By Ain Center Staff

Pre-pandemic, the Ain Center would host in-person lunches each month, convening faculty, staff and students to explore different topics in entrepreneurship. Because gathering on campus currently is a no-go, the Ain Center has created Startup Bytes – a digital brown bag lunch series open to students, faculty, staff, and anyone else who would like to join. Each month, a different speaker or group shares their entrepreneurial experience via Zoom, with time for Q&A with attendees. September 18 marked the first Startup Bytes event, featuring UR Health Lab.

The UR Health Lab exists at the intersection of data science and medicine, where clinicians and researchers work alongside data scientists, computer scientists and electrical and computer engineers. A collaboration between the UR Medical Center and the College of Arts, Sciences & Engineering, they devise breakthrough systems that incorporate the most advanced technological practices to develop precision medicine that improves the lives of patients. Co-Director Michael Hasselberg and Lead Data Scientist Jack Teitel joined us on September 18 to speak about their role in the current public health crisis.

As a digital health incubator, the UR Health Lab team is used to testing various solutions to issues in the medical industry. In pre-pandemic times, leaders at URMC would identify a gap in the healthcare system that could be solved with technology. Once identified, the individual or department would be referred to the Health Lab and, if selected, interdisciplinary teams would tackle the problem using a powerful combination of medical expertise and data prowess. The overarching goal of their work is often to connect the ends of the value chain, according to Michael, directly linking clinicians and caregivers to patients. While this usually involves the calculated use of technology and plenty of iteration, the pandemic provided a new challenge of responding quickly while still producing the high-quality solution that is characteristic of the Health Lab’s work.

When the situation became dire in March, URMC wanted to provide a way for concerned employees to talk with experienced healthcare providers, both to provide guidance on testing and to assuage concerns for the “worried well” (people not experiencing symptoms but concerned about their wellbeing). The first measure enacted was a call hotline – Med Center employees could call in, report symptoms, and speak with a health professional if needed. Though effective, the hotline was quickly overwhelmed and so UR Health Lab was tapped to create a tech-based solution that could handle more users and still collect the same information. Just a few days later came Dr. Chatbot, a tool that would ask questions about symptoms and travel, while providing healthcare professionals with a way to follow up if needed. Over 7,000 individuals used Dr. Chatbot within the first week and call volume dropped by 50%, relieving the pressure on clinicians running the phones.

Once the tech had been created and adapted to fit the needs of the institution (including the broader University of Rochester community), UR Health Lab worked with Rochester Regional Health, Monroe County, the City of Rochester, and Common Ground Health to increase their reach and track COVID data throughout the greater Rochester area with ROC Covid-19. Over 52,000 individuals have since signed up to share their symptoms (or lack thereof), allowing data scientists and healthcare professionals to track the virus’s spread in our region. UR Health Lab also made the software code available to other entities as open source software, enabling tracking in other areas or by other employers.

Within their story are threads of collaboration, scalability, and, of course, entrepreneurial thinking. The agility of both the tech and the team behind it enabled a local solution to create reliable datasets and, ergo, the evidence for public health leaders to make informed decisions for the area. Further, acclaim for ROC Covid-19 has come from throughout the region and the nation: UR Health Lab has since been asked to work with the prestigious XPrize Foundation leadership to find unconventional solutions to pandemic threats.

Though there was an all-hands-on-deck urgency for their pandemic response, UR Health Lab also has other ongoing projects and goals. In addition to their specific projects, the Health Lab provides training for providers, works with students (largely from the U of R and RIT), and spreads the word about the benefits of connecting medicine and data science.

Individuals who are prepared to think creatively and bring those ideas to fruition are called to action in times of crisis, especially when they can synthesize skillsets and utilize the talents of their team. We’d like to again offer our thanks to Michael and Jack for exemplifying how to effectively tackle a pressing problem, and for sharing the impressive and innovative work of UR Health Lab.

Though shared above, the full recording of the September 16 event can also be found on our Vimeo page. Be sure to tune in on October 16 for the next edition of Startup Bytes, which will feature a discussion with the community organizers of the Roc the Business of Art program. If you have any questions, contact AinCFE@rochester.edu.

