Joseph Elias Phillips one of Initial Advantage’s founding members is featured in Young Money Magazine promoting IA and giving advice to students looking to start an entrepreneurship Club at their school. To read more, click here
I am sad to report that on the night of Saturday April 21, IA’s The World is Yours blimp was stolen from Higgins University Center, severely vandalized, and left for dead on Clark University’s Green. An eyewitness described the perpetrators as “a big group of males throwing around the blimp and jumping for joy”. As of now we do not know if the attack on our blimp was premeditated or if it was a random act of foolishness by late night partiers. I personally am extremely disappointed in my fellow students for being so disrespectful as to vandalize private property that IA members worked so hard to pay for and construct. Currently the blimp is being stored at the IA corporate offices; the full extent of its damages is still unknown. If you have any information regarding this act of vandalism please report it to the CUPD or better yet the IA Board Members so that we can take proper legal action.
-Joseph Elias Phillips
Initial Advantage Board Member
The first annual The World is Yours Entrepreneurial Showcase & Networking Reception which took place on Tuesday April, 10 in Tilton Hall was truly a night to remember. By 5 pm students, faculty, and local business leaders were already pouring into Tilton to take part in the festivities. The night commenced with great dining and smooth jazz provided by the Clark University Jazz Band. Six of the nation’s top entrepreneurs under 30 years old engaged in what IA has coined a “Coffee-Table Discussion” regarding youth and entrepreneurship. The World is Yours concluded with an awe-inspiring speech on Social Entrepreneurship delivered by Dr. David Jordan, President and CEO of the Seven Hills Foundation, and some amazing raffle giveaways which included Blue Man Group Tickets and a 30 GB iPod equipped with a Bose Sound Dock. IA would like to thank all of those who worked so hard in making The World is Yours a success and the 175 guests that attended. IA is excited to make The World is Yours an annual tradition, and we look forward to seeing you all next semester.
Special Thanks:
• Joanna Alberti, founder, philoSophie’s ™
• Elias Roman, founder, Amie Street.com
• Oscar Colon and Marcus Hytonen, founders, Spin Multimedia
• Scott Neuberger, CEO, and Josh Kowitt, vice president, Collegeboxes
• Dr. David Jordan president and CEO, Seven Hills Foundation & Clark E-I-R
• Andrea DiRuscio of Matternow Communications.
• Elena Ketnouvong and Laura Burgess of GSOM
• Mike McKenna and Robin Cohen of Student Activities
• Eugene McCullet and Student Counsel
• Ed Ottensmeyer, Dean of GSOM and IA Advisor
• Douglas Mellinger, CEO of Foundation Source and IA Advisor
• George Gendron Director of theI&E Minor and IA Chief Advisor
Two of the group’s founding members are featured in Young Money Magazine discussing the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. The article details their lives as student entrepreneurs living their business and being pulled from every direction. To read more click 
Initial Advantage in collaboration with Clark University’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship program invites you to experience The World is Yours entrepreneurial showcase and networking reception on April 10, from 5 – 7:30 p.m. at Tilton Hall, Clark University.
“The World is Yours” will showcase the innovation and inventiveness of young entrepreneurs who are already making a name for themselves as some of the best under 30 years of age including:
Join David Jordan, president and CEO, Seven Hills Foundation & Clark Entrepreneur-in-Residence along with rising entrepreneurial stars on April 10 to learn how you too can turn your passion into reality.
For more information, contact advantage@clarku.edu
Initial Advantage’s Zak Zielezinski was featured in the Brazen Careerist, a blog developed by Boston Globe columnist Penelope Trunk. The article, titled “Get good mentors by building relationships,” depicts the kinds of benefits that one could expect as an Initial Advantage member.
An exceprt from the article reads…
“In April 2005, Zak Zielezinski , 22, and some friends started an entrepreneurship club at Clark University, and from that, they started a company. One of older students in the club directed Zielezinski to a professor who could help him, and from that interaction, Zielezinski’s company, Interactive Purchasing Solutions was born.”
