Events – Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Promise Prize Award Recognizes Top Student

tenorea1 — Thu, 09 May 2019 18:37:48 +0000

Alicia-Ann Caesar, an MBA student, was recognized with the 2019 Promise Prize award during a ceremony May 8 at �鶹��ý��. The $5,000 Promise Prize is awarded annually at �鶹��ý�� to a black entrepreneurship or business student with the following traits: academic excellence (high GPA), leadership, scholarship, initiative, service and entrepreneurship. �鶹��ý�� is one of in the U.S. with the award. The foundation, and award, was created by Vikki Pryor, founder of the , to honor her grandmother Marie Nesbitt, who was a great-granddaughter of slaves and held jobs ranging from domestic worker to welder.

Caesar received the award May 8 during the The 2018 winner, Olivia Hettman, presented the prize to Caesar and spoke about what the opportunity of receiving the prize last year meant to her.

Alicia-Ann Caesar, left, receives the $5,000 award from the 2018 winner, Olivia Hettman. (Photo by Aaron Houston)

When Caesar was asked what the prize meant, she stated, “I am extremely grateful to have been selected this year’s Promise Prize Scholar. Once I found out the criteria for the nomination I became overwhelmed at just the idea that one of my professors would nominate me. I plan to fully engage with the Change Create Transform Foundation, the �鶹��ý�� faculty committee, especially Professor Taylor the program’s new academic advisor, and the previous winners in the area. I am inspired to work harder for myself to get to a place to support others. Marie Nesbitt’s story and legacy is an inspiration. The opportunity to learn from her granddaughter, the Foundation’s founder Ms. Vikki Pryor, and be mentored by outstanding community members is exciting and not an opportunity I plan to waste. I am honored.”

Caesar is an MBA student with a Master’s in Public Administration, Nonprofit Management from Kean University, and a Bachelor’s of Art in History from The College of New Jersey. When asked why she is pursuing an MBA, Alicia-Ann quickly answered, “Because it’s time for me to be a CEO.” That gives a glimpse of the drive, passion and enthusiasm of Caesar. Besides the cash, the students selected for the prestigious award become part of a network established by the prize’s sponsor, the Change Create Transform Foundation.

Caesar is also the Director of Quality Improvement, Risk Management and Training at Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey. She also has a strong interest in women empowerment, and is very active with community service. Alicia-Ann is from Liberia, and is mulling starting a business someday to sell Liberian spices/sauces. She calls herself a “secret farmer” because of the volunteer work she does with community gardening.

Alicia-Ann Caesar speaks during the Promise Prize ceremony. (Photo by Aaron Houston)

Past winners of the Promise Prize are:

2014: Alanda Alexandre, who has two degrees from �鶹��ý��, a Business Administration degree with concentrations in Finance and Management, and an MBA degree.
2015 winner: Dana LaCondre-Nugent who has a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Accounting from �鶹��ý��.
2016 winner: Stanley Fils, who majored in Justice Studies at �鶹��ý�� and then obtained an MBA degree from the university
2017 winner: Kishawn Jean-Pierre, graduated as an accounting major.
2018 winner: Olivia Hettman, who is graduating this May and obtaining her MBA in the fall.

From left: Sharon Waters, Dennis Bone, Agatha Jeffers, Faith Taylor, Olivia Hettman (2018 winner), Devon Johnson, Alicia-Ann Caesar (2019 winner), Mariah Mayers, Hermann Sintim-Aboagye.

The 2019 selection committee included staff from the Feliciano School of Business: Agatha Jeffers, Accounting professor; Devon Johnson, Marketing professor; Mariah Mayers, assistant director of Career Services; Hermann Sintim-Aboagye, Finance Professor; Faith Taylor, Marketing professor; and Sharon Waters, interim director of the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship.

�鶹��ý�� wins prize in statewide collegiate contest

waterssh — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 20:24:48 +0000

�鶹��ý�� beat eight other New Jersey universities/colleges in the fourth annual statewide collegiate entrepreneurship contest on April 26 at Seton Hall University. The Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship’s winning team was TacOp, featuring Jonathan Morgan, a senior finance major with a minor in entrepreneurship, and Brett Siegmeister, a junior visual communications design major. Morgan and Siegmeister created a 3D-printed device to hold hooks while fishing.

