Starting in 2014, Auburn's Harbert College of Business annual Entrepreneurship Summit has evolved to encompass a variety of events including keynote speakers, awards and competitions.
This year's summit was over the course of two days, stretching from April 5-6 at the Hotel at Auburn University.
“It’s getting larger each year, and it’s better each year,” said Director of Entrepreneurship Strategy Lucian J. Bifano. “It’s a great networking opportunity for students because a lot of [visiting alum] make angel investments in start-ups.”
On Thursday night, the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Gala was held in the hotel’s ballroom to award this year’s recipients. Many family, friends and employees of recipients attended the event.
“[Auburn] is going to ramp up in terms of fostering a culture that inspires startups, drives innovation and fosters economic development,” said President Steven Leath during the gala’s opening speech. “Tim Cook of Apple, Dave Clark at Amazon, Paul Jacobson at Delta, when you think about Auburn alums in those positions at those diverse types of companies, it says a lot about not only the classroom education at Auburn but the culture that we instilled in those folks.”
The Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award is given to Auburn alumni who graduated within the past 10 years, and this year’s recipient was Michael Johnson who graduated from the College of Business in 2008. Johnson is the CEO of the recently formed Elite Transit Solutions, and while guiding the company, Elite Transit Solutions has rapidly grown since earning recognition in 2017 by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing firms.
“One thing that I learned while I was in school and what I think any entrepreneur really needs to understand is perseverance,” Johnson said during his award speech. “For me, there’s been so many ups and downs, but I never gave up.”
For the Entrepreneur of the year award, there was a tie this year between 1997 business graduate Tara Wilson and 1991 business graduate Bob Broadway.
Wilson is the CEO and founder of the Tara Wilson Agency which was started in 2015, with her company hosting events for Samsung, Nike and Ann Taylor. Tara Wilson Agency also was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing firms.
“I believe that failure is a great indicator for future success,” Wilson said after receiving her award. “Failure establishes character.”
Broadway is a founder of the Broadway Group which specializes in managing real estate for companies. The company has grown rapidly in recent years and attained a number of notable clients including AT&T, McDonald's and Little Caesars.
“We’re all going to fail, but the difference is that you get back up and you learn from your failures, and you keep going and going until you succeed,” Broadway said.
Former Accenture CEO Joe Forehand, Jr., graduate of the College of Engineering in 1971, was inducted into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.
Forehand joined Accenture soon after graduating from Purdue with an MA in industrial administration, and in 1999, he became the CEO of Accenture. During his time as CEO, the revenue of Accenture increased by 100 percent.
“In my travels as CEO of Accenture, I visited leading businesses across some 50 countries, and I can safely say that the American entrepreneur has indeed distinguished our country as the world’s leading economic growth engine,” Forehand said. “Nowhere is entrepreneurism as vibrant and alive as it is in our country.”
On Friday, the finals for the Junior Tiger Cage for Auburn High School students was held in the Auburn Hotel ballroom at 8:30 a.m. followed by four Tiger Cage finalists who held their final presentations in the hotel at 9:30 a.m.
“I thought all the students did a great job in developing their ideas,” said LaKami Baker, managing director of the Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship. “From where they started to where they are now, I think they made a lot of progress and think that they did a great job incorporating feedback from the prior rounds.”
The winner of the Tiger Cage final was announced at the beginning of the Top Tigers award ceremony. The overall winner was ESCAPE Therapy who won $25,000 in funding along with $15,000 in services from Allegiance. The team was composed of Sara Gascon and Matt Hanks who are both working on their doctorate in kinesiology and consumer and Dawn Michaelson, a design science doctoral candidate.
The keynote speaker at the Top Tigers award ceremony was 1988 Auburn business graduate and Salt Life CEO Jeff Stillwell. Salt Life has grown rapidly as a company under Stillwell’s leadership, and Stillwell spoke about his journey to becoming CEO, giving advice on running a successful brand.
“I’ve probably made every mistake in the world," Stillwell said, "So my goal is to learn from them and not try to repeat them."
The purpose of Top Tigers is to recognize growing and innovative companies that are led, founded, or owned by Auburn alumni, and dozens of companies are recognized each year. For small companies defined as making $500,000 to $5 million, Airship was at the top of the list. For medium companies defined as making $5-$20 million, Newline Interactive was first. As for large companies defined as making over $20 million, Carter & Carter Construction was placed at the top.
Correction: This article previously stated that Elite Transit Solution was recognized in 2011 by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing firms. That was an error. It was recognized in 2017. We regret the error.
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