SYRACUSE –– On March 20, television viewers got a glimpse of Syracuse University’s entrepreneurship scene when SU alumnus Patrick Ambron appeared on ABC’s TV show “Shark Tank.”

 

Ambron (Class of 2009) co-founded BrandYourself, an online reputation-management company that helps people improve online search results for their names. He and his partners started the firm in 2009 as part of the Student Sandbox program at the Syracuse Technology Garden in downtown Syracuse. BrandYourself later became a regular tenant in the Tech Garden and won the $200,000 grand prize in the 2011 Creative Core Emerging Business Competition. The firm then moved its headquarters to New York City.

 

On the Shark Tank episode, Ambron asked the show’s “sharks” (investors) for a $2 million investment in exchange for a 13.5 percent stake in the company. Ambron rejected a counteroffer and walked away without a deal. 

 

BrandYourself may have captured nationwide attention. But, what about the current state of entrepreneurship at Syracuse University? Are there any other emerging success stories?

 

Professors and students alike say that SU and the city of Syracuse continue to foster a positive environment for entrepreneurship. But room for improvement remains before student entrepreneurship can grow to its full potential.

 

In the 2013-2014 school year, SU’s Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprise (EEE) faculty taught 1,800 undergraduate students and nearly 400 graduate students across 206 majors, according to the Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s annual report. Alexandra Kostakis, a professor of entrepreneurial practice, teaches the course EEE 370, “Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises,” which has 24 students from Whitman and 20 students from other SU undergraduate colleges. But, in another section, she has only eight Whitman students out of 52 students. Kostakis says she’s never had a class with students from such a wide range of majors.

 

 “What’s great about this class is that [there are] a lot of ideas, because there’s so many students from such diverse backgrounds,” she says referring to the second section. “It is the perfect environment for ideas to happen, because everyone is coming from different places. That’s a great plus.”

 

Kostakis also noticed that this semester, she has more students visiting her during office hours to discuss business ideas. She has had five to 10 students sign up to be in the Couri Hatchery incubator, a co-working space at Whitman that provides resources and support for student ventures. To her, it is an indication that student entrepreneurship is still growing and is here to stay. 

 

“It’s not a trend or a fad in my eyes,” she adds. “I see it as an opportunity for them to take control of their own future.”

 

Other professors in Whitman’s EEE department have also taught a diverse range of students, and often cannot accommodate all the students who want to enroll in their class. Ken Walsleben, a professor of entrepreneurial practice, said this semester he turned away 15 to 18 students who petitioned him to add them to his entrepreneurship class. The class had already reached its capacity of 50 students.

 

Other resources

The resources or opportunities SU students can tap to grow their startups, include competitions such as the Raymond von Dran (RvD) IDEA Awards, which they can enter and win up to $10,000 for their business. Within the Couri Hatchery, students can talk to accountants, lawyers, and other experts about their business ideas. Outside of Whitman, SU also has other programs and offices that support student entrepreneurship. They include the Newhouse Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship — which promotes new media entrepreneurship opportunities to students, providing resources to help start digital-media ventures — and the 

ICE Box —  a space for innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship at the iSchool.

 

Students also have access to programs in the city of Syracuse. For example, CenterState CEO, which operates the Tech Garden, has launched a new startup competition called The Germinator. It’s a contest for startups that will award $600,000 in total over a two-year period with funding rounds starting every six months.

 

Other priorities

But with all the opportunities and resources, why aren’t there more student-run businesses across the Syracuse community?

 

Starting a business after college may not be a high priority for all students, says Peter Scott, a professor of entrepreneurial practice at the Whitman School.

 

“Most students are interested in other stuff,” he says. “They’re interested in going to the bar. They’re interested in getting their degree. They’re young and unfocused.”

 

Last year, Scott taught a senior capstone class in entrepreneurship. One group of students came up with an idea in which tennis-court paint would change color for five seconds if the ball hit the line. 

 

“Cool idea,” he quips. Out of the 60 or 70 business plans for the capstone, the tennis-court paint plan was in the top five. Scott encouraged the team to enter IDEA and other business competitions in the spring, but they never did — even though Scott thought that they had “a really good chance” of winning prize money for their venture. 

 

“They’re students,” he says. “They’re in their last semester. They’re thinking about jobs, right? Like real jobs. They’re thinking about graduating, and having fun.”

 

Last year, Syracuse University student Tom Charles and his two other teammates won $7,500 from the IDEA Awards. The funding was for Compas, an event-management service for student organizations on college campuses. It originated as a final project for an information-technology class in which Charles and his teammates were enrolled. However, they folded the company shortly after the competition. 

 

“Being that the app started as just an idea for a class project, we never really assessed the business environment at all,” says Charles, who is now a graduate student in Whitman’s entrepreneurship program. “We didn’t think it was the best use of our time.”