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
On the front page of Sunday’s Business section in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Initial Advantage members Patrick Shea, Jane Kaplan, Aaron O’Hearn, Zachary Zielezinski and Ashley Emerson Gilbert were featured alongside one of Clark’s newest Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, David Jordan, president and CEO of the Seven Hills Foundation. The article, “Boundless enterprise” written by Lisa Eckelbecker of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, describes the heightened activity of entrepreneurship in the nation’s universities, as well as the Clark Innovation & Entrepreneurship program and its latest additions.
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
This past week Initial Advantage advisor Doug Mellinger was interviewed by BusinessWeek on the topic of resources for young entrepreneurs. Mellinger mentioned IA in the article stating, “One of the things we do with the Clark group, called ‘Initial Advantage,’ is take students on ‘EntreTours’ where they visit an entrepreneurial place of business.” In the next few weeks, Initial Advantage will be headed to Monster.com’s headquarters for its 3rd EntreTour. Email advantage@clarku.edu to reserve a spot on the next EntreTour that IA takes.
Other resources that Mellinger talks about in the article such as a business plan competition is currently in the works at Initial Advantage. Be sure to check back here for more information when it becomes available.
Read the BusinessWeek “Help for Young Entrepreneurs” article here
This past week Initial Advantage launched its newest endeavor, ia.FORUM. The purpose of ia.FORUM is to harness the experience and insight from individuals who have founded a revenue producing business and act as a support mechanism for their current and future needs.
The first meeting will be on April 10th at 8:00 p.m. in Carlson Hall. Initial Advantage Advisor Doug Mellinger will be in attendance to help moderate and answer questions. ia.FORUM does not require members to be a part of the Initial Advantage Entrepreneurship Group. If you are interested in attending you must contact Zak Zielezinsk at zzielezinsk@clarku.edu prior to April 8th. �
from The Scarlet by Mel Hardy
The entrepreneurial organization at Clark University has begun a fundraising endeavor that puts bake sales to shame. The Initial Advantage Black Card, selling at $5 each, offers discounts at fifteen local businesses from Uncle Sam’s Pizza to the Starlight Laundromat.
Ezra Barnehama is a junior at Clark, and the Director of Member Services for Initial Advantage. “The card,” Barnehama says, “is completely for students, by students. It is a fundraiser for our organization, but it is also a way to give back to the community. It’s not just for Clark students; anyone can buy this card.” Initial Advantage hopes to also benefit the businesses by encouraging cardholders to shop at the featured stores rather than the corporate alternative.
Each of the fifteen businesses featured on the card will be able to keep track of how often cardholders use the Black Card at their store. By the end of the year, Initial Advantage will be able to determine how beneficial their project has been to both the business and the consumer.
This is just the trail run for the Black Card. Barnehama and the other members of Initial Advantage have high hopes for their project.
“If the card is successful this year, more businesses will probably sign on for next year,” Barnehama said. “We hope the original fifteen will stay as well.” The predict that the value of the card will rise as more businesses join, and the next batch of cards will probably sell for $10 rather than $5.
There are only 250 cards for sale during this trial period. Initial Advantage will be tabling in the UC for the next two weeks, and the Black Cards are also available on their website.�
Clark students Brianna Goldberg ‘09 and Patrick Shea ‘07 are teaching a blend of academic and real-world skills to small groups of sixth, seventh and eighth graders at the the Accelerated Learning Laboratory (ALL) School, a public middle school in Worcester. The two students have been volunteering 90 minutes once a week for 10 weeks this fall with Citizen Schools, an after-school education program offered at the ALL school in partnership with Greater Worcester YMCA.
… Shea is running an apprenticeship in entrepreneurship with a focus on marketing and advertising. Shea’s 12 students formed smaller groups and brainstormed a product to market to their peers at school. The students’ idea was to develop pieces for a clothing line. In their weekly apprenticeship sessions, Shea has been imparting concepts such as “brand” and understanding the difference between “fashion” and “style.” He has also taught students different techniques used by advertising companies to sell clothing. “We’ve really focused on very practical skills for entrepreneurs,” Shea explains. “Entrepreneurship is as much about the execution and the follow-through as the unique idea.”
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