\n Illustrations by Peter Strain<\/em><\/p>\n
Other alumni entrepreneurs may not be as familiar, but there are plenty out there. And that makes sense: a recent survey of graduating seniors conducted by Trinity\u2019s Analytics and Strategic Initiatives Center shows that Trinity students are more likely than their peers to work in start-ups and small businesses after graduation. We also know through word of mouth that it\u2019s common\u2014and has been for some time\u2014for alumni to support one another\u2019s ventures.<\/p>\n \u201cTrinity has had a long history of producing graduates who have \u2018it\u2019\u2014that unique combination of I.Q. and E.Q. [emotional intelligence]\u2014that allows them to succeed in entrepreneurial endeavors,\u201d says President Joanne Berger-Sweeney. \u201cSo many of them possess strong relational skills, including being able to work well with others and to utilize networks, which is vital when you\u2019re an entrepreneur. I also see the same qualities in today\u2019s students, who are determined to achieve great things. It seems that entrepreneurialism is in Trinity\u2019s DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n Amy McCooe \u201993 <\/strong>found the college to be a place of optimism. \u201cThere is a message in the Trinity culture that if you want to change something, you can,\u201d remembers McCooe, co-founder and CEO of Level Up Village<\/a> (LUV)\u2014a \u201csocially conscious for-profit\u201d that connects American students in grades K through 9 with students from around the world through online courses in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).<\/p>\n \u201cWe would stay up late talking about how we could make a difference,\u201d McCooe says. There were afternoons on the quad when Kirk Peters, then Trinity\u2019s associate dean of students, set up a microphone and asked students to talk about how they were contributing to society. \u201cIt was incredibly empowering that the administration was interested in what we had to say.\u201d<\/p>\n McCooe earned an M.B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and had a career in finance and start-ups before leaving the corporate world to start a family. But she continued to feed her entrepreneurial spirit by creating an after-school program at her children\u2019s elementary school, cultivating and sourcing STEAM-based enrichment opportunities for students.<\/p>\n Today LUV provides one-to-one connections for students all over the world. \u201cWe\u2019re teaching children the skills they\u2019ll need for the jobs of the future,\u201d says McCooe, who is passionate about creating global citizens in an ever-shrinking world. \u201cIf you\u2019re not excited about your work, what\u2019s the point?\u201d<\/p>\n Passion is an absolute necessity for an entrepreneur, says Tara O\u2019Connor Foley \u201907<\/strong>, founder and CEO of Follain<\/a>, a retailer of ethical and safe cosmetics and beauty products. \u201cYou just don\u2019t go down that road unless you are absolutely crazy about your idea.\u201d<\/p>\n When Foley learned about the toxins in everyday health and beauty products, she \u201cpulled the emergency brake\u201d on her life. \u201cThe cosmetics industry is one of the most unregulated industries in the United States,\u201d she says. She sold her car and emptied her savings to start Follain. Husband James Foley \u201907 helped her open her first small storefront in Boston, and the business now has two stores in Boston and one on Nantucket. There\u2019s also a thriving online component, www.follain.com<\/a>, and the company has plans to add stores in Bethesda, Maryland; Seattle; New York; and Dallas.<\/p>\n \u201cTrinity seems to cultivate a unique level of emotional intelligence. Everyone I met could hold their own in a strong conversation,\u201d she says. Foley majored in public policy and was set on a career in law. But her college experience, both inside and outside the classroom, challenged her to push boundaries and to \u201cthink outside the box.\u201d Though a move from law to beauty might seem incongruous, Foley\u2014who holds an M.B.A. from Babson College\u2014insists it\u2019s not. \u201cThis is a public policy issue,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n It was the \u201cdepth of the academics at Trinity\u201d that helped Louise Albin \u201976 <\/strong>forge her own path. Owner of Caf\u00e9 Louise<\/a>, a restaurant and catering business with locations in West Hartford and Newington, Connecticut, Albin knew the corporate life wasn\u2019t for her. \u201cI\u2019ve always liked creative freedom in my work,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Courses in philosophy and women\u2019s literature were among those that showed her different ways to approach a situation. And a semester student teaching to earn her secondary education certificate bolstered her self-esteem. But the French literature major turned down a teaching job to put her cooking skills\u2014honed during a study-abroad program in France\u2014to good use. For more than 25 years, she\u2019s been at the helm of Caf\u00e9 Louise. \u201cAnd I still get that excited feeling before an event,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Charlie Buffum \u201982<\/strong>, owner and president of Cottrell