Entrepreneurship of All Kinds®

For more than a decade, Jonathan DiModica ’21 has been in the sneaker business. 

He started small. In 2012, at the age of 12, he and a buddy began a venture cleaning shoes. Soon after, DiModica started paying people to wait in line for popular new sneaker releases so he could resell them at a markup. 

Then the following year, DiModica and his brother, Joseph, held their first sneaker expo in an old Boston church. Ticket sales were slow initially. “We had no clue what we were doing,” he admits. 

Fast forward 10 years. The DiModica brothers now hold packed sneaker conventions across the country. The Instagram account of their company, Got Sole, has more than 500,000 followers, and the brothers hear from fans all over the world clamoring for a convention to be held in their city. 

“We see so many people finding out about Got Sole,” says DiModica, the company’s CEO. “It has taken 10 years to be seen as an overnight success.” 

Much hard work has led to this moment. Giving a behind-the-scenes look at the sneaker business, DiModica reflects on the marketing and social media, the celebrities and collectors, that have fueled Got Sole’s expansion, which comes as the culture and community surrounding sneakers continues to grow. 

“Year over year, it has not slowed down,” DiModica says. “It is growing and growing.” 

A Diverse Community

Attendees at Got Sole events come from all ages and backgrounds, DiModica says. They are united, quite simply, by their love of sneakers and the joy of sharing that passion with others. Such common ground among people of diverse backgrounds is not easy to find. 

“In real life, there are not that many ways we resonate with each other,” DiModica says. “I think the reason people love sneakers is it comes down to community.” 

To reach that wide-ranging community of sneaker aficionados, or sneakerheads as they’re commonly called, Got Sole leans heavily on marketing. “We are marketing obsessed to be honest with you. We couldn’t be more of a marketing-focused company,” DiModica says. “We think, humbly, that we have the best event marketing in the world.” 

As sneakerheads themselves, DiModica and the Got Sole staff know their market and how to communicate with it. “We are our target market. We are the community,” DiModica says. “We don’t have to guess what people will resonate with.” 

Relentless Social Media Efforts

The main tool in Got Sole’s marketing efforts is social media. It posts 20 times a day across its main channels: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. In a typical month, Got Sole will reach 50 million unique users. “We are relentless in our efforts,” DiModica says. 

“We are our target market. We are the community. We don’t have to guess what people will resonate with.”
Jonathan DiModica ’21, co-founder of Got Sole

Got Sole will post about new shoes and celebrity appearances at its events. One memorable viral post involved rapper Meek Mill bartering with a seller. “It got posted everywhere,” DiModica says. 

Often, Got Sole posts about sneaker deals at its conventions and asks followers to decide who won, the buyer or seller. “We want to be the host of conversation in real life and digitally,” DiModica says. 

Standing Out in the Sneaker Business

In the sneaker business today, sneakerheads can shop in a host of places, whether online or in brick-and-mortar stores, so Got Sole wants its conventions to stand out and be unforgettable. “Our blue sky is how can we put on an event that people will remember and care about 10 years from now?” DiModica says 

About 5,000 people attend a typical Got Sole convention, which can have close to 500 vendors. The core of the event is the buying, selling, and trading of sneakers, but conventions also feature giveaways, contests, musical performances, and the appearance of celebrity sneakerheads, a more common occurrence in recent years. Former basketball star Dennis Rodman, for instance, appeared at a Chicago convention earlier this year. 

The goal is for all attendees to have a memorable experience, even if they’re a parent accompanying their sneakerhead son or daughter. “How do we get someone to come to the event, not buy a pair of shoes, and still have a good time?” DiModica says. 

So far, Got Sole has brought its convention to nine cities, from Miami to New York, from Houston to Chicago. More are in the works. With each new stop, Get Sole plans the same indelible experience. “We want to keep it special,” DiModica says.

Most jobs, tax revenue and wealth come from high-growth companies that start with a great idea and then scale it. And when it comes to scaling, franchising is an increasingly popular option. The International Franchise Association found that American franchises sold more than $825 billion of goods and services in 2022—a number that’s only expected to grow.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Entrepreneur magazine.

Together, the two of us have decades of experience working with consumer and franchise brands and teaching it at the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute at Babson College, including as co-hosts of the recently launched Stars of Franchising podcast. We’ve seen firsthand how franchising offers an excellent model for companies looking to expand and scale as well as individuals seeking entrepreneurial opportunities to create economic and social value.

Yet among students, seasoned executives and everyone in between, we frequently encounter myths about franchising—from the perception that franchises run themselves to the view that they don’t offer room for creativity and innovation. Here are three common myths we encounter, plus our advice on why franchising may be right for you.

Myth #1: Franchising can succeed on autopilot

A successful franchise requires many partners. Franchisors who create a brand. Franchisees who work to expand that brand. Bankers and investors who arrange financing.

Franchising can pave the path to growth through an established brand and operational model. Opening a new store is easier when you can learn from a company’s playbook for success. But that doesn’t mean you can sit back and everything will be taken care of. Having a fitness plan that will yield results isn’t the same as actually exercising.

A franchisee who opens a new store must navigate everything from real estate site selection and planning for launch to leadership, labor and supply chain management once it’s up and running.

Pretty much every franchisee and franchisor we speak to says that they needed grit, resilience and an entrepreneurial mindset to succeed.

