Virtual Meetup Connects Business Owners and Entrepreneurship Experts
When Mike Amegashie ’09, owner of Clyver Interview Prep, was invited to attend InnovateNJ’s inaugural “happy hour” for New Jersey entrepreneurs, he jumped at the opportunity to participate.
“[I saw it as] a way to meet other aspiring entrepreneurs and exchange ideas on topics such as go-to-market strategies, pricing, customer discovery, etc.,” said the Martin Tuchman School of Graduate (MTSM) management information systems alumnus, who started his business through the NJIT Lean Startup Accelerator program. Clyver is an app that combines video-based practice with professional feedback to help entry-level job seekers improve their interview skills; it also provides expert advice on resumes. “The event was very helpful. … The key takeaway from this meetup was to keep the needs of the customer as the focus, especially in the early stages.”
Amegashie was one of 24 guests from across the state (10 were affiliated with NJIT) at the InnovateNJ meet-and-greet, a joint effort between NJIT and Rowan University held virtually June 23. While the gathering focused primarily on student entrepreneurs, recent college graduates and nonstudents engaged as well.
The idea to convene New Jersey-based entrepreneurs evolved from discussions between Cesar Bandera, associate professor of entrepreneurship at MTSM, and Eric Liguori, executive director of the Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Faculty members from both the school and the center are active in the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), and have collaborated in the past. Liguori is a past president of USASBE and a founding editor of the journal Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy.
“The only objective was to get entrepreneurs, particularly students, to discuss their challenges and solutions with other entrepreneurs,” remarked Bandera of the event, noting that it was limited to people who participated in a university accelerator or incubator to ensure worthwhile dialogue. He and Liguori will make InnovateNJ an annual event for both nascent and experienced entrepreneurs.
In addition to Bandera, NJIT faculty and staff at InnovateNJ included Michael Ehrlich, associate professor of finance and co-director of the New Jersey Innovation Acceleration Center, and Will Lutz, general manager of entrepreneurship at NJIT’s New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) and director of commercialization at VentureLink, the university’s community business incubator. Among the other NJIT-associated student accelerator companies present were Marko Motors, Turning Tulips, MAPD, The CommonHealth Project, Biosaf Concepts and Hart & Chin Associates.
Juliet Hart, who gained access to NJIT’s Lean Startup Accelerator after winning an honorable mention in the Association for Women in Science New York metropolitan chapter’s Entrepreneurial Challenge, launched Hart & Chin in 2017. The consulting firm provides career coaching and leadership development for scientists, with a mission to empower them to become influential leaders. Hart was formerly a scientist with Johnson & Johnson.
She took part in the event “to hear what people are working on, what’s new and innovative, and potentially learn good practices. … It’s great to connect with [other] entrepreneurs. They are very resourceful,” she said.
“Many New Jersey universities have their own entrepreneurship ecosystem, each with a distinct focus and strength. For example, MTSM and NJII are known for technology-based entrepreneurship. However, entrepreneurship advances not when members simply form an ecosystem, but when members actively engage it,” Bandera stressed. “InnovateNJ provides entrepreneurs with an opportunity to share their experiences and tacit knowledge in a format that is more fun and engaging than the ‘sage on the stage’ format of traditional pedagogy. Indeed, each attendee had already participated in an entrepreneurship accelerator or incubator, and was already a subject matter expert with plenty to share.”