Brewing<\/a> in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, was in his 30s, working long hours and traveling to Canada every week for his job as a management consultant. \u201cI had a wife and two young kids, and I was never home,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n After Trinity, he earned an M.B.A. from the London Business School, where he developed a passion for ales and learned the craft of beer making. He brewed beer as a hobby and started having conversations with his wife in the \u201990s about \u201cditching the corporate towel\u201d to open a brewery. \u201cBut I had cold feet,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n One night, after flying home late, he found a Nike T-shirt on his pillow. \u201cJust Do It\u201d was printed on the front. \u201cIt was a sign from my wife,\u201d he says. In 1997, the couple opened the doors to their brewery, located on the site where Buffum\u2019s great-great-grandfather, C.B. Cottrell, began building printing presses in 1855, hence the brewery\u2019s name.<\/p>\n Known for its flagship brew, Old Yankee Ale, called the \u201cbest amber ale\u201d in Beer Lover\u2019s New England, <\/em>Cottrell Brewing has been going strong through slow, controlled growth and a focus on customer service, says Buffum. He acknowledges, though, that it wasn\u2019t all smooth sailing. \u201cYou\u2019ll hit hurdles, but if you have passion, you can get through them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Buffum learned to voice his opinions at Trinity, where he majored in economics. \u201cThe small classrooms and the way professors engaged you helped me feel more comfortable.\u201d That comes in handy in the beer business, he says. With wholesalers, retailers, and his devoted customers, communication and attention to service are Buffum\u2019s priorities.<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear that Trinity Trustee and biochemistry major Richard Wagner \u201983<\/strong> also knows that it takes more than an understanding of an academic area to succeed. \u201cBeing an entrepreneur is not the same as being a biochemist,\u201d says Wagner, founder, president, and CEO of X-Chem, Inc.<\/a>, a biotechnology company that specializes in small-molecule drug discovery. \u201cI need to know about human resources and accounting as well.\u201d He also is founder and on the board of two X-Chem spin-offs: X-Rx, Inc.<\/a>, which develops therapeutics in fibrosis and cancer, and Xios, Inc.<\/a>, which focuses on immuno-oncology.<\/p>\n Wagner says he draws on lessons learned in classes as diverse as art history, economics, and religious studies. He\u2019s also grateful for his relationship with Henry A. DePhillips Jr., Vernon K. Krieble Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus<\/strong>. <\/strong>\u201c<\/strong>He was very supportive, especially during my senior year, when he pushed me to pursue graduate studies.\u201d Wagner earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Brown University and completed postdoctoral study in molecular and cell biology at the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n Listed as one of Forbes<\/em> magazine\u2019s 2017 \u201c30 Under 30,\u201d Colin Touhey \u201910<\/strong> is co-founder and CEO of Pvilion<\/a>, a Brooklyn-based manufacturer of flexible photovoltaic solar structures and products. Think awnings that provide LED lighting and jackets made from solar-powered fabric that can power your iPhone, he says. He\u2019s also an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.<\/p>\n An engineering major at Trinity, Touhey says the college\u2019s close-knit Engineering Department helped give him the confidence to take risks. \u201cThe small size of the department and the flexibility of the course work allowed me to pursue my passions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Shortly after graduation, Touhey was designing products for a solar energy firm, but the company wasn\u2019t implementing his designs. So, with two partners from his former employer and a bunch of unused technology ideas, he launched Pvilion in 2011. He quickly learned that failure was part of the process. \u201cIf you\u2019re not failing every day, you\u2019re doing something wrong. It\u2019s not that you fail but what you do with it,\u201d he says. At the time, Touhey was 22. \u201cIn retrospect, it was completely ridiculous that I thought I could pull it off.\u201d But within a few months, the business was cash positive.<\/p>\n That kind of \u201cirrational, unfounded confidence\u201d is necessary in entrepreneurship, says Hal Ebbott \u201910.<\/strong> In 2014, Ebbott and Touhey partnered with a neurologist to launch Foray Design<\/a>, a company that designs and produces tools for people with physical limitations. Discouraged by the clunky design of the classic walker, they created Spring, an ergonomically designed walker that is intuitive to use. \u201cA walker should have the same quality of design as your iPhone,\u201d says Ebbott, who majored in public policy.<\/p>\n Ebbott and Touhey met on Trinity\u2019s crew team and became close friends. Ebbott credits their success as business partners to their ability to disagree without taking it personally. \u201cWe will yell about something, but only in the context of that one point,\u201d says Ebbott. \u201cIt\u2019s just business.