by Michael Vernick ’83, April 2018
The third Sigma Pi Entrepreneurship Conference took place on Saturday, April 21, at the Mu Chapter house. The conference featured nine distinguished speakers, including Sigma Pi alumni and Cornell professors:
- Ken Rother: managing director of eLab and visiting lecturer of management at the Johnson Graduate School of Management
- Jeff Corbin, Sigma Pi ’87: founder and CEO of APPrise Mobile
- James Mahoney, Cornell ’84, ’18(MS): software developer, entrepreneur, digital artist
- Jesse Hammerman, Sigma Pi ’83: president and founder of AMG Solutions and HH Woodworking
- Dennis McNamara, Sigma Pi ’83: executive vice president and general counsel for Oppenheimer & Co.
- Daniel Abaraoha, Cornell ’17: founder of Vita Shoes Company
- Will Murphy, Sigma Pi ’18: co-founder of YNOT Bike
- Tom Silver, Sigma Pi ’81: Top Gun Ventures; president of Mu Chapter of Sigma Pi Educational Foundation
- Michael Vernick, Sigma Pi ’83: solutions architect for JW Player; Sigma Pi alumni board member
This year’s conference focused on career stories. Speakers talked about their career paths, including the successes and pitfalls along the way. They shared interesting stories about how they made job-changing decisions or how the decisions were made for them. They discussed the day-to-day routines (or lack thereof) in their companies and fields, as well as what they love about their jobs. Perhaps most importantly, they conveyed tips, advice, and lessons learned to the undergrads. Each speaker concluded by answering questions about his position and about what kind of person could find success and fulfillment in his industry and career path.
We would like to thank all of the speakers and participants for helping to make the conference a terrific success! If you would like more information about participating in future Sigma Pi Entrepreneurship Conferences, either as an attendee or as a speaker, please contact Michael Vernick ’83 at michael@giantface.com.