| Experienced business leaders and
young rock-star entrepreneurs encouraged a vibrant mix of
students to follow their dreams at the first Rose Startup!
Conference. This event with more than 200 attendees was
organized by Rose-Hulman's new Innovative Student
Entrepreneurs Club (RISE).
"I've been promoting the
entrepreneurial spirit among engineers for more than 30
years now. It is really exciting to see a student-run event of
this scope and magnitude," says Tom Mason,
Professor Emeritus of Engineering Management.
Alumnus Beau D'Arcy (ME, 2003), partner of
Chicago-based B2 Entertainment Group, adds: "I haven't
seen this type of synergy for entrepreneurship on a college
campus since studying for my MBA at the Harvard Business
School."
Fourteen top entrepreneurs engaged in
sessions covering idea creation, overcoming barriers,
venture/seed funding,
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and growth strategies. Nine of the
speakers were Rose-Hulman alumni, including afternoon keynote
speaker Jeff Ready (CS, 1996), a serial
entrepreneur whose latest venture, Scale Computing, has
twice been selected to Forbes' list of America's Most
Promising Companies.
Other speakers were Matt Hunckler, president
and founder of the VERGE community of Midwest entrepreneurs
and startup investors; Yvette Kendall, president of Las
Vegas' Shevinci Innovations; Jon Speer, managing partner of
Indiana's Creo Quality; and Bradley Schwer, partner
for Taft Stettinius & Hollister.
Alumni joining D'Arcy in passing
along advice were Elizabeth Hagerman, Ph.D. (CHE, 2000),
Vice President for Rose-Hulman Ventures (see profile on
pages 18-19); Gerald Rea (ME/OE, 2004), CEO of Stray
Light Optical Technologies (see profile on page 36); Elizabeth
(Strohm) Kozman (ME, 2002) of BioStorage; and
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Anthony Broadnax (CE, 1989),
president of Broadnax Enterprises.
Also exchanging great ideas were
Nick Mahurin (ME, 1989), CEO of InfraWare; Jeremy Clarke
(SE/CS, 2009), president of Vortex Web Solutions of
Middlebury; Dustin DuBois (CHE, 1992),
intellectual property specialist for the Ice Miller
law firm; and Michael Shepard (ME, 2007), vice president
for Bostech Corporation. James Coles (EE, 1969) also
represented Taft Stettinius & Hollister. "Something
exciting is bound to happen when all of these resources
and creative ideas come together in one place," says
senior Chad Conway, conference organizer and RISE's
co-founder, with senior Wilson Kurian. Students also came
from Indiana University, Purdue University, and Butler
University.
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