Soosie Lazenby, who owns and operates four StretchLab franchises in the Tampa Bay Metro Area, told us that “Franchises don’t run themselves. There’s no such thing as a semi-absentee owner.” Similarly, Neal Faulkner, who went from a single Dunkin’ Donuts store 23 years ago to multiple locations and 500 employees today, insists that “Franchisees have to work in the business and be ready to do every single task!”

Franchising is an excellent opportunity—but only if you’re willing to do the work.

Myth #2: Franchising isn’t entrepreneurial

People typically picture entrepreneurship as starting from nothing and bringing an idea to life. But it takes as much creativity to scale something that already exists.

Neal, the Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee, grew up on a farm in Kansas, which he describes as a highly entrepreneurial environment. Franchising offered a similar demand to take ownership of a wide range of tasks and be creative in getting them done. Opening a new Dunkin’ Donuts location looked like opening a business from scratch: Neal had to figure out construction, conduct bank negotiations, manage his employees and more.

The perception that franchising isn’t entrepreneurial partly relies on an image of franchising as a top-down model. However, many franchises are laboratories for experimentation that can then spread to the rest of the brand. The McDonald’s Egg McMuffin, the Dunkin Donuts’ Munchkin and the Planet Fitness Black Card were all products that began at the individual franchisee level.

Franchising can offer the best of both worlds: the chance to be entrepreneurial yourself and to benefit from others’ entrepreneurship. Babson College President and Jiffy Lube International co-founder Stephen Spinelli Jr. shared with us how when one Jiffy Lube franchisee discovered a creative innovation, it could be distributed to all other stores within 48 hours.

Amanda Bialek, an expert in franchise marketing, summarized it best: “Franchising provides the opportunity to tap into entrepreneurial spirit with the guidance of a great playbook.”

Myth #3: Franchises aren’t local and aren’t meant for certain people or types of businesses

Some people view a franchise as an extension of a big corporation. But a lot of the time, franchise brands are run by individuals from the community, your neighbors, who are looking for a path to ownership and entrepreneurship. These locally owned and operated franchisees then create jobs and social impact, generating community benefits.

Similarly, there’s a perception that franchising is a fit for people who have accumulated a substantial amount of capital and are looking for a stable business opportunity. But today’s wave of franchisees is younger, and they come with fresh ideas on staying in touch with new trends.

Edible Arrangements is seeing a trend of young franchise owners who use Internet-driven tools to connect with customers. Franchisors launching a new brand can also be younger. Cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac joined together to found Cousins Maine Lobster in their late 20s and early 30s—and secured a 15% equity investment from Barbara Corcoran on Shark Tank.

Just as young people shouldn’t overlook franchising, neither should people interested in businesses outside of the typical restaurant brands such as Panera or McDonald’s that people often think of as franchises. While franchising is an excellent model for the food industry, many other businesses, from gyms to urgent care centers to car dealerships, have found success in the franchise model.

The big message: Franchising is far more local and expansive—in terms of who entrepreneurs are and the types of businesses they operate—than you might expect.

Franchising may be right for you

Franchising provides the opportunity to leverage a proven brand or service to achieve results. It offers the chance to be entrepreneurial. It offers room for growth—multi-unit franchisees now account for most franchise units in the United States. And despite perceptions, many kinds of people and types of businesses can embrace franchising.

Whether franchising is right for you depends on your goals and objectives and the quality of the franchisor. No matter what, success in franchising requires grit, leadership and an entrepreneurial mindset. With those in hand, franchising can offer a resilient path to economic success.

Ab Igram MBA‘96 teaches entrepreneurship and is executive director of the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute at Babson College. Vincent Onyemah is a professor and chair of the Marketing Division at Babson. Together, they co-host the podcast “Stars of Franchising: Stories of Inspiration & Entrepreneurial Grit.”

For years, Colby Thomson ’23 has worked with young people with intellectual disabilities. The experiences have been rewarding. Serving as a teacher, mentor, and friend, she has formed close relationships and feels that she has made a difference in people’s lives. And, the work is fun.

“I love being around them,” she says. “I always go home and think, ‘That was a good day.’ ”

In high school, she was a member of Best Buddies, which pairs students with disabilities with their peers. Nowadays, she works part time as a job coach at Northshore Education Consortium, a provider of special education programs.

People with intellectual disabilities are often a group that finds itself ignored. They appreciate when someone takes the time to help them and spend time with them. “They feel noticed,” Thomson says. “There is never a lack of appreciation. They are super excited and want to be there.”

To better serve a population that has meant so much to her, Thomson has developed Entrebuddies, a special education curriculum focused on entrepreneurship. It is a fitting endeavor for a Babson College student who understands well the dynamism of entrepreneurship. “I love both business and working with people with disabilities,” Thomson says. “I consider myself lucky to be able to find a way to combine them, and create something that positively impacts a group of people I care so much about.”

For those with intellectual disabilities, Thomson says, the study of entrepreneurship can build confidence, provide job and life skills, and help them imagine new dreams of starting a venture. “They might never have thought they could do something on their own,” she says. “It gives people possibilities they otherwise wouldn’t know of.”

For her efforts with Entrebuddies, Thomson has received a prestigious honor. She was one of three Babson students, along with Swarna Shiv ’23 (founder of Unsmudgeable) and Alicia Sibole ’23 (former president of eTower), named to BostInno’s 25 Under 25 list.

