Fordham's Janssen on Educating Entrepreneurs

Christine Janssen at a Fordham Foundry event.

Entrepreneurship. These days, it seems everyone – particularly young people – are clamoring for a shot at founding the next great startup, and being their own boss.

But what’s the best way to achieve entrepreneur status?

Recently, an article in the Wall Street Journal touched on the importance of networking and support systems while downplaying the importance of choice of school and grades in college.

This piqued the interest of Christine Janssen, Ph.D., director of the Entrepreneurial Program at the Gabelli School of Business and co-director of both Fordham's Center for Entrepreneurship and the Fordham Foundry, a small-business incubator in the Bronx launched in 2012 in partnership with New York City government agencies. 

So, in a guest OpEd with VC-List, a blog for the venture capital industry, Janssen dishes out her own advice:

“Where you go to school is important. Aspiring entrepreneurs should choose a school that possesses more than a longstanding reputation and brand recognition. What can really differentiate one’s experience and outcome are resources, mentors, and access to non-traditional learning experiences that the school can offer,” Janssen wrote in her piece, “How Should College Play a Role in Educating Future Entrepreneurs?”

Janssen also doled out advice for how best to educate for budding and aspiring entrepreneurs:

• Entrepreneurs evolve from any given major, but I would also propose that students should be able to customize their educational experience. While there are certain subjects that all aspiring entrepreneurs should master (accounting, finance, communications, management and just about anything related to technology), college can no longer be a one-size-fits-all proposition.
• Do not ignore grades. A student’s grades don’t necessarily reflect what they have learned or if what was learned is relevant, but a healthy transcript still is a reflection of a student’s effort and commitment. I would certainly select someone with a 4.0 grade point average over a 2.8 GPA any day to join my startup.
• Network. In every core class in my entrepreneurship program, students are REQUIRED to attend professional networking events – and they may not be university-sponsored events or events on campus. That’s too easy. My job is to expose them to the real world and begin building a toolbox of skills and resources so when they complete my program they will have dozens of relationships (and potential mentors) established to help them build out their careers – whether launching a new venture, working at a startup, or being the innovation catalyst at a larger organization. Pushing students out of their comfort zones is a one small step for students, one giant leap for new business creation. 

Read the rest of her piece at VC-List, and watch this video about a couple of young students--two brothers--who created and ran a boot camp for young teen entrepreneurs, with help from the Fordham Foundry.

--Gina Vergel

President's Council Roundtables Spotlight Leadership, Education, and Career Success

Members of Fordham’s President’s Council joined young alumni and Fordham students on Oct. 21 to discuss the value of a liberal arts education and “love-driven” leadership, at the kick-off to this year’s Executive Leadership Series.

The event, held at the Manhattan Club, brought together more than 60 alumni and students with 22 President’s Council members, who shared their decades of professional experience in fields as far ranging as global real estate.

President's Council Chair James J Houlihan, GSB '74, PAR, Vice Chair Edward I. O’Brien, Jr., FCRH ’80, Terry Begley, GSB '86, and Colleen Jones, GBA ’88, were among the members who participated in roundtable discussions. With a format similar to speed-dating, alumni and students chose tables based on topics, which included “Everything Entrepreneurial,” “The Customer’s Always Right?” and “The Business of Health,” switching every 20 minutes for three sessions.

Mary Jane McCartney, TMC'69, retired senior vice president at ConEd,
discusses the art of leadership with alumni and students.

Thomas E. Kelly, III, a parent of two Fordham alumni and vice president of strategic initiatives at Lockheed Martin, asked for examples of how the Jesuit tradition of “men and women for others” applies in the corporate world.  One student drew a parallel between compassionate leadership and the example Jesus sets in the New Testament.

"Leading with dignity and honesty and delivering what you say you’ll deliver says a lot about what kind of person you are,” said Suliman Al Aujan, GSB ’15, who recently accepted a position at Credit Suisse. “There’s nothing more important.”

"Most great universities are liberal arts schools,” said Mario Ciampi, FCRH ’82, a partner at Prentice Capital Management, LP, to a table of young alumni discussing how to leverage a liberal arts degree.  “Your career success is a matter of how you perform and grow.”

Ciampi surveyed six alumni about whether their liberal arts degrees strengthened their chances for success, now that they are working in the professional world.

“People are looking at the diverse skills you bring to the table,” said Morgan Vazquez, FCRH ’12, who works in JP Morgan’s human resources department, adding that her firm recruits heavily from one university because of a specialized degree program.  “More and more, there’s a cookie-cutter result in terms of the candidates we interview out of this program. Students with liberal arts backgrounds seem to have more diverse experience and skills.”

Fran Conroy chats with students about how to stand out
from the competition in job interviews.

Employers nowadays seek out a diversity of thought, creativity and passion, said Jean Wynn, MC ’80, managing director and chief administrative officer at Bank of New York Mellon and the President’s Council’s newest member. Wynn, who has managed hundreds of employees throughout her career, said that a liberal arts background gives employees the ability to see things from “a multitude of perspectives,” an essential capability in today’s competitive job market.

Distinguishing oneself from the competition was the highlight of a discussion group facilitated by Fran J. Conroy, GSB ’79, and Patrick Keenan, GSB ’75, both high-level executives in the financial services industry. “Sometimes it comes down to the personal interests on a résumé,” Conroy said, adding that he was once asked to describe his three best accomplishments.

“I thought of two, but couldn’t think of a third, so I wrote that I went sky diving. It was an accomplishment because I overcame my fear of heights,” he chuckled. “I believe it that made me stand out.”

The Executive Leadership Series brings together members of Fordham's President's Council, alumni in the early stages of their careers, and students to provide opportunities for mentoring and networking. The series is held twice annually, in the fall and spring. (Photos by Chris Taggart)

For more photos of the event visit our flickr page.

--Claire Curry

Fordham Invites Entrepreneurs to Start a Company Over the Weekend

Take a shot at pitching your best business idea: The Fordham Foundry's 3 Day Startup, happening this weekend in the Bronx, is a program seeking to create a viable company in just three days. The event, which begins this Friday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. launches Friday evening with a series of brainstorming sessions to pick the best six pitches among entrants.

Over the course of the weekend, those six chosen will create a prototype by Sunday night and hopefully build enough momentum among a network of motivated people to sustain the company beyond the weekend. Startup support over the weekend will be provided by the Fordham Foundry.

Students, business owners or anyone with a strong entrepreneurial drive are encouraged to apply. 3 Day Startup is a social and business experiment to see just how much a group of passionate people can accomplish over the course of 60 hours.

3 Day Startup will take place on:
Friday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. to Sunday, Jan. 19 at 10 p.m.
Fordham Foundry, 400 E. Fordham Road, 7th floor, Bronx, New York 10458

For more information, email bronx@3daystartup.org or visit the 3 Day Startup Bronx application page.

--Jenny Hirsch