By Ain Center Staff

Pre-pandemic, the Ain Center would host in-person lunches each month, convening faculty, staff and students to explore different topics in entrepreneurship. Because gathering on campus currently is a no-go, the Ain Center has created Startup Bytes – a digital brown bag lunch series open to students, faculty, staff, and anyone else who would like to join. Each month, a different speaker or group shares their entrepreneurial experience via Zoom, with time for Q&A with attendees. September 18 marked the first Startup Bytes event, featuring UR Health Lab.

The UR Health Lab exists at the intersection of data science and medicine, where clinicians and researchers work alongside data scientists, computer scientists and electrical and computer engineers. A collaboration between the UR Medical Center and the College of Arts, Sciences & Engineering, they devise breakthrough systems that incorporate the most advanced technological practices to develop precision medicine that improves the lives of patients. Co-Director Michael Hasselberg and Lead Data Scientist Jack Teitel joined us on September 18 to speak about their role in the current public health crisis.

As a digital health incubator, the UR Health Lab team is used to testing various solutions to issues in the medical industry. In pre-pandemic times, leaders at URMC would identify a gap in the healthcare system that could be solved with technology. Once identified, the individual or department would be referred to the Health Lab and, if selected, interdisciplinary teams would tackle the problem using a powerful combination of medical expertise and data prowess. The overarching goal of their work is often to connect the ends of the value chain, according to Michael, directly linking clinicians and caregivers to patients. While this usually involves the calculated use of technology and plenty of iteration, the pandemic provided a new challenge of responding quickly while still producing the high-quality solution that is characteristic of the Health Lab’s work.

When the situation became dire in March, URMC wanted to provide a way for concerned employees to talk with experienced healthcare providers, both to provide guidance on testing and to assuage concerns for the “worried well” (people not experiencing symptoms but concerned about their wellbeing). The first measure enacted was a call hotline – Med Center employees could call in, report symptoms, and speak with a health professional if needed. Though effective, the hotline was quickly overwhelmed and so UR Health Lab was tapped to create a tech-based solution that could handle more users and still collect the same information. Just a few days later came Dr. Chatbot, a tool that would ask questions about symptoms and travel, while providing healthcare professionals with a way to follow up if needed. Over 7,000 individuals used Dr. Chatbot within the first week and call volume dropped by 50%, relieving the pressure on clinicians running the phones.

Once the tech had been created and adapted to fit the needs of the institution (including the broader University of Rochester community), UR Health Lab worked with Rochester Regional Health, Monroe County, the City of Rochester, and Common Ground Health to increase their reach and track COVID data throughout the greater Rochester area with ROC Covid-19. Over 52,000 individuals have since signed up to share their symptoms (or lack thereof), allowing data scientists and healthcare professionals to track the virus’s spread in our region. UR Health Lab also made the software code available to other entities as open source software, enabling tracking in other areas or by other employers.

Within their story are threads of collaboration, scalability, and, of course, entrepreneurial thinking. The agility of both the tech and the team behind it enabled a local solution to create reliable datasets and, ergo, the evidence for public health leaders to make informed decisions for the area. Further, acclaim for ROC Covid-19 has come from throughout the region and the nation: UR Health Lab has since been asked to work with the prestigious XPrize Foundation leadership to find unconventional solutions to pandemic threats.

Though there was an all-hands-on-deck urgency for their pandemic response, UR Health Lab also has other ongoing projects and goals. In addition to their specific projects, the Health Lab provides training for providers, works with students (largely from the U of R and RIT), and spreads the word about the benefits of connecting medicine and data science.

Individuals who are prepared to think creatively and bring those ideas to fruition are called to action in times of crisis, especially when they can synthesize skillsets and utilize the talents of their team. We’d like to again offer our thanks to Michael and Jack for exemplifying how to effectively tackle a pressing problem, and for sharing the impressive and innovative work of UR Health Lab.