Made to Feel Independent

Filled with activities and videos, the Entrebuddies curriculum goes through all the fundamentals of the entrepreneurial process, with students reflecting on their passions and values, identifying products and services they may want to sell, and learning about the basics of running a business.

The roots of Entrebuddies go back to Thomson’s high school days, when she and a couple of friends created an early version of the program. Thomson saw the effect it had on students, how it empowered them to sell products such as bracelets and paintings and also emboldened them to seek employment in the community. “They felt they were learning real things to use in life,” she says.

When students landed a position in a pizza shop or salon, they came running up to Thomson in the school hallway to tell her. “They were so excited,” she says. “That made them feel so independent.”

“They might never have thought they could do something on their own. It gives people possibilities they otherwise wouldn’t know of.”
Colby Thomson ’23, founder and CEO of Entrebuddies

Helping students become independent is a key goal for Entrebuddies, especially considering that state funding for people with disabilities typically ends at 22. “How do we get them to be successful and independent when they turn 22?” Thomson says.

When she came to Babson, Thomson became a Natalie Taylor Scholar, a Babson program in which students strive to make a positive social impact, and she began working on Entrebuddies again. Lisa Thomas P’18 ’19 ’21 ’25, Babson’s director of Social Impact Programs, has served as a mentor, offering advice and potential connections to make.

“Colby’s deep commitment to individuals with intellectual disabilities, and her innate ability to build relationships, is exceptional,” Thomas says. “Her efforts will reach hundreds of underestimated entrepreneurs, giving them the tools to create something that leads to economic stability.”

A Nontraditional Experience

The target age for Entrebuddies is 14 to 22, and it can be utilized in schools, organizations, or even at home by parents or guardians. The curriculum is currently in use by Northeast Arc, an organization in Danvers, Massachusetts, that helps thousands of people with disabilities live and work in their communities. Thomson hopes to bring it to other institutions soon. “It can be implemented everywhere,” she says. “I want to keep growing it. I want to get feedback from people who are using it and make adjustments to it.”

Such an entrepreneurial curriculum isn’t common for children, even beyond special education. “In education in general, there isn’t much of this, especially in early education,” she says. “I love working with special education departments, but there is a want for this everywhere.”

Thomson says those with intellectual disabilities particularly enjoy the curriculum because it’s different from the usual life skills training they receive. “It offers a nontraditional educational experience,” Thomson says. “When they get something different, they get super excited and focus on it way more.”

Thomson is set to graduate in August, after which she hopes to continue working on Entrebuddies part time while landing a job in the nonprofit sector. She hopes to one day become a special education teacher.

Nithesh Wazenn MBA’25 hates bullies. 

It’s why, early in his career, he stood up to a staffing company that repeatedly failed to pay back wages to H1-B visa holders like himself. It’s why he jumped in to his first startup. And, it’s why he got involved in fighting climate change. 

“I don’t like bullies, and climate change is very closely connected to that. Many people don’t see it, but big companies pollute, and people who can’t fight back have to live with it,” Wazenn said. “These companies dump waste in areas where people can’t fight back. They are polluting the rivers or communities where people don’t have the money for lawsuits, and they know it.” 

Wazenn, pursuing his MBA at Babson Miami, is focused on ocean sustainability and the blue economy, which the World Bank estimates could be the largest creator of new jobs and economic growth in the next 20 years. 

Wazenn, who also is the business lead for blue economy initiatives at Cognizant, shared his expertise at a recent panel discussion, The Blue Economy Effect, as part of Babson’s Global Entrepreneurship Week. The panel—moderated by Cheryl Kiser, executive director of Babson’s Institute for Social Innovation—also included Ela Gokcigdem ’24 (founder of Bloom and co-founder of MENAeco), Ryan Ross MBA’20 (founder of Local Provisions), and Valerie Stephens (director, marketing and communications at SeaLegacy).  

During the discussion and in a following interview, Wazenn shared more thoughts on the rising blue economy, the impact of Babson Miami, and how anyone can dive in and join the fight. 

The problem of ocean pollution feels so overwhelming. What can the average person do if they want to help? 

“I think you need to ask yourself: Are you trying to make a splash or an impact? If you’re trying to make an impact, then pick one of these five areas: ocean wealth, ocean health, ocean equity, ocean knowledge, or ocean finance. Once you pick one, try to find innovation and research in that area so you can contribute. That way, you learn about it and you contribute, no matter how small or how big it is, you can make a continuous impact on one concentrated effort. Then, you can use that innovation and research to influence policymaking. Find out which legislature needs that data to make the changes that you want to make happen. So, now you’ve got synergy.”

How do you find a niche in battling ocean pollution? 

“One, you find what you love. Then, you learn the skill sets to do what you love. And, three and most important, you find a market for what you love, one that’s going to be hot 10 years from now. Then, you start building that skill set now. And then, you’ll find that niche.”  

Can you share an example where you’ve seen real impact that boosts ocean sustainability and the economy? 

“There has been good progress in bringing sustainable aquaculture to local communities, and it’s been quite successful. Fish beds are highly toxic environments. So, aquaculture companies and fish farmers planted kelp forests around the fish beds. The kelp absorbs all this toxicity, pushing oxygen inside the fish beds and improving the fish’s health. Businesses can implement sensors to prove the health of the fish is improving due to sustainable farming operations, which means they’ve now built a price premium.”  

