Entrepreneurs deliver honesty, advice at conference

Featured Events | Feb 08, 2016 | Gabelli School of Business

Maria Melendez, founder of Embrace Her Legacy, speaks at the Gabelli School of Business Entrepreneurship Conference, held Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. (Photo by Victoria Cleveland)

By Victoria Cleveland

Entrepreneurs are often no-nonsense types who are not shy about their ambitions and goals.

That trait was evident at the Gabelli School of Business 2016 Entrepreneurship Conference on Saturday, as successful self-starters spoke to and mingled with students, delivering the cold truth about the struggles it takes to start your own business.

Key speakers included Sarah Adler, co-founder of Spoon University, a chapter of which exists at Fordham; Paul Berry, founder and CEO at RebelMouse and former CTO of the Huffington Post; Tony Shure, co-founder of Chop’t Salad; Maria Melendez, founder of Embrace Her Legacy; and Emily Cook Harris, founder of Empowered.

For a look at some of our favorite tweets from the conference, click here.

The speakers discussed their personal journeys and how they came to start their own companies. They were also generous with advice on what steps college students should be taking in order to achieve the goals they have in mind.

“No one tells you that you’ll be crying in your bed at night. No one tells you that you’ll need to sacrifice some things,” Melendez said. “But it’s about the journey. I always say that you have to pay your dues but keep the receipt.”

Gabelli School of Business Dean Donna Rapaccioli, who attended the event, said she was happy to see the spirit of the students who attended.

“This conference reinforces the fact that entrepreneurship and innovation are in Fordham’s DNA,” Rapaccioli said. “The energy and diversity at this conference is what makes Fordham what it is.”

Students were given multiple opportunities to network with the professionals present, as well as options for workshops on how to create an infographic résumé and how to stay healthy while maintaining a hectic schedule.

In sum, students not only learned practical skills such as networking and résumé-writing, but were also enlightened by speakers forcefully telling them to work hard for themselves and surround themselves with like-minded people.