 

However, Charles believes that student entrepreneurship at SU is continuing to grow. He says he would like to see more centralization in the resources for entrepreneurship on campus, instead of having many different offices scattered across the various colleges. Putting entrepreneurship resources and spaces in one spot would mean students would make more connections with other entrepreneurs and have an easier time to find the right tools to start their business, he contends.        

 

 

CLAY — CORE, a new fast-casual, “active lifestyle” eatery, plans to open in early May at the former location of Jolime Fresh Garden Café in the town of Clay.

 

The opening of CORE at 7265 Buckley Road, its first location, will follow renovation work at the former Jolime Fresh Garden Café, which closed late last year.

 

CORE is a company that is separate from Jolime, says John Caveny, co-owner of Jolime and an operating partner of CORE.

 

John Caveny spoke with CNYBJ on April 14.

 

The owners want customers to see CORE as a place they can come to get healthy food, says Caveny.

 

“Everything on the menu is fresh. We don’t have any freezers. Everything’s prepared daily, like our dressings that we make from scratch every day,” he adds. 

 

The group created CORE to offer quick meals for lunch and dinner featuring “unprocessed ingredients that enable peak performance.”

 

When asked if the Cavenys had plans to transform the existing Jolime locations into CORE locations, Caveny replied “not at the current time.”

 

The existing Jolime locations operate at 125 E. Jefferson St. in Syracuse and at North Medical across West Taft Road from CORE in Clay.

 

The eateries are performing “fine on their own,” Caveny contends.

 

Jolime still offers “comfort” food, such as a bagel with butter, a sandwich that a customer can dip into a cup of broccoli-cheddar soup.

 

“They’re not necessarily healthy for you,” Caveny notes.

 

Core operations

CORE will operate in a 4,500-square-foot space, says Caveny, noting he leases the space from Chuck Hafner, Caveny’s uncle. 

 

Hafner operates Chuck Hafner’s Farmers Market & Garden Center, Inc. next door.

 

CORE will employ between 30 and 40 people, he adds.

 

Caveny and his wife, Lisa Caveny, joined Larry Wilson and Todd Mansfield in announcing late last year that they would transition the Jolime location to create a “unique active lifestyle” restaurant with plans to add additional locations. 

 

Caveny declined to disclose each owner’s share of the business.

 

A CORE news release describes Wilson as a “successful entrepreneur and restaurateur” and Mansfield as a “medical-industry veteran.”

 

Wilson, a Vestal resident who John Caveny has known for more than 25 years, owns more than 25 Moe’s Southwest Grill and Hoopla! Frozen Yogurt locations throughout New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, according to the release.

 

Caveny has also known Mansfield for more than 25 years, he says.

 

Wilson served as the contractor on the renovation project. Lisa Caveny led the effort in designing the space.

 

Caveny declined to disclose how much it cost to renovate the space for the CORE eatery, but says it is “self-financed” and a “significant investment.”

 

How it started

Larry Wilson approached Caveny as he was opening Hoopla! Frozen Yogurt locations, including one in Westchester County. 

 

“And he noticed a line out the door at this place that was opening up another block away. He went to check on it, and it was a concept called Chop’t. There was a line out the door and all people were eating is salads,” says Caveny.

 

It was a location of the Chop’t Creative Salad Company. It operates eateries in the New York City and Washington, D.C. areas, according to its website.

 

Similar types of restaurants are “sprouting up” in places such as Boston, Washington, D.C., and other major markets, filling the demand for people who just want to 

eat healthy food, says Caveny.

 

“It’s active people [who] are looking to eat healthy every day,” he adds.

 

Wilson told the Cavenys he believed upstate New York had an “appetite” for these food products, Caveny recalled.

 

The Cavenys researched the idea, visiting eateries that are serving healthy foods in places such as Boston and New York City.

 

They decided to convert Jolime, figuring they had established a footprint; had customers who “appreciate” them for fresh food; and the location near Chuck 

Hafner’s garden center with the available produce.

 

“It just seemed to make sense,” he concluded. 

 

They figured they’d renovate what they already had and use it as a “prototype model,” as opposed to starting something new at a new piece of property.

 

“If it works here, then maybe we do some more,” he adds.

 

The Cavenys decided last fall that they had conducted enough research and accumulated enough data to make a decision.

 

They believed they had examined enough concept models to determine “there’s nothing like this in upstate New York, and we thought if we brought it, there was a really good chance of success.”

 

The partners chose the name CORE to represent the physical center of a human body “and being centered and being balanced … Food plays a tremendous role with that,” says Caveny. 

 

In the eatery’s logo, the “O” part of CORE is the core of a carrot. 

 

“One of our mantras at CORE is real food for active people. There’s a real performance piece to eating well,” says Caveny.

 

The eatery’s customers could include someone who’s ended treatments for cancer, someone trying to lose 30 pounds to avoid diabetes, or someone training for a 

marathon, he suggests.

 

“All of those people have one thing in common … The better you eat, the better you feel,” says Caveny.        

 

 

SYRACUSE — It’s a chance for small-business owners and entrepreneurs to learn about available products, services, and resources in a one-day event featuring exhibitors and seminars. 