How has Babson Miami helped you further your goals regarding the blue economy? 

“I am in the ocean business; over 275 million people in Latin America work in aquaculture, and the ocean’s total contribution to the region’s GDP is $21 billion or more. Babson also has a significant impact footprint in Latin America. Being in Miami helped me build crucial blue economy networks in emerging markets such as Latin America. Babson Miami is not just a location; it is the door to Latin America.” 

“I don’t like bullies, and climate change is very closely connected to that. Many people don’t see it, but big companies pollute, and people who can’t fight back have to live with it.”
Nithesh Wazenn MBA’25

How do you envision your role in Miami’s blue economy future?

“Miami is quickly becoming a blue economy hub. Florida’s economy relies heavily on coastal and ocean-related resources, supporting employment, businesses, and tourism. There are many leading research institutes and schools offering oceanography programs in Miami. As much as scientific knowledge has advanced, only a few companies know the significance of leveraging sustainability as a business opportunity for helping discover ideal product profiles.  

“My role is to help create awareness among the future Miami business leaders on how to build an approach to creating business opportunities by working with the ocean, not extracting from it, so nature is enriched, and so are the businesses and communities that rely on it. Babson Miami has a unique opportunity to create business leaders with this much-needed but niche skill set.” 

Pooja Ika ’19 developed a passion for health care as a little girl after accompanying her mother, Gayatri Ika, a primary care physician, to work every summer. Ika observed the intimate relationship her mother had with her patients, how she knew their names, their children, and their life’s stories. She built a relationship with them, where she was not only their doctor but also their friend, confidant, and someone they truly trusted.

Over time, though, Ika realized her mother’s approach is seen less and less these days. So, she embarked on a mission to be a better partner to all of the stakeholders within the care community. She wanted to bring the same warmth and comfort people feel when they see their doctor to the health insurance side.

“It’s important to understand health care is as individualized and personal as you can get,” she said. “Each member is unique and special, therefore each relationship with our members is going to be unique and different. We understand that our members do not fit into cookie-cutter molds, nor do we want them to.”

Ika points to her parents—and Babson College—in getting her start and developing her passion into a solution-oriented venture. Ika’s father, Ravi, is the president and CEO at nirvanaHealth.

“My father taught me a lot about the business aspect of health care and that in entrepreneurship you have to be resilient, fearless, and innovative,” Ika said. “At Babson, I learned the basics of starting a business and gained the confidence to speak in front of multiple audiences. As the CEO, I need to know that the way I speak to my vendors, is going to be different than how I speak to my investors, regulators, and providers.”

“When you go in with the mindset that anything is possible, you spend less time questioning the feasibility and more time thinking about the path to success and identifying a solution.”
Pooja Ika ’19, founder and CEO, eternalHealth

As a senior at Babson in April 2019, Ika incorporated eternalHealth, knowing that she wanted to be a disrupter and catalyst for change in the health care industry. She led eternalHealth into the market in one year, although it typically takes three years.

“We had an uphill battle at times, because we are in a heavily regulated space, but we showed perseverance and resilience,” Ika said. “I learned a lot at Babson, but if there is one thing that I will always remember, it is the importance of pivoting, and I learned this my very first year at Babson through FME (Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship). When you go in with the mindset that anything is possible, you spend less time questioning the feasibility and more time thinking about the path to success and identifying a solution.”

Pooja and ‘Papi’

What Ika loved about Babson was the hands-on approach and applying what she learned in the classroom to real-life situations. “I’m someone who needs to see, touch, and feel something to understand and grasp the concept,” she said. “The fact that Babson has many interactive classes was beneficial for someone like me.”

One of the more public real-life situations for Ika came in the form of finding a partner. When envisioning someone who embodied eternalHealth’s values and who was warm, friendly, welcoming, and trustworthy, Ika turned to one of the most recognizable figures in all of New England: Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.

Ika met “Big Papi” at one of his charity events about 10 years ago, and they stayed in contact. The David Ortiz Children’s Fund provides essential support for children in the Dominican Republic and in New England who cannot afford the critical cardiac services they need.

“We set up a Zoom call. Ten minutes into my pitch, he said, ‘Pooja, stop, I’m in,’ ” Ika said. “He said from the moment I started talking he could see and hear my passion. He was sold because we’re making care accessible. David is not only our spokesperson but also our partner, as he is working to ensure everyone knows the value of eternalHealth. When you see our marketing, you see him, because he, as a person, embodies everything we are as an organization.”

Ortiz’s involvement extended to the Babson campus in September 2021, when he spent several hours at Govoni Field filming eternalHealth’s first commercial. In addition to working with members of the production crew and Ika’s team, Ortiz took time to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and even greet Roger as he exited the field. The Boston sports icon quickly changed before heading into the city for an eternalHealth event that night.

“David is a good friend and he is the best person to simplify health care for the Medicare beneficiaries in the state,” Ika said. “Everything starts with education, and I could not think of a better teacher than David. He truly believes in what we are doing, and he is always looking to learn more about the Medicare space.”

Evolving Health Care

Ika acknowledged that the healthcare system can be complicated, and insurance companies are not always the best at helping navigate it. Her long-term goals are to have eternalHealth act as a catalyst for change and to push other insurers to offer products and benefits that are high quality and robust, with low out-of-pocket costs and premiums.