Though shared above, the full recording of the September 16 event can also be found on our Vimeo page. Be sure to tune in on October 16 for the next edition of Startup Bytes, which will feature a discussion with the community organizers of the Roc the Business of Art program. If you have any questions, contact AinCFE@rochester.edu.

By Matthew Cook (re-published with permission from the author; originally published on UR River Campus Libraries website)

One of the most devastating aspects of COVID-19 is its ubiquity. Everyone who is not battling the virus itself is living in its shadow. That omnipresent threat has wreaked havoc on almost every aspect of everyday life.

For example, slowing the coronavirus’s spread has required businesses and organizations to adopt crippling, if not ruinous, physical distancing practices. And Rochester’s professional community has not been immune to this adversity. In typical fashion, the University of Rochester embraced the problem as an opportunity for innovation. The problem became the COVID-19 Challenge.

A collaboration between the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship, Barbara J. Burger iZone, Grand Challenges Scholars Program, Greene Center for Career Education and Connections, and Rochester Center for Community Leadership, the challenge was created to give students the opportunity to build competencies and gain valuable experience while fighting the effects that the pandemic is having on the City of Rochester.

Deniz Cengiz ʼ21, a Karp Library Fellow at iZone, explained that at the outset, they were preparing for a competition that would include one community partner and as many as 10 teams. Then they opened registration, and it blew up.

“I think we had about 150 applications,” says Cengiz, who served as the community partner liaison. “We had PhD students from the Medical Center. We had all levels of undergrads. We had incoming freshmen who hadn’t even been to Rochester yet. We really weren’t expecting this many students, and realized we had to add more partners.”

When the dust settled, there were around 42 teams—about 10 for each community partner, who had specific problems students had to address. And it quickly became clear that the community partners were as enthusiastic about and engaged in this challenge as the students.

“They were incredibly involved,” says Cengiz of the partners. “I would say they gave 20 to 25 hours of their time over the 10-day period. They deserve a lot of credit.”

Students used the 20-plus hours given by the partners on problem-solving communication. That communication included email correspondence and “office hours,” which served as dedicated time for teams to get more information about the organization, more details about the organization’s problem, and to talk through some initial ideas for solutions.

In the end, there may have only been two official winners, but it’s clear there were no losers. Even the teams who didn’t come out on top were grateful for having the close working experience with their respective organizations. The partners equally enjoyed collaborating with the students. Cengiz shared that feedback on the challenge was “overwhelmingly positive.”

“Basically, everybody wants to keep working together,” says Cengiz.

The challenge ended with a “pitch day,” where all the teams gave presentations to their respective organizations. Each organization then chose a finalist from their group, who would pitch to all the partners at once. Finally, the partners choose the top two from the final four. Those teams were…

For more information on the COVID-19 Challenge, contact Deniz Cengiz at dcengiz@u.rochester.edu. If you would like to hear more about the proposal for 540WMain contact, Casey Ryu at cryu@u.rochester.edu, and for the Westside Farmers Market proposal, contact Karlin Li at kli27@u.rochester.edu.

Matthew Cook is the senior communications officer for the libraries and collections at the University of Rochester. He is also the writer and editor for the libraries’ monthly newsletter, Tower Talk.

By Dr. Lomax R. Campbell  (re-published with permission from the author; originally published on Nexus i90)

Small business travelers and fellow resource partners, welcome to the official blog spot for Nexus i90 Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Solutions! Nexus i90 is your on-ramp to the digital highway, connecting a host of small business resources across the Finger Lakes Region. Powered by SourceLink^®, the platform was launched to make support resources more accessible and easier to use so small businesses in our community can enjoy equitable growth and inclusiveness as Rochester ventures along the road to economic recovery.

What’s in a Name?

Everything! The naming of a thing can speak to where it has historically been, where it currently is, or where it aspires to be. These solutions have been so named because Rochester is literally the nexus (i.e., at the center; the connecting point) of Buffalo and Syracuse along Interstate 90—the longest interstate in the nation. This positioning presents tremendous economic development opportunities for small businesses seeking to launch, sustain, expand, and matter to the multicultural communities that make up these regions. It is in this spirit that we endeavor to be a catalyst for sustainable community-based economic development and inter-municipal policy alignment.

