Two generations of Northeastern entrepreneurs - Bob Davis and John Cullinane
Northeastern University has, probably, graduated more entrepreneurs, with exception of MIT, than any other university in Massachusetts. The major reason is its co-op program. It introduces students to businesses, many of them started by entrepreneurs, as an integral part of their academic careers. Thus, by performing actual jobs they are years ahead of other college graduates in what business is all about by the time they graduate. Their experiences have often inspired many of them to become entrepreneurs. For example, Shawn Fanning created Napster as a Northeastern student and teamed with Sean Parker to promote it as Sean Parker would later team with Mark Zuckerberg to promote Facebook.
Professor Anthony DeRitis, Chair of the Northeastern University’s Department of Music, and high tech entrepreneur in his own right, recognized the inherent value of the tips in John’s book, plus his papers and experiences to Northeastern’s entrepreneureal community of faculty, students and alumni. As such, he was instrumental in encouraging John to create an entrepreneurship portal and was very helpful in some of the initial efforts in this regard.
The video, “Then and Now” features very successful Northeastern University entrepreneurs including Dick Egan and Roger Marino, Founders of EMC, Bob Davis, Founder of Lycos, George Behrakis, and others, with the importance of the co-op experience to their careers, as it was to John’s.
Northeastern University Center for Research Innovation
School of Technological Entrepreneurship, Northeastern University
Entrepreneurship in Ireland