When you think about a health plan, there are around 15-20 siloed departments, and all of those departments leverage different technology solutions from various vendors. This causes inefficiencies, a greater margin for error, and a higher cost.

“With the nirvanaHealth platform, that eternalHealth has embraced in its entirety, we are able to take the 2,000-3,000 functions that occur across the 15-20 departments and automate them,” Ika said.

Ika indicated that by year three the company’s selling, general, and administrative costs will be about 7-8% of the premium revenue, whereas typically large health plans are at 10-12% and startups are at more than 15%. By achieving a reduction in costs, dollars can be invested into the total cost of care, provider incentives, and member acquisition and satisfaction initiatives.

“All in all, Babson shaped me into a leader that understands my ultimate responsibility is to make sure everyone feels heard, appreciated, and fulfilled,” Ika said.

I grew up in Sub-Saharan Africa, a most vulnerable region for health.  

Malaria, kwashiorkor, epidemics such as cholera and ebola, and many other global health issues were (and still remain) prevalent and potentially fatal. Through every health disaster, people worry about how the next generation is going to survive the tragedies of losing their loved ones. 

In this region of developing countries, medical facilities are inadequate. Some of our friends and relatives have died due to a lack of quality healthcare services. Most of the patients in critical conditions seek unaffordable medical tourism in India, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, and Western countries. Accessing advanced medical care has always been a need for us. 

The region also struggles with low-income levels and low-education status, both of which hinder the delivery of health care. That’s why I have an ambition to battle global health issues in Sub-Saharan Africa through modern technology, as it seems an effective approach to serve both underdeveloped rural and urban populations. 

 This is a story of my quest to address health equity in Africa, and how Babson College has provided some needed help and inspiration. 

Attending a Hackathon

I live in Kigali, the bustling capital of Rwanda, and my journey in health care began with my education. After completing college studies in biomedical technology, I continued my education by studying healthcare management with a concentration in global perspectives. Those degrees equipped me with a sense of health innovations and the power of entrepreneurship.  

My first entrepreneurial venture was Mouzah Designs, a social enterprise that recycled plastic advert banners into fashion materials. It was a noble endeavor, but it didn’t reflect the global health issues I wanted to help solve through digital innovations. 

Then in July 2022, I participated in a health hackathon in Rwanda put on jointly by Babson’s Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the University of Global Health Equity. UGHE was founded by the late Dr. Paul Farmer, and I always have been driven by one of his quotes: “The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.” 

The hackathon, which focused on digital health innovations as part of global health equity, allowed me to interact with faculty experts. Adam Sulkowski, professor of law and sustainability at Babson, inspired me on how the entrepreneurial journey is a fundamental part of self-reliance and economic prosperity.  

Wiljeana Glover, The Stephen C. and Carmella R. Kletjian Foundation Distinguished Professor of Global Healthcare Entrepreneurship at Babson, confirmed my belief that digital innovations are the best solution for global health issues, especially in developing countries, from the community level to hospital settings. 

Team Spirit

Influenced by Babson and the hackathon experience, I went to work. 

I conducted a market-demand analysis and healthcare-gap research to assess health issues and their relevant solutions. As a result, I went on to establish a health entrepreneurial hub, known as New e-Health World, to implement digital health innovations. That hub is now taking on two main projects.  

Before I describe those two projects, however, I should mention the people who are helping me. I teamed up with my former schoolmate, Eric Munyarugamba, who was already running his own tech company, which provides IT consultancy to young Africans interested in artificial intelligence. Jacob Fohtung MBA’19, MS’20, a senior fellow at the Kerry Murphy Healey Center, also has offered mentorship and guidance. 

Working with Eric and Jacob reminds of the old motto, “L’union fait la force,” which translates from the French as “unity makes strength.” Their efforts and team spirit help to make these projects possible. 

A Focus on Two Projects

For our first project, we designed an AI mobile web app capable of detecting and scanning aflatoxins, mycotoxins, and xanthomonas wilt in crops of grain. Such bacterial infections are causes of liver cancer and other cancerous tissues.  

Lab testing for these toxins takes a long time to provide results, and this web app will assist in speed and accuracy for early detection. Sub-Saharan Africa tends to rely heavily on agriculture and livestock, so we think this app could reduce the incidence, prevalence, and mortality rate of liver cancer by 13 percent. 

“With my degree, I hope to prepare my entrepreneurial mindset and gain leadership skills to improve the innovative solutions I want to bring to my motherland.”
Alcade Fabrice Uwonkunda, who is planning to attend Babson College this fall to earn a Master of Science in Management in Entrepreneurial Leadership

For our second project, we have developed a digital platform to address a range of community health issues related to sexual and reproductive health.  

Gender health inequalities, fueled by factors such as lack of health literacy and poor healthcare policies, have been an issue in Africa’s developing countries. Too many mothers die of poor prenatal care services in Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, and the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases increases every year in East Africa. With the platform, we will be able to educate women on these issues, as well as link them to gynecologists, midwives, and other healthcare specialists. 

Going to Babson

The work continues on both of these projects, and we expect the app on cancer prevention to be launched first, perhaps as early as June. In the meantime, I am looking forward to coming to Babson, where I will begin earning a Master of Science in Management in Entrepreneurial Leadership degree this fall. 