\u201d<\/p>\n Ebbott is grateful for the support he and Touhey have received from Trinity alumni. Advice from Eric Rosow \u201986, CEO of Diameter Health in Farmington, Connecticut, was incredibly valuable, says Ebbott. \u201cHis generosity of time and his experience in the medical space was critical during our development.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Ebbott and Touhey, Christian Allen \u201900 <\/strong>and <\/strong>Adam Goldkamp \u201900<\/strong> are trying to make the world a little better. They are the backbone of GetHuman<\/a>, a company that gives consumers tools\u2014including maps of phone systems, shortcuts, and tricks\u2014to speed up and improve customer service.<\/p>\n \u201cWe looked to fix a pain point that affects millions of people every day. When you\u2019re waiting on hold, you\u2019re not happy,\u201d says Allen, a computer science major and GetHuman\u2019s CEO. Allen did web development in London and Africa before joining serial entrepreneur Paul English at travel search engine Kayak.com as a software architect. He and English co-founded GetHuman in 2013. Allen says he\u2019s grateful for Trinity\u2019s small and tight-knit Computer Science Department that allowed him to do a \u201cwild senior project. I designed an online version of the college\u2019s bookstore,\u201d he says. \u201cBack in 1999\u20132000, selling stuff online was still a radical idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Goldkamp, GetHuman\u2019s director of operations, majored in economics at Trinity and had a career in finance, with a stop at Babson for an M.B.A. But jobs were going away in the finance industry, and \u201cthere was more growth in start-ups,\u201d he says. He connected with Allen to develop GetHuman and hasn\u2019t looked back. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine not doing this work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n At Trinity, Goldkamp explored classes including \u201cBusiness and Entrepreneurial History\u201d and \u201cMoney and Banking.\u201d \u201cIt was the perfect preparation, he says. \u201cWith a little guidance and research, all the tools you need as an entrepreneur are at Trinity.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe Catrino, the college\u2019s director of career development, would agree. He says students often take advantage of programs offered by the Center for Student Success and Career Development, noting a well-attended alumni panel discussion in April 2018 that focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and start-ups. The evening featured brothers Nate Kelly \u201910 and Will Kelly \u201911, co-founders of Kelly\u2019s Four Plus Granola<\/a>; Julia McInnis \u201911, co-founder of Lancealot<\/a> Tech; and Bradd Kern \u201904, founder of natural skin-care products company Sea Bottle<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI find Trinity students to be eager and enthusiastic, ready to put their name on something,\u201d Catrino says. \u201cThey see the value of a liberal arts education, and the fact that we are in Hartford allows them to try new things. They\u2019re passionate, excited, and energized about the possibility of being able to go into business on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n We asked three highly successful Trinity entrepreneurs\u2014Liz Elting \u201987, founder and CEO of the Elizabeth Elting Foundation<\/a> and co-founder and former co-CEO of TransPerfect<\/a>; Rhoden Monrose \u201909, founder and CEO of CariClub<\/a>; and Owen Tripp \u201901, co-founder and CEO of Grand Rounds<\/a> and co-founder of Reputation.com<\/a>\u2014for their insight on what it takes to make it with an innovative start-up. Here\u2019s what they had to say:<\/p>\n What is your number one piece of advice? RM: Know the value of perseverance. I can\u2019t tell you how many times people have said no to me in different ways throughout the life of CariClub. Don\u2019t let those rejections get you down; instead, treat them as a challenge and use them as fuel to power you through and to prove your value. <\/p>\n OT: Don\u2019t be afraid to tackle really hard problems. Industries like health care and education need entrepreneurs who will challenge the status quo to do truly meaningful work and make an impact. Health care is ripe for innovation, and there are many opportunities to make a difference while building a durable business. But be aware that there is more responsibility to be ethical, to secure data, and to take care of people as you would take care of your mom\u2014that\u2019s really different from the tech world today where the mindset of \u201cmove fast and break stuff\u201d is thrown out as if it\u2019s a virtue. In health care, that\u2019s not so cool.<\/p>\n What is something you know now that you wish you\u2019d known before you started on your path? RM: Honestly, there are a great many things that I wish I knew, but many of them are things that could only be learned through the time-tested method of baptism by fire. No matter how similar, each start-up experience will be different, and it\u2019s not the end of the world if you don\u2019t have all the answers. The key is to always stay focused on the vision, be thoughtful about who you surround yourself with, and never stop having fun!