The 2019 UPitchNJ prizes were awarded to:

First – Stevens (game-based software to help autistic students)
Second – Rutgers (tech to power drones and rovers for deliveries)
Third – �鶹��ý�� (3D-printed device to hold hooks while fishing)
Best Early-Stage Startup – Princeton (a water filter being used in a pilot program in Flint, MI)

The other eight schools that competed were: Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth, NJIT, Ramapo, Rider, Rowan, Seton Hall, William Paterson.

�鶹��ý�� remains the only school that has won a prize every year in the contest–a testament to the innovative and forward-looking curriculum designed by Dennis Bone that allows us to enter consistently high-quality and interdisciplinary teams every year. Prof. Ross Malaga taught and mentored Morgan and Siegmeister in ENTR 303, and Profs. Jason Frasca and Iain Kerr spent many hours working with the two students as they iterated on 3D print designs of their device in the MIX Lab (the MIX Lab is a resource for any student). Morgan’s and Siegmeister’s path to UPitchNJ glory began in Jason Frasca’s classroom when they took ENTR 201 “Entrepreneurial Mindset and Innovation,” which is open to any student of any major.

“To be chosen to represent �鶹��ý�� was humbling,” said Morgan. “Placing third out of all the other schools was a true statement to us as a team that our product has great potential in the future. Outstanding competition at UPitchNJ, and the atmosphere was energizing.”

Watch TacOp, and 13 other �鶹��ý�� teams, compete for $80,000 in prizes on May 8 in University Hall Conference Center during �鶹��ý��’s sixth annual pitch contest, the BulbHead Inventors Day for Aspiring Entrepreneurs, generously funded by AJ Khubani, founder of TeleBrands and BulbHead.

How �鶹��ý�� has placed every year of the UPitchNJ contest:

2019:
First: Stevens
Second: Rutgers
Third: �鶹��ý�� (TacOp)
Best Early-Stage Startup: Princeton
Audience Choice Award: Seton Hall

2018:
First: Rutgers
Second: NJIT
Third: �鶹��ý�� (NeatSweeps)
Best Early-Stage Startup: Rider University
Audience Choice Award: �鶹��ý�� (NeatSweeps)

2017:
First: Rutgers
Second: Princeton
Third: Seton Hall
Best Early Stage Startup: �鶹��ý�� (Elaion)
Audience Choice: FDU

2016:
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Second: Seton Hall
Third: �鶹��ý�� (Karuda)

What Your �鶹��ý�� ID Can Do That You Probably Didn’t Know

tenorea1 — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 16:30:21 +0000

The MIX Lab

Your �鶹��ý�� Student ID card can do a lot for you. You can use the Student Recreation Center to workout, print pages in the printing labs, rent a laptop, attend events and much more. But, did you know that your �鶹��ý�� ID card allows you to print 3D objects? It’s true! Located in room 014 (basement of the Feliciano School of Business), students of any major can learn about 3D printing and print their own design with assistance from our staff. There are some spots open for our course (ENTR 260_04) Tuesdays 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. for this spring semester.

The Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship

Come visit our center in room 080 (basement of the Feliciano School of Business). Learn about our minor, concentration and events we hold throughout the semester.

Upcoming Events

Pitch Contest Info Session- February 13, 2:30-3:30 p.m., SBUS 140

Have a business idea or product? Enter our 2019 Pitch Contest!

The contest features a prize pool of $80,000 to be awarded as follows:

First prize: $50,000

Second prize: $20,000

Third prize: $10,000

At each prize level, 20 percent of the award goes directly to the student team members and the remaining 80 percent must be invested in the startup venture under the coaching of the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship

During our information session, learn about our contest and how you can apply to be part of it.

2019 Pitch Contest- May 8, University 7th Floor

Cheer on fellow Red Hawks as they showcase their final live pitch. See which student teams are our top three winners.

