Gone are the days of college students like Shawn Fanning, creator of a little program called Napster, who could make it big seemingly overnight.
Though the marketplace has changed dramatically since Napster’s debut, entrepreneur-launching company StartEmUp is willing to bet that there are still plenty of innovators out there waiting to be discovered.
Last Tuesday night, StartEmUp, a company committed to connecting student entrepreneurs with resources, held its first-ever JumpStart Philadelphia forum.
About 200 students from Penn and neighboring institutions arrived at the Inn at Penn to hear a panel of six successful entrepreneurs — including Josh Kopleman of Half.com and Mel Baiada of Sengen. The panelists imparted some of the wisdom gleaned from their experiences in the business community.
“Whoever said tech was dead was clearly wrong,” said StartEmUp’s Director of Marketing Matthew Weiss in his opening remarks. “Our panel present this evening, and the fact that you’re here in such great numbers, is a testament that entrepreneurship is alive and well and thriving on the campuses of the nation’s top colleges and universities.”
While the conference seemed to target many Wharton students, the forum also brought in undergraduates from many other schools, including Drexel, Lehigh and St. Joseph’s universities.
Each panelist gave a brief speech on his experiences.
“It’s a very good time to start a business when you’re relatively young,” said keynote speaker Baiada, the president and CEO of the tech company Sengen. “If you fail, what are you going to lose?”
Kopelman, founder and president of Half.com — a popular e-commerce site — was considered something of a “legend” to the audience, as the youthful entrepreneur was once a Wharton undergraduate.
He shared his advice on thinking creatively, and coming up with “out of the box” solutions.
From having half of America’s fortune cookie’s read “Half.com, don’t spend a fortune” to renaming a town in Oregon “Half.com,” the company is known for its innovative marketing strategies.
“The only thing we couldn’t do is get the astronomers to rename Haley’s Comet Half.comet,” Kopelman said jokingly.
Other panelists also shared their sentiments on the “science of selling” and the strengths of the Philadelphia region.
“This city is a great place,” Baiada said.
Many eager student entrepreneurs pressed the panelists for more specific thoughts during a question and answer session.
Overall, students said they gained many pointers from the panelists.
“The conference covered a lot of areas — including sales, financial backing and networking,” Drexel freshmen Robert Yost said.
Don Pellegrino, a Drexel senior, agreed.
“It was a great opportunity to come and find out what Philadelphia offered,” he said.
