The Daily OrangeWhitman program helps students launch businesses
By Kelina Imamura
Posted: 3/5/09, 3:26 AM EST Section: News
Ryan Bukevicz will not be spending his Spring Break on the beach.
Instead, the Syracuse University senior finance and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major is headed to California to try and line up investors for his company, BeVo Media LLC, which tracks and measures Internet advertising revenue. The goal of the trip is to raise $1 million, he said.
BeVo Media LLC is one of six student-run companies currently involved with Couri Hatchery, a student business incubator in SU's Martin J. Whitman School of Management. The program, currently in its fifth year, gives students the physical space and resources to operate a business without paying for an office. It also offers access to faculty members and mentors as well as the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs to progress toward launching a successful business.
The incubator has helped businesses from restaurants like Funk 'n Waffles to focused web-based applications and web designers, said Larry Bennett, professor of practice and advisor of the Hatchery.
Bennett said that there are resources to help students facilitate their businesses at SU that they will not necessarily have when they leave. He said it's not a guarantee for success, but learning to fail is part of every entrepreneur's life.
"It's a great time (to be an entrepreneur) and I think college can be a great place to do it, but it's risky," Bennett said. "It's like going to a casino, you can be a great card counter, but sometimes, card counting fails you. You have to be prepared to lose your money that you've got to bet with."
For Bukevicz, Bennett has been one of the greatest assets of the incubator.
"If there is anything we need or if we need any guidance, he can point us in the right direction," Bukevicz said. "A lot of times there are people in the university that can help us out. Like I needed lawyers and they hooked me up with a whole bunch of lawyers and a lot of them were willing to do work for free because I'm a student and a part of this program. So it saved me a lot of money."
Instead, the Syracuse University senior finance and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major is headed to California to try and line up investors for his company, BeVo Media LLC, which tracks and measures Internet advertising revenue. The goal of the trip is to raise $1 million, he said.
BeVo Media LLC is one of six student-run companies currently involved with Couri Hatchery, a student business incubator in SU's Martin J. Whitman School of Management. The program, currently in its fifth year, gives students the physical space and resources to operate a business without paying for an office. It also offers access to faculty members and mentors as well as the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs to progress toward launching a successful business.
The incubator has helped businesses from restaurants like Funk 'n Waffles to focused web-based applications and web designers, said Larry Bennett, professor of practice and advisor of the Hatchery.
Bennett said that there are resources to help students facilitate their businesses at SU that they will not necessarily have when they leave. He said it's not a guarantee for success, but learning to fail is part of every entrepreneur's life.
"It's a great time (to be an entrepreneur) and I think college can be a great place to do it, but it's risky," Bennett said. "It's like going to a casino, you can be a great card counter, but sometimes, card counting fails you. You have to be prepared to lose your money that you've got to bet with."
For Bukevicz, Bennett has been one of the greatest assets of the incubator.
"If there is anything we need or if we need any guidance, he can point us in the right direction," Bukevicz said. "A lot of times there are people in the university that can help us out. Like I needed lawyers and they hooked me up with a whole bunch of lawyers and a lot of them were willing to do work for free because I'm a student and a part of this program. So it saved me a lot of money."
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