I believe Babson is the perfect fit for me because of its diverse community filled with entrepreneurial faculty experts and visionary student leaders. With my degree, I hope to prepare my entrepreneurial mindset and gain leadership skills to improve the innovative solutions I want to bring to my motherland.

Artists may know how to make art, but they don’t always know how to make money.

This is something that Sonal Dalvi MBA’23 has witnessed firsthand. She grew up in Mumbai, watching her mother struggle to create art that others might buy. “Artists have a different mind,” she says. “They follow their heart.”

Following one’s heart can make for a tough career, particularly if artists are unwilling to cater to the marketplace or pursue work that feels too commercial. “Commercial is a word that is taken negatively,” Dalvi says. “They don’t understand the market, and the market doesn’t value them.”

Dalvi has worked for a long time to change that. In 2009, during her last year in college, she sought to assist her mother to sell her art. Dalvi thought she would help her for a couple of years before moving on to other pursuits.

Instead, 14 years later, Dalvi’s work with artists has greatly expanded. With her social venture World Village Bazaar, she now seeks to help women artists in India whose traditional forms of artwork are in danger of disappearing. Her efforts have caught the attention of the Clinton Global Initiative. “We are losing all these art forms,” she says. “I thought that, instead of just helping my mother, I should help other artists as well.”

Dalvi wants artists to have careers that are rewarding, profitable, and empowering. “How do you get a sustainable income? How do you feed your family or yourself?” she says. “It’s important to find ways to have an income out of it.”

Helping Her Mother

Dalvi grew up with her two sisters in a small house, and they watched their mother as she worked in her workshop. Their mom, Poonam Padukone, liked to create murals made out of wood, and they saw how she longed to have her work be more appreciated. It was the household’s primary source of income.

“We struggled with money. Those were difficult times,” Dalvi says. “We would always think, ‘Why won’t she get a job with a salary?’ ”

Dalvi’s mom encouraged her to be an artist as well. Dalvi resisted. “I saw her struggle. I didn’t want to be a part of it,” she says. “I wanted a normal job.”

Dalvi studied accounting in college, and with the skills she learned, she decided to help her mother, though finding the right approach to sell her art took time. At first, Padukone pivoted to make name boards, a common household item in India that hangs on the wall and lists a family’s surname, and they proved popular.

They were so popular, in fact, that Dalvi opened four kiosks in Mumbai malls to sell them. But then competitors popped up, competitors who could mass produce the name plates and sell them cheaper. “I couldn’t keep up with that,” Dalvi says. The kiosks were closed, and another pivot was needed.

This time, Padukone began making murals for hospitals and other public institutions, and this proved to be a winning idea, especially considering those murals are typically paid for by corporations seeking to give back to their communities. “It’s going well,” says Dalvi of Applik Exotica, the venture that sells her mother’s work. “So far, so good.”

Preserving Tribal Art

More expansive artistic efforts have followed. As Dalvi began to work with other artists besides her mother, she founded Glasika Craft, which sells painted glassware such as oil lamps. To paint the glassware, Glasika partners with a local NGO that works with women artists from the Warli indigenous tribe of western India.

In all, 10 women artists paint for Glasika. This work enables them to not only earn an income, but it also allows them to practice and preserve their art. It’s an effective model, and with other tribal art forms in India at risk of fading away, as people from rural areas move to cities, Dalvi wondered what more she could do. “If we are able to preserve this art form,” she says, “can this be replicated in other areas?”

That’s what led her to found World Village Bazaar. Building upon her accomplishments with Glasika Craft, she now hopes to connect with other traditional artists in India and the NGOs who work with them. The goal is to find retail companies interested in selling their art around the world. “It has to be a sustainable model,” she says. “I don’t believe in fundraising or having donations for them. These art forms do not need sympathy.”

For her work with World Village Bazaar, Dalvi was accepted into the Clinton Global Initiative University, a program for those dedicated to finding solutions to the world’s challenges. The program, which runs through October, is mentoring Dalvi on how to implement World Village Bazaar on a larger scale.

Dalvi works on World Village Bazaar while holding down a full-time job in the finance department of the Boston Public Health Commission. That makes for a busy life, but she admires artists and the beauty they create. “I can relate well with them,” she says. “I love the fact that they are so talented.”

After leading his own companies for more than 50 years, Marvin Makofsky ’64 is especially passionate about his current role: chief vegetable garden officer.

He has applied the entrepreneurial thinking that served him well in business to the problem of food insecurity. In 2010, Makofsky began brainstorming ways to get fresh vegetables to clients of a food pantry in his community of Port Washington, New York. “People who can’t afford the price of tomatoes basically only get nonperishable things donated to them,” he explains.

He started recruiting community members with vegetable gardens to share their bounty. He also partnered with a garden center that agreed to share its refrigerators and serve as a drop-off point for gardeners’ veggies. Volunteers helped transport them to the food pantry, and Plant a Row for the Hungry was born.

Creative problem-solving was a hallmark of Makofsky’s long career in printing-related ventures. In 1972, he launched a company that designed specialized business forms but pivoted often as computers changed the way businesses operated. “Gradually, I saw the beginning of the end of business forms as we know it, and I saw the applications for envelopes and pocket folders,” he says.

