BEST Entrepreneurship Day 2009
May 18, 2009
Dr. Randal Pinkett (left), CEO of BCT Partners and winner of NBC’s The Apprentice, with the winners of The Campus CEO Challenge (left to right): Sonali Chandra, Babatunde Busari, Marcus Crews, Mikhail Naumov and Sheri Cooks.On May 13, a mix of students, faculty, staff, alumni, aspiring entrepreneurs and venture capitalists attended a unique event designed to educate, motivate and inspire those interested in start-up ventures. With more than 500 interested participants, Rutgers Entrepreneurship day, hosted by the Business, Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) Institute, was a success.Keynote speaker Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and currently a partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, kicked off the event with a motivational speech about his experience as a visionary entrepreneur and technology innovator. Joy holds over forty patents. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: “Aim high. Don’t aim for a 2x improvement. Aim for a 10x improvement. Make things ten times better.” When audience members asked how to get buy in and how to start with nothing, Joy added, “If you are passionate and really care about your idea and goal, don’t worry, the money will come.” Before leaving the stage, Joy was awarded the Rutgers Innovator of the Year award.Featured speaker Greg Olsen, American entrepreneur and scientist, also spoke about his experiences as an aspiring and then very successful entrepreneur. “The only 9-5 job I ever had was when I was dreaming about starting my own company. When 5’oclock hit, I would go home and work on my business plan.” Olsen was the co-founder and chairman of Sensors Unlimited Inc., a company that developed optoelectronic devices such as sensitive near-infrared (NIR) and shortwave-infrared (SWIR) cameras. Currently, Olsen is President of GHO Ventures, LLC, in Princeton, New Jersey, where he manages multiple angel investments. The ninth annual Rutgers Business Plan Competition winners were announced on stage. First place ($25,000) was awarded to the Intersect Fund, a microlender based in New Brunswick and comprised mostly of volunteer Rutgers Students. Business School student of the team was Senior Sofya Leyzerova. Second Prize ($10,000) was awarded to trainlogic.net, an application for phones allowing the user real-time train schedule and information. The Business School student involved was Yuriy Yakimenko, a full time MBA student.The Business Pitch Forum, which gave attendees the opportunity to showcase new or existing business ideas to Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors for funding in a small group setting. Many people pitching had samples, poster boards, laptops, and banners. Krishna Malyala, who was pitching his patent-pending real-estate web site, Wikihale, said he was looking for buy-in to his idea more than anything. “This is a great networking opportunity, and I want to get some validation on my idea.” More than 50 angel investors and venture capitalists walked around the room listening to pitches.A business panel discussion of savvy entrepreneurs followed, sharing practical advice and best practices from their experiences starting businesses. The panelists included: David H. Edwab, Director of Men’s Wearhouse; Lexy Funk, CEO of Brooklyn Industries; Dan Hoffman, President & CEO of M5; Tomasz Imielinski, VP of Technology, Ask.com; and Dr. Randal Pinkett, CEO of BCT Partners and winner of NBC’s The Apprentice with Donald Trump.Dr. Randal Pinkett went on to present awards for The Campus CEO Challenge, a state-wide competition where students from New Jersey's High Schools, Colleges, and Universities submitted mini-business plan summaries for an existing or future business idea. Two Rutgers students were runners-up: Senior Marcus Crews, for creating Fleet Delivery Service, and Sophomore Mikhail Naumov, for creating Opportunity.com. Rutgers Business School, the only school delivering business, science, and technology credentials is proud to have the BEST Institute as one of its centers. The day was filled with inspiring speakers, great business ideas, and many aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their great ideas, making Rutgers Entrepreneurship Day a great success.