How We Do Things ’Round Here

Fueled by deep levels of collaboration between the City of Rochester – Mayor’s Office of Community Wealth Building, Rochester Institute of Technology’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, Rochester Economic Development Corporation, and the Business Insight Center at the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County, our work across the Finger Lakes is driven by our Guiding Principles.

Small Businesses for the Win

Nexus i90 is publicly available to entrepreneurs/small businesses, resource partners, and the diverse community stakeholders vested in the viability and success of “the underdog” (i.e., small businesses). We hope you all will take advantage of this phenomenal suite of solutions, including:

• A Resource Navigator
• An Events Calendar
• A Blog
• A Hotline (soon)
• Tons of information about starting, growing, and funding small businesses
• A data system for tracking and measuring the success of our network

Resources that help businesses build better business models, determine which activities increase their return on investment, put them on the map, and help them navigate government contracting are but a few examples of the many supports provided by our network. You can see a more impressive list on our About page.

A Little Network Lingo

Borrowing a few words from our friends at SourceLink^®: A Resource Partner is typically a nonprofit, government or educational organization that offers a service to help someone start or grow a business. These organizations provide value for all different kinds of entrepreneurs, typically for low or no cost.

Frequently, Resource Partners include some for-profit organizations such as incubators, accelerators, coworking spaces and equity providers.

Typically, the network does NOT include for profit resources such as bankers, accountants, lawyers, insurance agents, [and] management consultants. While these resources are an important part of an overall entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially for high-growth companies, they are difficult to “vet” and are perhaps not in line with the low cost/no cost message.

Keeping us Community Centered

Check back with us from time-to-time for future posts. As we get things moving, it is our intent to post regularly. Readers will enjoy insights provided by our regional collaborators, subject matter experts, residential community members, and directly from entrepreneurs/small business owners. We hope to field your requests for blog topics through our Facebook and Twitter pages. Keep in mind we are here to help entrepreneurs, resource partners, small business organizers/advocates, policymakers, and entrepreneurial ecosystem builders navigate the road ahead.

Dr. Lomax R. Campbell is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Wealth Building at the City of Rochester. He has 17 years of experience in small business, higher education, and government administration. His expertise includes strategic management, ethnic psychology, urban entrepreneurship, technology innovation, economic and workforce development. He holds a Doctor of Management degree from the University of Maryland Global Campus, an Executive MBA degree from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a certificate in Leading Economic Growth from Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

By Ain Center Staff

There is no question that this fall will be complex, but the Ain Center is ready to move forward, and to provide the support and resources necessary to innovation. We are still accomplishing our goals of education and engagement, even though that looks a bit different this semester.

OPERATIONS

For now, Ain Center staff will be working remotely to comply with the University’s de-densification policies. Don’t worry, though – we are available to assist as usual! If you are on campus and stop by our office, you’ll see our contact information, as well as who to contact about each of our programs. Some of us have Calendly links available, but feel free to send an email if you’re unsure of who to connect with. If you aren’t on campus, all of our contact information can be found on the Meet the Staff page of our website, and each of our programs has a contact listed. This may change or be updated throughout the semester, so stay tuned to our e-newsletter and social media channels.

EVENTS

As usual, we are hosting or co-hosting plenty of events to help build entrepreneurial interest and skills. Our Events Calendar is up to date, and will have the latest information for attendees. All of our events will be offered digitally and we plan to share recordings of most of them, so those who aren’t able to attend can still watch and learn.

NEW (& UPDATED) PROGRAMS

In addition to full-scale digitization of our daily operations and existing programs, the Ain Center has also added a few new programs and updated others to keep up with the needs of those we serve. New for fall 2020, we have created Innov8 – an 8-week entrepreneurial training and grant program, open to all UR folks (including faculty and staff!). We’re also excited about our expansion of advising and mentorship opportunities. In the past, we’ve offered Expert-in-Residence office hours. Now, we’ll still be hosting EIR hours, and also adding Community Connectors (folks who can help with networking) and Mentors (experienced entrepreneurs who provide 1:1 guidance with UR students).