Students on the winning team, Wheatpaste, celebrate as their name is called at the 2018 BulbHead pitch contest.

Debriefing of Our Orgasmic Leadership Event (yes, you read that right).

tenorea1 — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 19:30:32 +0000

By: Alyssa Tenore

Last night the �鶹��ý��’s Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship in partnership with Health Promotion ran an event focusing on Women’s Sexual Health. The title of the event, “Orgasmic Leadership” peaked many student’s interests as they were not used to seeing titles containing sexual language. Our guest speaker for the night was Rachel Braun Scherl, co-founder of and author of

This event was interesting for students because some of the topics brought up are considered to be taboo to talk about amongst friends, family or the people in your community. Rachel started by telling the audience that she refers to herself as a “vagipreneur,” and at that moment you could pan the room of students and see the excited looks on their faces to listen to what she had to say.

It was interesting to hear Rachel’s struggling journey to get her product (a product similar to viagra made specifically for women) to shelves. She spoke about being a woman in the industry and how that was a struggle in itself, but also how she was able to be taken seriously with an “out there” product. It took time, but Rachel eventually was able to come up with how to break into the industry and receive support for her product. This event was very inspirational for young women to hear as they are preparing to get into their own careers and building the confidence to do so.

Rachel brought along with her guests, Amy Buckalter (founder and CEO of Pulse) and Dr. Alyssa Dweck (gynecologist and author). Both were essential to the conversation about how to be okay with talking about women’s sexual health, why it is important to have these discussions and why there is a need for the types of products they sell.

Amy spoke about her products on which consist of a new revolutionary product with patented technology invented to dramatically improve the delivery of “goops” – lotions, gels, creams, oils, lubricants, and other liquid or fluid consistencies within the health and beauty space.

We heard directly from students that they enjoyed having Dr. Dweck there to immediately provide positive medical feedback for the ingredients that were going into Amy’s and Rachel’s products. The conversation really brought awareness to the harmful ingredients found in some women’s sexual health products and what to look out for. From a business perspective, it was a great opportunity to learn about how to handle situations or topics in which not everyone may be on board or ready to talk about, but how we are making strides each and every day and can overcome the taboo talk and turn it into a serious conversation.

Alyssa Tenore is a current MBA student at �鶹��ý�� working in the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship. Alyssa received her Bachelors Degree in marketing from �鶹��ý��.

Change Create Transform honors �鶹��ý��

waterssh — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 23:43:30 +0000

The Change Create Transform Foundation honored �鶹��ý�� and its Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship during an annual summit in July 2018. The award for “highest honors for excellence in education” recognized the university’s partnership with . �鶹��ý�� is one of several universities in the U.S. that has been selected to award the award each year.

The award.

Vikki Pryor, the founder of Change Create Transform, presented the award to Dennis Bone, founding director of the Feliciano Center. Bone was the keynote speaker at the annual summit, and spoke about his journey from humble roots in West Virginia to highly respected business leader in New Jersey.

Bone speaks to the crowd.

�鶹��ý�� attendees at the summit included the university’s Promise Prize winners: Olivia Hettman (2018), Kishawn Jean-Pierre (2017), Dana LaCondre-Nugent (2015) and Alanda Alexandre (2014). Stanley Fils is the 2016 winner. Also present at the summit were faculty advisor Agatha Jeffers and Feliciano Center program manager Sharon Waters.

From left: Bone, LaCondre-Nugent, Hettman, Jean-Pierre, Alexandre, Jeffers and Waters.

The foundation, and Promise Prize award, was created by Vikki Pryor to honor her grandmother Marie Nesbitt, who was a great-granddaughter of slaves and held jobs ranging from domestic worker to welder.

Winners ecstatic in $80,000 BulbHead.com student pitch contest

waterssh — Mon, 07 May 2018 14:53:59 +0000

Three student teams from �鶹��ý�� are celebrating after winning $80,000 in prize money in the held May 2 at the university’s conference center.

