transform lives.”

That afternoon, during the panel discussion “Liberal Arts and Entrepreneurship,” panelists shared their experiences in entrepreneurship, highlighting the importance of establishing a good plan, being coachable, and working through failures. Panelists included: Bob Gold ’80, CEO and president of Ridgewood Capital; Jon Klein, co-founder of TAPP Media and former president at CNN/US; Jeffrey Sharp ’89, academy award winning filmmaker and president/CEO of Sharp Independent Pictures; and Katie Finnegan ’05, principal and founder at Store No. 8 and vice president at Incubation Walmart. Finnegan was also awarded the Alumni Council’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Alumni panelists highlighted the ways their Colgate education allowed them to be successful entrepreneurs.

“The liberal arts teaches you how to think,” said Finnegan, who was a history and religion double major. “It taught me how to dissect a problem and how to learn. I know how to take a situation and break it down into quantifiable parts to understand them.”

Sharp reiterated the importance of a Colgate education in fostering passion and entrepreneurial spirit. “Colgate, as a liberal arts institution and in the physical space we occupy,” he said, “offers these nooks and crannies and these places where you can go off to disappear, create, and explore your resources.”

Students then had the opportunity to pitch their ventures during a Shark Tank­–style competition for funding and other support from the panelists.

ISO Film, a creative content house that specializes in film and video production founded by Lauren Sanderson ’18 and Brandon Doby ’18, earned $1,000 and was given a chance to make a film with Academy Award-winning producer Sharp.

Loophole — a rubber ring phone grip and kickstand — and its founder Patrick Crowe ’18 earned $1,000; also, Gold and Finnegan placed orders for more than 2,000 units of branded products.

Gipper, an automated athletics communications service for high schools and colleges, earned $3,000, and Finnegan offered San Francisco office space to its founders Matthew Glick ’19, Jack Zamore ’20, Ruchit Shrestha ’20, and Abby Waxler ’19.

UCan, a social recycling system for colleges and universities that channels generated funds toward local anti-poverty organizations, earned $4,000 to expand its operations. Finnegan offered to connect UCan’s founder Christina Weiler ’21 with Walmart’s operations team to expand the project in Walmart retail stores.

“This money means so much to UCan, not just as an organization, but as a movement,” said Weiler. “Having this money will allow us to increase the quality of life for people across the country and increase recycling rates. The opportunity to involve communities around the country will help us facilitate that.”

Colgate’s leadership in liberal arts entrepreneurship was powerfully represented by the Thought Into Action student entrepreneurs who continue to illustrate the strong connection between liberal arts and entrepreneurship.

Over the past nine years, more than 500 Colgate entrepreneurs have gone through the TIA Incubator and launched their ventures, guided by more than 140 alumni, parent, and community mentors.

“Today’s economy requires people who not only get answers right, but more importantly, ask the right questions,” Michael Sciola, associate vice president of Institutional Advancement and Career Initiatives, said. “The TIA experience allows Colgate students to identify a problem and then create a solution that works. Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts, together, are powerful partners for future success.”

READ OUR ARCHIVES

SHARE

Melissa Coley ’79, President-elect of the Alumni Council awards Oak Atkinson ’87 the Entrepreneur of the Year award

TIA mentor extraordinaire, Oak Atkinson ’87, was selected as the Colgate alumni council’s 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year during this years eWeekend in New York City. Oak is the founder of tumbalina, the artisanal and digital card company that measures its success in smiles by “touching hearts one by one.” In 2003, the first year in business, tumbalina won several industry awards, including a “Louie”, (the Oscars of the stationery industry), and the American Package Design Award. In 2015, tumbalina sold over 17 million cards with clients like Snapfish, Walgreens and CVS .

While Oak is super busy running her multi-million dollar business, she is also a wife, mother and artist. Yet, she still makes time in her busy schedule to come to campus once a month to mentor TIA Incubator students. Why? To give back to Colgate and to “pay it forward,” as the saying goes. And . . . “it’s also fun.”

In addition to mentoring, Oak has taken it upon herself to hand-stencil a number of walls in the TIA incubator with inspirational and relevant quotes. This has been a laborious and time-consuming project that has added so much visually and inspirationally to our space. Oak has volunteered her time to this project, as do all of our mentors. TIA absolutely could not survive without our incredible group of alumni, parent and community mentors.

THANK YOU Oak and congratulations on this well deserved award.

READ OUR ARCHIVES

SHARE

Colgate University, Thought Into Action (TIA), and the Entrepreneur Professional Network hosted the sixth annual Entrepreneur Weekend on April 29, bringing alumni, parents, students, and friends together for the first time in New York City.

The festivities included a panel conversation moderated by Forbes magazine tech editor Steven Bertoni ’02. The panel included: Samantha Radocchia ’11, co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Chronicled; Cliff Sirlin ’89, co-founder of the Domino Media Group and now managing director at LaunchCapital LLC; and Ram Parimi ’05, co-founder and vice president of sales, Social Tables. (Read more . . . )

SHARE

Last month, while the sports world was reveling in March Madness, entrepreneurs were tuning in to Inc. magazine’s Coolest College Startup competition to see which of 16 ventures would win the 2017 title.

This year, Colgate was the only university represented twice on the brackets — and both ventures made it to the third round of the competition, thanks to votes from the public: Trippie, the airport-guidebook app launched by Ryan Diew ’17 and Samantha Braver, and swimwear company Fair Harbor, founded by Jake ’16 and Caroline ’19 Danehy.

“We were incredibly thrilled and humbled to be chosen as one of the 16 Coolest College Startups,” Caroline Danehy said. “We definitely wouldn’t be in the position that we are in today if it weren’t for the support of Colgate’s Thought Into Action incubator and community at large.”

The Thought into Action Incubator pairs alumni and parent mentors with student entrepreneurs, providing the guidance and encouragement that undergraduates need to identify and overcome problems through new business start-ups. Fair Harbor and Trippie have also earned venture funding during the university’s Entrepreneur Weekend Shark Tank pitch competitions. (Read more . . .)

READ OUR ARCHIVES

SHARE