This was a unique class in Media Organizations. Not only did we meet in class, but we also had two lecturers instead of one. Both of them are accomplished entrepreneurs that found innovative solutions to problems in their given field.
The first person we heard from was Jeremy Pease. Jeremy is actually a Pace University Senior and a Resident Assistant. While working as an RA, Jeremy found huge problems with some of the information systems that Pace's Residential Life used, so he decided to look for a solution to this. The answer was Reslutions, a Tech Solutions company for Residential Life in colleges. Some of the services they offer include mailroom systems, information architecture, and many others.
One really neat service he came up with was Roommate Connect, a "social network" of sorts that allows students to fill out a basic form online, submit it, and be matched with a roommate that best fits the student's preferences. It is a much better service that what schools like Pace offer.
Jeremy also offered a lot of sound advice on starting company, namely the following steps:
1. identify a Problem: making things easier for staff and students
2. Details
3. Brainstorm: answers, solutions, questions
4. Research
5. Look at Competitors
6. Analyze market
1. identify a Problem: making things easier for staff and students
2. Details
3. Brainstorm: answers, solutions, questions
4. Research
5. Look at Competitors
6. Analyze market
We were then fortunate enough to hear from Elisabeth Canon, Director of the NYC Branch of Fashion's Collective. Fashion's Collective serves as an overlap between fashion and digital, developing strategies for fashion companies. In this field, there is often no money left to explore digital options in strategy, so Fashion's Collective serves as a provider of such solutions.
Elisabeth strongly believes that starting a company is really personal, and you have to be into it to really make it successful. As for taking on clients, she says that "Taking on a client is protecting the brand, ensuring that the brand remains the same."
Both of these entrepreneurs offered great insight on media in different industries. They started small, then made names for themselves offering innovative solutions to glaring problems. I sincerely hope that should I ever hope to start a company of my own, that I follow a similar path.