Another update is to our monthly lunches for students, faculty, and staff. These used to be separate events, but we want to foster the UR entrepreneurial community during these times of distant learning, so to do so, we’re combining these events into Startup Bytes: A Digital Brown Bag Lunch with Entrepreneurs. Startup Bytes is open to everyone in the UR community and beyond. Also for the greater Rochester community, we’ll be offering workshops aimed to help business owners work through impacts of the pandemic – more info on that to come.

The rest of our programs for this fall can be found throughout our website, and important deadlines and event info are on the Events Calendar.

Life looks a little more pixelated this fall, but that doesn’t change the real impact of entrepreneurship. We’ll see you soon.

Keep up to date by signing up for our e-newsletter. Have questions about this fall, or would like to meet with Ain Center staff about a project you’re working on? Contact AinCFE@rochester.edu and we’ll be in touch.

By Anik Agrawal (re-published with permission from the author; originally published on LinkedIn)

Before jumping onto my first startup, I knew that there is a social stigma attached to failure in India. However, being adventurous and somewhat rebellious, I never paid too much attention to that and carried on anyways. After having series of success in life, I experienced my first failure. I am going to share my life story and what I learned from my failure.

Being the only child, the expectations were always high with me as a kid. I was pushed to excel in not just one but all areas of life. I developed a peculiar sense of attitude to not sacrifice on one area of life on the cost of other. When I scored 6th rank in Grade 5, my parents asked why didn’t I come in Top 3. I replied “I am not going to sacrifice my play time just so that you can brag about my rank with other family members and friends.” I was very good with sports. I chose to be right handed while playing cricket but left handed while playing all the racket games. My mother asked me why do I use two hands. I replied “When my right hand gets tired of playing cricket, I will use my left hand to play tennis.”

My father runs a cloth weaving factory in Ahmedabad. I was fascinated by how quickly the machines operated and produced output. This fascination for machines steered me to pursue Mechanical Engineering. During college days, I took part in extra curricular activities like robotics and college fests to engage in social interactions and build self-confidence. I also did an internship in Mercedes Benz which taught me discipline in life. I had to wake up at 4am everyday for 6 months to catch the bus.

Born in a business family, I discovered early on in college that I wanted to do business in long term. I also realized the importance of having a well-rounded job experience that can be applied in the business. I was financed by my family to study abroad and learn a thing or two with the intention that some innovative idea can be brought back to India and converted into a profitable business. Classic Marwadi thinking right!

My 4 years in the US were life-changing. I became over-ambitious and tasted the flavor of success. After pursing my Masters in Entrepreneurship, I landed a job in an early stage well funded startup in San Francisco. Here I was barely 24 years old with an income more than the appetite, living in a dream city. Life could not have gotten any better. The startup saw hockey stick growth that people talked about in entrepreneurship community. Bay area startups had a culture to involve people of all levels in investor/customer meetings. It was a great learning for me and an exposure that shaped me up pretty early in career. About 2 and half years later, I couldn’t resist the idea that if I can be part of a successful startup, why can’t I create one.

This idea led me back to India, as I felt I need to take the first step towards becoming an entrepreneur. I was new to the professional world in India so I decided to get some work experience to understand how things worked. With the experience I had, I easily scored couple of stints of high paying corporate jobs in the span of 2 years. After about 2 years, I was ready to leave all the comfort and certainty of job life and jump onto my first startup.

As you could guess, this where the dark phase begins and after series of success in life, I finally experienced what failure means. I have always seen entrepreneurs talking as if they have figured out everything and that they have a clear vision. But the reality is no one knows the future and I learnt to get very comfortable with the uncertainty of chaos. Another thing which I noticed is entrepreneurs always talked about positive things and impressive numbers, but I learnt that they are just made up. If the numbers were so favorable then 99 out 100 startups would not fail. I learnt how to show the good side but also to be honest at times when things are not working. After spending 2 years building a product, I failed miserably. I had to let go of people who came onboard with a dream I sold to them. I burnt all my savings and lot of my family money. When I think of why I failed, lot of things come in mind but the biggest reason could be my attachment to product. I ignored customer problems and only focused on building a product I thought they need. I have now learnt never to get attached with product and focus only of customer problems.