 

Premier Promotions is organizing the 17th SOHO Syracuse Small Business Show on Thursday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter. 

 

SOHO is short for small office/home office. 

 

The event seeks to help small businesses deal with the constant changes in the economy, says Steve Becker, owner of Premier Promotions, Inc., who has helped in producing all the previous 16 SOHO shows.

 

 “What we try to do with the show is give companies options for what’s out there to help [them],” says Becker, who spoke with CNYBJ on April 10.

 

The options could be products, services, or just information, he adds. 

 

The SOHO show aims to provide information on topics such as financial services and new programs. Several government agencies also plan to participate including the Onondaga County Division of Purchase; Empire State Development, New York’s primary economic-development agency; the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); and the Small Business Development Center.

 

“We’re trying to bring people to the show [who] can be assisted, either in an existing business or [if] you want to start a business,” he says. 

 

Becker is anticipating more than 130 exhibitors at this year’s show and between 800 to 1,000 attendees. 

 

Chambers of commerce serving Liverpool, Cicero, Manlius, Cazenovia, and Plank Road (North Syracuse), as well as CenterState CEO, will participate, says Becker.

 

“They will also have some of their members as part of their [exhibitor] areas,” he adds. 

 

The SOHO Syracuse Small Business Show also includes four half-hour length, small-business presentations on topics that focus on raising digital visibility; Microsoft Windows 10 and business applications; organizations that help small businesses, such as a chamber of commerce; and a 60-minute panel of entrepreneurs who started or sustained a successful company. 

 

The presentations include Destiny USA’s Microsoft Store at 11:15 a.m. with a “Sneak Preview to Windows 10 and Business Applications.” The presentation provides a “peek” at what’s available at the Microsoft Store along with the latest operating system from Microsoft.

 

“Microsoft 10 is going to be released sometime in 2015. So, we’re going to have that … for people to understand some of the ins and outs of what to look forward to,” Becker says.

 

Later, at 12:15 p.m., area chambers of commerce, the Small Business Development Center, and the SBA present, “Three Organizations That Can Help Your Small Business.”

 

Attendees can find out how these organizations offer opportunities to network with other businesses, gain educational business insights, be an advocate for your small business.

 

“For the chamber, we’re going to have Liverpool … take the lead in that,” says Becker.

 

The presentations continue at 1:15 p.m. with “How to get your story into The Business Journal,” with advice on what CNYBJ looks for and reports about local businesses.

 

The final presentation at 2:15 p.m. is from a panel of entrepreneurs presenting an hour-long seminar called “Grand Slam Entrepreneurs — The Sequel.” The same presentation had a “standing-room only debut” in last year’s show, says Becker.

 

This year’s panelists are John Stage, owner of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que; Andy Picco, owner of Sustainable Office Solutions, LLC; Jessica Sloma, president of Ultimate Arrival, LLC; and Gwen Webber-McLeod, president and CEO of Gwen Inc., a leadership-development corporation.

 

“Each entrepreneur that’s on the panel will have a chance to tell their story,” says Becker.

 

Matt Mulcahy, anchor and reporter for CNY Central, will moderate the panel discussion.

 

Anyone attending any of the presentations can leave a business card for a chance to win a booth at the 2016 SOHO show free of charge. Booth space at the show costs about $600, Becker notes. 

 

The day will conclude with a Business After Hours Networking Reception between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. featuring free hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, prizes, and entertainment from the Maria DeSantis Trio, according to the show agenda.

 

“To me, SOHO … is really for people to connect [along with] networking, building new relationships, or seeing old friends,” says Becker. 

 

Complimentary tickets are available on the show’s website, but the cost at the door is $5 if people attend without a complimentary ticket, Becker says.

 

The advertising and marketing materials for the SOHO show include the likeness of Bernie Bregman, owner of BBB Marketing, Inc., smiling and giving two thumbs up. Those materials include a billboard ad, tickets, posters, and the Show Guide.

 

Bregman — who retired from the Business Journal News Network (BJNN) as a senior account manager at the end of 2013 but still provides marketing services to BJNN through his company — offers a few reasons why Becker tapped him to help market SOHO.

 

“Well, Steve and I are friends. In addition to that, I’ve been involved with trade shows of this kind for probably 20-some years…,” he says. “And a lot of people know me. So Steve decided, ‘Well, let’s use the face of Bernie Bregman.’ ”

 

Bregman says he received “lots” of feedback from people who saw him on last year’s SOHO Show billboard and tickets.

 

Becker and Norman Poltenson, the former publisher of CNYBJ, came up with the idea for the SOHO show in the fall of 1997 and organized the first one in April 1998. 

 

SOHO became an autumn event the following year, but has now shifted on the calendar to the spring.

 

The trade show took a one-year hiatus in 2012 to avoid conflicting with the CenterState CEO Business Showcase at the State Fairgrounds, an event that has since moved to the fall.