This led him in 2001 to start Conformer Products Inc., which currently specializes in eco-friendly paperboard mailers that are popular with e-commerce companies. Daily operations are run by Makofsky’s son, Bob, and the two of them hold more than 20 patents for products, including envelopes. Bob’s involvement “allows me to do the things that I love to do in terms of giving back,” Makofsky says.

“Babson emphasized giving back and contributing to your local community wherever you set up your business. I’ve done that for decades, and it gives me a great deal of pleasure.”
Marvin Makofsky ’64

His innovative thinking has allowed Plant a Row for the Hungry, a nonprofit since 2016, to flourish. He launched a painted pots program that invites businesses and other organizations to purchase and display pots decorated by local students, including blind and autistic students through collaboration with the Helen Keller National Center and The Nicholas Center. There are now 125 pots across Port Washington, which serve as mini vegetable gardens tended by an army of volunteers. And, in 2022, Makofsky persuaded the local town council to allow him to plant a garden on unused town land.

Makofsky has developed strong partnerships with the ScottsMiracle-Gro Company and the Home Depot Foundation, both of which have donated materials and labor to Plant a Row’s efforts. He’s proud that he has engaged a wide swath of the community in addressing hunger, from preschoolers to senior citizens, high school art students to accomplished artists, beginners to master gardeners. All of these efforts have yielded more than 57,000 pounds of produce delivered to the food pantry since 2010.

Makofsky’s generous instinct was nurtured in college. “Babson emphasized giving back and contributing to your local community wherever you set up your business,” he says. “I’ve done that for decades, and it gives me a great deal of pleasure.”

Jose Lorido MBA’20 lives in Miami. He was raised there as well. That means the ocean has always loomed large in his life. “I do all things outdoors on the water,” he says. “I paddleboard. I kite surf. I fish. I dive. You name it.”

Nowadays, Lorido’s career centers on the water, too. As a partner at PADL, he is in the business of recreation, of sun and sea and relaxation.

Lorido joined PADL, a paddleboard rental company, in 2020, not long after its founding. Similar to bike- or scooter-sharing ventures such as Lime, PADL offers self-service stations where, with the use of the company’s app, customers can rent paddleboards.

Paddleboarding is an activity growing in popularity, Lorido says, but the boards used are lengthy, so they can be a hassle to store and transport. PADL aims to eliminate those inconveniences, with its stations located right near the water. Renters pay by the hour or purchase a monthly or semi-annual membership. “You want the fun, and this is a healthy way to get out there,” Lorido says. “It is affordable, and it is easy.”

PADL offers 30 self-service locations in Florida, from the Keys to Jacksonville on the east coast of the state, and in the Tampa area in the west. By the end of the year, it plans to push that number to 50 locations.

Lorido enjoys paddleboarding at PADL’s location in Coconut Grove, the oldest neighborhood in Miami, the station situated in Peacock Park, steps from the waters of Biscayne Bay. “You get to paddle around the marina and the bay,” Lorido says. “In the morning, it’s nice and peaceful.”

‘Something Entrepreneurial’

Lorido joined PADL because he wanted to be part of growing a new venture.  “I wanted to do something entrepreneurial,” he says. “It was a good chance to do that.”

Not that PADL is his first brush with entrepreneurship. Lorido earned his MBA at Babson’s Miami campus, where he was part of a startup working on a remote water monitoring system for high-rise residential buildings. The venture was a 2019 B.E.T.A. Challenge finalist. “It helped me understand what it takes to build and grow a business from scratch,” he says. “That entails everything: sales, marketing, operations. It is day-to-day work.”

Before PADL, he worked on the finance team of an expanding cruise company. The job required long hours and lots of travel. “It was our job to grow it,” he says. “I was there for four years, traveling all over the world.”

At the cruise company, Lorido worked closely with Andres Avello, who would go on to co-found PADL and who would eventually ask Lorido to join the company.

Beyond Florida

Lorido is part of an eight-person team at PADL. “We all do a little bit of everything,” he says, though Lorido primarily focuses on growth, sales, and partnerships. PADL’s stations are often located on public property near lakes and bays, so a big part of his job involves meeting with city managers and public officials to obtain space for the stations.

“You want the fun, and this is a healthy way to get out there. It is affordable, and it is easy.”
Jose Lorido MBA’20 of PADL

PADL faces challenges that are common to businesses today, in particular with the supply chain (it can have difficulty locating sufficient materials to make its stations). Still, it is a company moving forward. PADL’s community of paddleboarders is now roughly 35,000 people, and, by the end of the year, the company plans to add kayaks for rent at its stations as well.

Next year, PADL is looking to expand beyond Florida. Turns out that the company’s mission, of allowing people to more easily get out on the water, is a popular one. “People have reached out from all over, including internationally,” Lorido says.

$674 billion.

That’s how much money franchising generates every year in the United States. As a way of doing business, it is effective, enduring, and lucrative, and evidence of its success can be seen far and wide. Take a drive just about anywhere, and myriad franchises that are household names dot the landscape.

“We have brands that have been around a long, long time, from the beginning of franchising in this country,” says Ab Igram MBA’96, the executive director of the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute at Babson College. “There is resiliency built into the franchising model for those who do it the right way. It has withstood the test of time.”