Here I am not fully recovered from the first blow. I am surrounded by people giving all sorts of free advise like move back to the US, work with a corporate and get a stable job. One thing I have learnt in entrepreneurship is to be persistent and never give up. My failure is only going to be a stepping stone to success. If I steer my direction now and leave entrepreneurship, I might regret this for my entire life.

So I had to give it another shot. With renewed spirit and amazing co-founders, I am back at the grind. I am looking forward to my time at BurnCal. Time to convert dreams into reality!

Anik Agrawal ’13 (MS) completed the TEAM program in 2013. He has since worked in business development positions and founded a software platform to streamline management for companies that install solar energy systems. Anik has recently started a second venture, BurnCal.

By Dennis Kessler (re-published with permission from the Rochester Business Journal)

I’ve told my friends and family for the 20 years that I have been a college professor that my unqualified favorite day of the year is commencement. At the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School, the commencement ceremony is held in the celebrated Eastman Theatre at Kodak Hall; names resplendent of another era. While all commencements are special for the graduates and their families, this one is particularly noteworthy due to the architectural brilliance of the hall and its tasteful elegance richly illuminated by a remarkable multicolored Chihuly chandelier. The inclusion of a sprightly ensemble, courtesy of the university’s distinguished Eastman School of Music performing Sir Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, adds conspicuous distinction to the ceremonial character of the event.

Commencement this year will be undeniably different. In fact, acknowledgement of the completion of the rigorous M.S, MBA, and Ph.D. programs at the Simon Business School, known for its quantitative and analytics-based foundations, will merely be acknowledged by the receipt of a diploma delivered via the U.S. Mail. Hardly the tributes merited after years of successful academic study.

This semester, I have 71 students registered for my class: Entrepreneurship 423, New Venture Development. It is a particularly large class as I have nor restriction on the number of students who can enroll in my course. My view is that every aspiring entrepreneur should learn the skills, language, and risk mitigation techniques that I teach which may help turn their innovative dreams into an economic reality. Much of my lecture materials are a collection of experiences, both successful and those less so, as an entrepreneur in the franchise restaurant sector, real estate, publishing and cell tower industries. My hope is that this semester’s lectures, delivered from my home library via Zoom technology, were nearly as effective and impactful as they have been for previous Simon students whose faces and body language I could clearly see and often judge as indicators of comprehension of the material being taught.

Just last week, as the final class lecture and assignments are about due, I received a notice from a student counselor about Damien (fictitious name), a student in my lecture. Damien, a nurse in our University Medical Center’s emergency facility, had applied for “late permission to drop” the course. When I inquired about the reason, the counselor informed me that the stress of the work environment, family responsibilities and demanding MBA curriculum was overwhelming, especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic. I declined to sign the permission to drop form.

After the email exchange with the student counselor, I spoke with Damien in a Zoom session…now the preferred method of communication. Listening attentively, his internal dissonance apparent, I felt compassionate sympathy with his need to drop the course. However, I countered with the reasons why Damien had to preserve toward completion. While I clearly understood the pressures of work, family and a punishing MBA program, he was too close to the finish line to withdraw. This is a course in entrepreneurship, I exhorted. Being an entrepreneur is about overcoming obstacles, about adapting, about risk-taking, agility and determination and how to respond when a severe indiscriminate setback to your routine and finances forces you to swivel in a new direction.

While you are one of America’s heroes on the vanguard of the battlefield in the university emergency room, there is another epic battle waging which is the financial calamity that is destroying our economy, among others worldwide. I submit to you, show your mettle, demonstrate to your colleagues, family and classmates that you can do this, and in fact, as your professor, I will help you in the process. You will be granted an extension on your assignments just as businesses are making concessions for their consumers for late payments. We are all in this together; this is not your fight alone.