The contest is generously funded by alumnus AJ Khubani, founder and CEO of .

The three winning teams, with the finals judges.

The winning teams were:

First place for $50,000: Wheatpaste, a community engagement app, with George Garcia, a senior Entrepreneurship major; Matthew Szot, a senior Applied Nutrition major and ; and Jacob Gilbert, a junior Psychology major and .

Second place for $20,000: Eatree, makers of a vegetarian burger with sights on launching a healthy fast-food chain, with Visual Communication Design majors Lauren Wisnewski, a senior, and junior Sarah DiPirro; Visual Arts junior Lauren Green; and Bailey Capra, junior Exercise Science major.

Third place for $10,000: Culture, a clothing company that will create opportunities for the workers making the garments, with Kent Daniel, a senior Management major, and Sasha Mejia-Rivas, junior Fine Arts, Photography major. Both students are pursuing the .

At each prize level, team members will share 20 percent of the award, with the remaining 80 percent to be invested in the startup venture under the coaching of the .

View from the contest’s finals.

Read about the BulbHead contest in stories by and �鶹��ý�� and the university’s magazine.

The judges for the contest were:

FINALS:
, founder and CEO of BulbHead.com
, founder and CEO of Wales Capital
, president and CEO, Phoenix Marketing Solutions
, director of Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship

The finals judges from left: Dennis Bone, Kim Wales, Tracy Doyle and AJ Khubani.

SEMI-FINALS:
, cofounder of MedPro Wellness
, founder and CEO of Lightbridge Franchise Company
, owner of Kika Stretch Studios
, angel investor and founder of Giant Media

Semi-finals judges from left: Guy Falzarano, Hakika DuBose, Clark Lagemann and David Segura.

The contest’s master of ceremonies was Anthony “Sully” Sullivan, pitchman for OxiClean and more.

The event’s MC, Anthony “Sully” Sullivan, pitchman for OxiClean, asks a question during the contest.

For updates on the contest, and info how to participate in the future, visit our pitch competition page.

�鶹��ý�� students win prizes in statewide contest

waterssh — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 02:09:25 +0000

A team of �鶹��ý�� students was among the winners of the third annual , an innovative statewide collegiate business model competition showcasing the Garden State’s top young talent.

Sirawar Matin, a sophomore Athletic Training major, and Iffat Siddiqi, a junior Computer Science major, won third place in the contest with a $500 prize. Their team was NeatSweeps, and they invented specialized slippers that use augmented reality and interactive games to entice children to move more.

Matin and Siddiqi, who are EOF Scholars at the university, also won the Audience Choice Award, which included a $100 gift card. The students were taught and mentored by as they completed the Feliciano Center’s .

�鶹��ý�� is the only school to win a prize every year in the contest.

Watch NeatSweeps, and 13 other �鶹��ý�� teams, compete for $80,000 in prizes on May 2 in �鶹��ý��’s fifth annual pitch contest, the , generously funded by AJ Khubani, founder of TeleBrands and BulbHead.

Iffat Siddiqi explains NeatSweeps to the UPitchNJ judges.

Winning the first-place $2,000 prize, which was sponsored by PNC Bank, was Rutgers’ team, LivingWaters. The second-place winner for $1,000 was League of Lifeguards, NJIT’s team. The Best Early-Stage Startup award, for $1,000, went to Dowie Corp, a team from Rider University.

The event was held April 20 at �鶹��ý��. Princeton and Rutgers universities hosted the contest in prior years.

The competition is sponsored by the New Jersey Collegiate Entrepreneurship Consortium, which represents the entrepreneurship education programs at New Jersey’s four-year colleges and universities. Fourteen universities competed in the third annual competition: Drew University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Monmouth University, �鶹��ý��, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Ramapo College, Rider University, Rowan University, Rutgers University, Saint Peter’s University, Seton Hall University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and William Paterson University.

Sirawar Matin holds a prototype of the slippers during their pitch.

Judging the students’ pitches were: , founder & CEO of InCharged; , CEO of Futurestay; , founder & CEO of latinoTech; , tax partner at EY; and , editor-at-large at Inc.com.

