“It took twelve years of primary education, four years of college and a year and a half of graduate school—nearly 18 years—for me to realize I didn’t need a resume,” said Andrew Farah, an information management graduate student at the iSchool.
Farah is part of an increasing trend. Every year, the leaders of a new generation of entrepreneurs come to Syracuse University, and they don’t wait for graduation to launch businesses and explore radical new ideas.
“When I started a web design company last January, I told people it had been created out of frustration with a class,” Farah said. “But the failure was not the class at all; it was me. Fed up, I grabbed the two smartest people I knew, and we started doing things.”
Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010 (Nov. 15-21) celebrates student entrepreneurs at the University. Founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, GEW is a week dedicated to bringing innovators and self-starters, from students to seasoned entrepreneurs, together to meet, generate new ideas and network with likeminded people.
“These students are inspiring, they come from all majors across campus, and they’re spreading an innovative, can-do atmosphere. We wanted to recognize the top 10 student companies on the SU campus to inspire others—students, faculty, staff—to do the same,” says Bruce Kingma, associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation at SU.
SU’s “Top 10” student companies, as nominated by faculty, students, and community members, are:
capesquared
Andrew Farah G’11, information management
Shay Colson G’10, information management
Justin Breese G’10, information management
http://capesquared.com/
Cusedrinks.com
Matt Finkel ’11, management
Dan Sander ’11, management
http://cusedrinks.com/
enormo.us
Dave Chenell ’10, information management and technology; information management (G’12)
Eric Cleckner ’10, advertising design; information management (G’12)
Anthony Rotolo ’02, information management and technology; information management (G’06); assistant professor of practice, iSchool
http://enormo.us/
Jake Couri
Jake Couri ’11, art
http://jakecouri.com/
Make Us Digital (MUD)
Michael George ’11, music
Trevor Kiviat ’11, music
Danny Solomon ’11, art
http://makeusdigital.com/
patchwork
Cameron Lassiter G’10, architecture
Jimmy Brunner G’10, architecture
http://patchworkco.wordpress.com/
Ria’s Obsession
Maria Davantzis ’12, entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises, and retail management
http://sites.google.com/site/riasobsession/
Rylaxer
Ryan Dickerson ’11, economics
http://rylaxing.com/
SkillAddiction
Taylor Louie ’10, retail management and marketing
Ray Williams ’10, finance
http://www.skilladdiction.com/
SqueezeMyTees
Brian Weinreich ’10, psychology; engagement fellow, ’10-’11
Tory Gentes ’10, managerial accounting and entrepreneurship; engagement fellow, ’10-’11
http://squeezemytees.com/
For more information on the resources available at SU, other local campuses, and the surrounding community, visit the Enitiative website at www.entrepreneurship.syr.edu.
“Our master’s program is led by an entrepreneur. Our classes are taught by entrepreneurs. My dad is an entrepreneur. I’m a grad assistant in a department whose goal is to spread entrepreneurship across Central New York,” Farah said. “I’m surrounded by it and it still took me nearly a fifth of a lifetime to realize what I wanted. Syracuse University is the best thing that’s happened to me. SU said, ‘Do your thing; we’re here to help when you need it.’ And now, whatever I create will forever be my own. Pretty cool.”