As most every American industry is suffering mightily, there are innumerable examples of how American ingenuity and entrepreneurship have responded. The new delivery economy has sprung up overnight spawning Instacart as a household term. The stay-at-home workforce is aided by the new Zoom frontier that many of us are adapting to. While it is somewhat unwieldy, it will improve because entrepreneurs will find a way to make it better or even develop a competing, more refined iteration. Auto dealerships are selling online and delivering to homes in a COVID-19-safe environment. GM and Ford are using their scale to produce face shields and ventilators. Small businesses across the American landscape have adapted to help in the fight. In order to survive, we must adapt. As former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recently offered in a New York Times opinion piece: “To be human is to be tested over and over, and we usually need abundant help from others.”

As Americans, we will not give up fighting this pandemic. We have moral courage, intellectual competence and resiliency to obliterate this 21st-century plague. This is our authentication of human spirit.

The 2020 graduates of the Simon Business School will remember the commencement they didn’t have. They will also recall how they completed their studies without fanfare, without the customary pose-commencement revelry but indeed, they finished. They, too, will have their day in the sun. They will go on to achieve well-paying positions in industry and elsewhere just as graduates that came before them. They will also recollect how they embraced social distancing, food deliveries, lockdowns, shut-ins, masks, and all the fears inflicted by this insidious virus. They will hopefully also remember that they didn’t give up their dream to finish, on time, in May 2020 with a nascent entrepreneurial idea nourished in ENT. 423, New Venture Development.

Oh, and by the way, Damien has decided to remain in my course. Meliora.

Dennis Kessler serves as the Edward and Agnes Ackley Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School. 

To learn more about this year’s commencement and degree conferrals, visit the University of Rochester’s Celebrating the Class of 2020 webpage.

By Ain Center Staff

Due to new University precautions regarding the COVID-19 virus, as well as the extension of spring break for many departments on campus, many Ain Center and MS Team at the University of Rochester staff members will be working remotely this week. Please contact us via the email addresses on our Meet the Staff webpage or contact the Ain Center’s general account at aincfe@rochester.edu if you’re not sure who to reach out to individually.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have questions about upcoming events. We’ll post more updates as we have them, and we are, as always, committed to supporting our entrepreneurial community during this time of uncertainty.

By Sophia Rosman

On November 22-23 of 2019, I led an educational airbrushing booth at the sixth annual Maker Faire Rochester. Held at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, the two-day event consisted of over 200 demonstrations and activities celebrating art, technology, engineering, and more. Our team from U of R had a great time engaging with students in a setting filled with innovation!

The first day, Friday, was called “Student STEAM Fest.” Over 2,000 students in 3^rd-8^th grade classes visited the Faire for STEAM fest. When the Faire opened to the public on Saturday, close to 5,000 guests attended. On Friday, our booth was flooded with students excited to try airbrushing and learn about optical illusions. On Saturday, many guests who visited our booth had seen airbrushing on baking and automotive TV shows, and they were curious about its other applications. They were excited to learn more about the history and culture surrounding airbrush, the technical components of the tool, and the way it relates to the optical illusions we displayed in the booth. Most of all, they were eager to try painting with the tool they’d rarely seen in real life.

The Maker Faire was exciting for me because I collaborated with University of Rochester students from other disciplines as I shared my unique passion with a large audience. On Friday, we incorporated an optical illusion activity into the airbrushing lessons. To prepare for this, I worked with U of R Brain and Cognitive Science students and Psychology students. They helped me learn about the interdisciplinary theories that correspond with trompe l’oeil and other techniques artists employ. During the Faire, we answered questions about these theories in addition to questions about the science, arts, business, and technical components of airbrushing.

On Saturday, in addition to presenting airbrush demonstrations, we sold custom airbrushed merchandise and bodypaintings. We also raffled off a free custom airbrushed shirt and collected email addresses for the monthly Impact Arts Company e-newsletter. My hope is that guests who interacted with the booth will book us to airbrush and bodypaint at future events. I am happy to have been part of such an engaging educational event that also exposed the community to what I offer for events and custom orders.

