The Vanderbilt Alumni Association’s New York City Chapter brought together 84 alumni and guests in February for a technology entrepreneurship panel featuring alumni involved with six tech startup companies. Moderated by Eric Johnson, dean of the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, the event left attendees inspired with new ideas.
Chapter President Alex Quintana, BA’05, MSF’06, and a committee of alumni volunteers designed the event after a 2012 fashion entrepreneurship panel. Inspired by New York’s emerging silicon alley, Quintana thought there must be Vanderbilt alumni in the area creating technology startups. He soon discovered he was right.
“A great community of Vanderbilt alumni tech entrepreneurs is in New York. We just brought them together for this panel, allowing the audience to learn about possible new career paths while displaying their great work,” he explains.
Excitement for the event really took off with Johnson’s involvement. “Dean Johnson was extremely supportive and involved—he even met with the entrepreneurs before the event,” says Quintana. “His energy inspired the audience to tweet their thoughts and ask questions throughout the panel.”
Quintana and chapter volunteers look forward to similar events in the future as they help bring together diverse groups of alumni and friends. “Chapters connect alumni to Vanderbilt, and panels like this provide a more academic experience that—just like Vanderbilt—challenges participants to think outside their normal areas.”