, managing partner, Newark Venture Partners, delivered opening remarks, after Dennis Bone, director of the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship at �鶹��ý��, and , director of Seton Hall’s entrepreneurship center, welcomed the crowd.

“UPitchNJ showcases the best and brightest young entrepreneurs from all over the Garden State,” said Bone. “When a company decides to relocate to New Jersey or remain in the state, one of their top criteria is the Garden State’s well-educated workforce, especially people who possess innovative problem-solving skills. These students are excellent examples of that.”

Each university sent a student team that has launched a startup or a new venture in development to compete for the prizes. Student teams were judged on the innovativeness and originality of their startup idea, and the quality of a written executive summary and oral presentations. The contest judges also looked for creative and innovative thinking about markets, products and services. The teams were evaluated on their perceived ability to execute the idea and turn it into a viable, profitable business, and/or venture with significant social value.

The competition’s aim is to highlight the ingenuity and creativity of today’s college entrepreneurs, whom are increasingly launching businesses from their dorm rooms. The contest also gives the entrepreneurial students the opportunity to network with other students, mentors and potential investors.

Many of the student teams, the judges, and the organizers gather on stage after the contest.

The prizes included coaching sessions, as well as cash:

First place (sponsored by PNC Bank): $2,000 award plus Coaching Session with Mario Casabona, founder, TechLaunch; Coaching Session with David Sorin, McCarter & English.

Second place: $1,000 plus Coaching Session with the NJ Innovation Institute at NJIT; Coaching Session with NJ Tech Council.

Third place: $500 plus Coaching Session with entrepreneur David Stengle, Startup Grind.

Best Early-Stage Startup: $1,000 Plus Coaching Session with entrepreneur Greg Olsen, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Princeton University. This prize is for an innovative idea that is in an earlier stage of development.

Audience Choice Award: $100 gift card.

Besides the sponsorship of first-place prize, the event’s other supporters include , , , , , , , and .

Food entrepreneurs offer samples, advice at event

waterssh — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 20:37:17 +0000

We had a packed house for our March 19 “Taste of Entrepreneurship” event that we did in collaboration with the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. More than 200 people sampled events from 16 food stations, followed by a keynote address by Bravo’s Top Chef Master Floyd Cardoz and then a panel discussion.

Panelists included:
Karan Fischer, founder and executive chef, �鶹��ý�� Culinary Academy
Henry Goldstein, president/CEO, Nu Products Seasoning Company
Natale Grande, chef & CEO of The Flying Meatballs, and chef of Il Capriccio Restaurant
Djenaba Johnson-Jones, founder and CEO, Hudson Kitchen
Marc Oshima, chief marketing officer, AeroFarms

The moderator was Nancy Brannigan Painter, publisher and founder, Edible Jersey.

Read a recap of the event.

$80,000 contest open to all �鶹��ý�� students

waterssh — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 22:18:11 +0000

$80,000 in prize money will be won by �鶹��ý�� students in the university’s annual student pitch contest.

The prize pool has increased substantially for the 2018 contest, the BulbHead.com Inventors Day for Aspiring Entrepreneurs, generously funded by alumnus AJ Khubani, CEO of BulbHead.com. In 2017, the contest had one prize of $10,000. For the 2018 contest, the $80,000 will be split among three prizes: first = $50,000; second = $20,000; third = $10,000. At each prize level, 20 percent of the award goes directly to the student team members and the remaining 80 percent must be invested in the startup venture under the coaching of the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship.

The $80,000 prize pool makes �鶹��ý��’s competition the largest collegiate pitch contest in New Jersey. (Next largest annual prize pots are $50K at TCNJ, $45K at Rutgers and $30K at Princeton).

The contest is open to all �鶹��ý�� students.

Students can learn more about the $80K contest, including how to enter, at a special event on Wed. Dec. 6 at noon in room 140 of Feliciano School of Business building. Free pizza will be served.