The collaborative work behind the scenes is what enabled this booth to happen. I learned about the Maker Faire from a U of R e5 student who hosted a Maker Faire booth last year. She led another booth at the event this year, and she was an amazing resource for anything from the application process to day-of-event logistics. The other U of R students who helped out in the booth were by my side from the 6:30am setup through the 5:00pm load out. The team designed the beautiful booth setup, carried heaps of equipment, captured beautiful moments on camera, constantly entertained the crowd, and – perhaps most importantly – they befriended many other makers.

Impact Arts Company- an e5 Project

When I was accepted into the e5 program, I had already been running a small face painting, body painting, and airbrushing business for over 5 years. I primarily work with clients who pay an hourly rate for me to face paint, body paint, or airbrush at private or corporate events. Juggling has taken me to the White House, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and on trips across the US and internationally. When the e5 project led me to spend a semester in Washington, D.C., my bodypaintings were even printed in a magazine.

Through e5, I was able to take more business classes and access advisors who helped me discover different paths in this entrepreneurial journey. e5 coursework and conversations have reshaped the way I consider my impact on the environment, the people I work with, and society as a whole. I was particularly excited to be part of the Maker Faire so that I could join conversations with Rochester’s young makers about the realities of entrepreneurship and the impact of interdisciplinary arts. I hope that when they left our Maker Faire conversations, the students were inspired and excited for their futures!

Sophia Rosman ’19, ’20 (e5) is an E5 student at the University of Rochester. Her majors are Philosophy and Art History, and her minor is Business. You can find out more about Impact Arts Company by visiting www.impactartscompany.com.

By Linnie Schell

In November 2019, 200+ makers, creatives, technology builders, fabricators and crafters descended on the Riverside Convention Center for a two-day event celebrating the joy of creating. As part of my e5 program, I create art exhibits in community spaces. Based on the work that I had done on campus in previous years, I was invited to bring my team to the convention. We were offered a great space, and I immediately said yes – excited to showcase our work off-campus and for a wider audience.

As I’ve written about on this same blog, I couldn’t have done any of this without my team. We worked closely in the weeks before the event. Along the way we received help from many quarters, from borrowed equipment and storage space, to a truly amazing number of boxes from many different shipping departments. I personally spent so much time ferrying boxes from Douglas Kitchens that the staff started waving me though the line automatically. We also received generous financial support from multiple departments and grants, including the Ain Center. We developed an installation design exploring a mythical world called The Alexandria Complex, where all lost things eventually end up. Ever had a sock go inexplicably missing? Chances are, the Alexandria Complex is where it went.

In the past, we had spent probably 24-36 hours installing each event. This year we didn’t even know the load-in times until a week before the event – but we knew that whatever it was, it was going to be short. Thankfully, we were able to choreograph the crew of helpers and technical people along with all of the equipment, and finished set-up early the next morning. The first day was dedicated to students only, and over 1,800 students from as far as 2 hours away attended.

Saturday was open to the general public, and boy did they show up – over 3,000 attendees. We had a near constant stream of kids, parents, and other community members through the exhibit. We encouraged people to search for secrets, and leave a few of their own behind. The most moving part of the exhibit was a “Lost-and-Not-Yet-Found-wall”, where we encouraged audience members to pin things that they had lost. Postings about everything from toys to lost loved ones bloomed on the walls.

Reactions were overwhelmingly positive. One of the things that I was most proud of was our success in providing things for every age group, so that everyone who went had a good time. We also were able to represent the U of R and provide something unique. The Maker Faire was overwhelmingly filled with STEM booths, so some people that walked through definitely got more art than they were expecting. A few people were confused, everyone thought it was cool. A definite success, and one that I am excited about continuing to replicate in the coming years, at the U of R and beyond.

Saralinda “Linnie” Schell ’19 (’20 e5) majored in Computer Science, Political Science, and Turkish Studies. Her e5 project is focused on immersive art and theater, and using these installations to promote collaboration with artists at the U of R and the greater Rochester Community.