<\/p>\n OT: I think a lot of health care entrepreneurs have tried to apply the techniques that work in rapidly scaling consumer tech and acquiring users to health care. And they failed. People do not want to spend more time engaging<\/em> in their health care. Health care is not fun. I\u2019ve learned along the way that all people really want is accessible, reliable, and trustworthy care for their family.<\/p>\n How did Trinity help you on your way? RM: For starters, I built my very first company while I was a student at Trinity, and I was even able to create an economics independent study around the idea so I was able to get academic credit (and yes, I did get an A). The company was called TrinSnacks. It was like Seamless [an online food-ordering service] except we were the only vendor selling Coke products (Trinity sold only Pepsi products at the time). Beyond that, Trinity alumni have been invaluable mentors, advisers, board members, and investors. They\u2019re far and away the most reliable and receptive group to whom I continue to reach out well after graduating. I am grateful for the generosity and support of all those I\u2019ve connected with along the way.<\/p>\n OT: I started thinking about managing teams and organizations while at Trinity. It was a huge opportunity to manage The<\/em> Tripod<\/em>\u2019s business team\u2014from everything to ad sales to thinking about ways our community could better integrate into Hartford more broadly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018Entrepreneurialism is in Trinity\u2019s DNA\u2019 By Mary Howard Illustrations by Peter Strain You\u2019ve heard of some of Trinity\u2019s more well-known and most successful alumni entrepreneurs, including Thomas Chappell \u201966, H\u201906, P\u201989, \u201992, \u201997, \u201906, Trinity trustee and founder of Tom\u2019s of Maine and Ramblers Way; Danny Meyer \u201980, P\u201920, Trinity trustee and founder of Union … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/files\/2018\/10\/MAIN_ILLUSTRATION.jpg\")
<\/a>You\u2019ve heard of some of Trinity\u2019s more well-known and most successful alumni entrepreneurs, including Thomas Chappell \u201966, H\u201906, P\u201989, \u201992, \u201997, \u201906, Trinity trustee and founder of Tom\u2019s of Maine<\/a> and Ramblers Way<\/a>; Danny Meyer \u201980, P\u201920, Trinity trustee and founder of Union Square Hospitality Group<\/a> and Shake Shack<\/a>, among other restaurants and firms; and Liz Elting \u201987, Trinity trustee, co-founder of the Elizabeth Elting Foundation<\/a>, and co-founder of TransPerfect<\/a>, the world\u2019s largest language solutions company. And, of course, there\u2019s Eric Fossum \u201979, Trinity trustee and inventor of the CMOS chip that revolutionized cell-phone cameras, and Jamie \u201cBear\u201d McDonald IDP\u201900, founder of Bear\u2019s Smokehouse BBQ<\/a> and other Hartford-area restaurants.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/files\/2018\/10\/AMY.jpg\")
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<\/a>Sage advice<\/h1>\n
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\n<\/strong>LE: Honestly? Just do it<\/em>. Chase after your dreams, do what scares you. Starting a business is always going to be risky, but you should take risks while you\u2019re young. Use this time to try new things, to create something, to go after your wildest ideas and dreams. When you\u2019re young, you have the time, energy, and faith so vital to starting a business; you still feel like you can conquer the world (and you should), which means you\u2019ll have the necessary drive.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/files\/2018\/10\/RHODEN-240x300.jpg\")
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\n<\/strong>LE: Hire an attorney and contractually establish expectations, responsibilities, and conflict resolution terms. The agreement should address roles, decision making, dispute resolution, death, disability, a buy\/sell provision, and an exit strategy. That may seem premature before you even have a company, but it\u2019s crucial when you\u2019re starting out if you\u2019re working with a business partner. You need clear lines of roles and responsibilities to handle disagreements down the road. When you\u2019re idealistic and working with friends, it\u2019s so easy to overlook details like this, but it will save you many headaches in the long run.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/files\/2018\/10\/OWEN-240x300.jpg\")
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\n<\/strong>LE: Trinity was an absolutely fantastic place to get my undergraduate education. I was able to major in a subject dear to my heart\u2014modern languages, make lifelong friendships with my classmates, and grow treasured one-on-one relationships with my professors. I gained invaluable mentorship opportunities that really helped guide me toward the future I wanted to create for myself. Trinity was the start of so much for me; I went on to found, build, and run TransPerfect, the world\u2019s largest language solutions company, and ultimately the Elizabeth Elting Foundation, because my education fostered and encouraged my ambition. I carried that ambition forward to where I am today.<\/p>\n