The two student winners of the 2017 contest with AJ Khubani, right, and Sully Sullivan, left

Social entrepreneurs discuss motivations, challenges

waterssh — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 18:13:58 +0000

Four women, whose resumes could land them in top-paying corporate positions, discussed how they chose the nonprofit path instead, during the “Social Entrepreneurs Changing the World” event Oct. 19 at �鶹��ý��.

The panel discussion was part of the fourth annual Women Entrepreneurship Week, a program celebrated this year at in 22 states in the U.S. and 15 countries all over the world. �鶹��ý�� started WEW in 2014 as a way to inspire women entrepreneurs, and give college students all over the world the chance to network with female founders. Nearly 150 people attended the Oct. 19 event.

Panel, from left: Linda Lacina, Alfa Demmellash, Laurel Dumont, Denisse Rojas Marquez, Susan MacLaury

Overcoming challenges was one theme of the evening. In a keynote address to kick off the event, , co-founder and CEO of Rising Tide Capital, shared her journey from Ethiopia to Harvard to Jersey City, where she started her nonprofit that helps urban entrepreneurs start businesses. Her goal in launching RTC was to provide economic opportunity to others, after she overcame hardships growing up in Ethiopia.

Alfa Demmellash delivers the keynote address.

Later, as a panelist, Demmellash talked about the importance of leading from vulnerability and finding your power from that. But she also advocated having fun, letting yourself relax and finding trusted allies you can quit to (where it won’t really count) when you’re feeling discouraged.

co-founded Pre-Health Dreamers to help undocumented students pursue health care careers after undocumented relatives had trouble accessing medical care. Marquez said it could be hard to find undocumented people willing to tell their story publicly—an important tool for fundraising and building support. But eventually the people she was helping would realize “we’re not going to gain anything if we stay quiet,” she said. Marquez also mentioned that her age—she started Pre-Health Dreamers in her late teens—made funders think it was merely a student group. “It was really tough keeping my morale up,” she said.

Denisse Rojas Marquez, left, laughs as Susan MacLaury speaks

, co-founder and executive director of Shine Global, a nonprofit film production company, said she was surprised to be invited to speak on a panel of entrepreneurs, because it wasn’t a word she had ever considered to describe herself. But throughout the discussion, she exhibited hallmarks of entrepreneurship, such as her belief that starting a nonprofit “takes courage, but even more than that it takes a passion.”

, a former public school teacher who has been involved in many entrepreneurial endeavors in Newark, advocated the power of never being afraid to ask. She shared how her nonprofit applied for funding that seemed like a long shot, and learned that hearing “no” is part of every entrepreneur’s experience, but sometimes won big for Newark. She advised aspiring entrepreneurs to do their homework, engage various stakeholders to understand the problem and hone their solution, and then to dive in and see what happens.

Funding was a big topic of conversation during the event. The moderator, , managing editor of Entrepreneur Media, noted fundraising isn’t a transaction but a relationship, and the panelists agreed that they needed to keep building a base of supporters.

Linda Lacina, moderator

Marquez said she found that once her organization landed one well-known funder, it “gave a little more security” to other funders considering a gift or grant. MacLaury agreed, and also talked about a connection that led to the actress Eve Longoria providing three-quarters of the funding needed for a documentary about American child migrant farm workers. Dumont echoed the importance of referrals, noting many Americans donate $25 here, $30 there because someone they knew asked. “They don’t remember the cause, but the friend who asked,” Dumont said.

MacLaury said Shine Global’s board started as close friends and family, then people with expertise and then they tried to add wealthy people. “It’s like building a web,” she said.

Laurel Dumont, center, answers a question

Dumont, currently senior director of New Ventures at Leadership for Educational Equity, said it can be tough to be told “no” in fundraising, but she also figures the rejection is universal for nonprofit leaders. She said she might choose to take on the “no” if she believes there is bias involved but otherwise just walks away, noting you don’t have to fight every fight. But Dumont did advocate diving in to get started, instead of waiting for everything to be perfect. “Do what you can after hours. Do what you can with a small grant,” she said. “If you don’t put your idea forward, it will never sprout.”

All photos courtesy of