READ MORE: Alumni Faces of Franchising

The pandemic provided a daunting test of that resiliency. As the world locked down, the very idea of having a physical location for a franchise began to look unnecessary. Customers became so wary of going indoors that the use of drive-throughs surged, and so-called ghost kitchens, eateries that exist for the sole purpose of fulfilling online orders, began popping up. A large number of franchise locations, across a wide swath of sectors, were forced to shut for long stretches or close altogether. “We didn’t know what the future held in the midst of it,” Igram says.

“There is resiliency built into the franchising model for those who do it the right way. It has withstood the test of time.”
Ab Igram MBA’96, executive director of the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute

In response, franchisees and franchisors embraced technology and got creative. Eateries doubled down on delivery, and health and wellness franchises offered their classes online or outside. Franchise owners also leaned on each other for support and advice, and franchisors provided flexibility, allowing franchisees to delay scheduled (and costly) store improvements.

“You had to be entrepreneurial and adapt,” Igram says. “There was a lot of collaboration and communication. They worked together to weather the storm. The franchise model proved to be more resilient than independently owned businesses with less scale and support.”

Now that the storm is passing, those in franchising look to the future, one marked by new business trends and a new generation of franchise owners. It is a future in which Babson, through the institute that Igram leads, plans to play a major role.

A Need for Education

The Tariq Farid Franchise Institute was launched last year thanks to the generosity of Tariq Farid P’15, the CEO and founder of Edible Brands, and his family. Farid takes an active role in the institute, along with his daughter, Somia Farid Silber ’15, who serves as president of Edible Brands, as well as a trustee at Babson.

Focusing on education, research, and experiential learning, the institute resides within Babson’s Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership and provides an academic focus on franchising that is typically lacking in higher education. “The whole industry missed out on education,” Farid says. “I started out in a tiny little flower shop with the first Edible store next door when no one taught franchising in school. We’re hoping to change that.”

The entrepreneurial leadership that Babson can impart to the industry is needed. “For any franchisee to be successful, they have to have that entrepreneurial mindset,” Silber says. “It is a key quality we look for in our franchisees. Being adaptable allows them to be successful no matter what new challenges arise in the market and in their business.”

The work of the institute comes as franchising finds its footing after the tumult of the pandemic. Disruptions in the industry have simmered down. “Post-pandemic, it has given everyone the chance to hit the reset button,” Farid says. Online ordering and delivery were critical during the height of COVID-19, for instance, but now customers are flocking back to physical locations, particularly in regard to food. “That physical food location isn’t going anywhere,” Farid says. “Brands are about experience. You need a physical location to have experience.”

Not that everything has returned to the status quo. Changes are afoot, and a new generation of leaders is increasingly remaking how business is done.

A Younger Generation

Edible Arrangements has more than 1,000 locations, and from their prominent vantage point in the industry, Farid and Silber have noticed a variety of trends shaping franchising’s future.

A big one is youth. The owners of franchises are becoming younger. “We are seeing a lot of growth with the millennial age group,” Silber says. “They are data driven. They are interested in using new technology that will help them find operational efficiencies and new revenue opportunities. It is a refreshing time.”

One prime example of this youth movement is Silber herself, who started working full time at Edible a year or so after graduation. “I was in a product manager role working with a team to create a new set of apps,” she says.

Those apps were used by franchisees and store employees to improve back-of-house processes such as employee training and ensuring consistency in product quality. “Technology is the backbone of our business,” Silber says. “It was essential that I started out with this team to learn the inner workings of our processes and how to create franchising-specific tools and applications.”

With their interest in technology, younger franchisees are able to constantly reach out to customers. It’s a long way from the old days of coupons and mailing lists. “I like to think back to the ’90s. I would like to think we were very engaged with the customer,” Farid says. “Now you have a generation that is connected to every customer in real time. And, they are good at it. The engagement is so much better.”

“Although we are a national brand, we are continuing to evolve our stores to be seen as local businesses that are integrated into their communities.”
Somia Farid Silber ’15, president of Edible Brands

Work-life balance and especially sustainability are other concerns of younger franchisees. “There is a strong desire to leave a greater impact and do something that makes a difference,” Silber says. “That is ingrained with this next generation of franchisees.”

Youth also is driving a trend for franchises centered on health and wellness, something that was nonexistent 15 or even 10 years ago. “The next generation of consumers—millennials, Gen Z—are focusing on their health and well-being at an earlier age,” Silber says. “Healthy foods. Healthy lifestyle. They want to take preventative action.”

Something else that customers want is personalization. While they may have returned to physical locations, they aren’t settling for sterile, cookie-cutter experiences. They increasingly expect businesses to reflect their towns and neighborhoods. “There is more focus on shopping local and shopping in your neighborhood,” Silber says. “Although we are a national brand, we are continuing to evolve our stores to be seen as local businesses that are integrated into their communities.”

The Missing Piece

As the franchising industry looks to the future, Igram believes that Babson and the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute are well-positioned to play a prominent role. “Babson has the perfect platform with all we teach in business education and entrepreneurship,” he says. “The opportunity is there.”

Though the institute was launched only last year, it already has awarded research grants for professors, started a student scholarship program, created experiential learning opportunities with companies, and built upon existing franchising content in a graduate class to make it a popular course on the subject. The institute also is weaving franchising expertise into other existing courses and forming a global advisory council of Babson alumni and industry experts who are involved in franchising.

Igram says the institute’s goal is to help students in all facets of the franchising industry, whether they are trying to launch and scale a new venture, operate one—or a slew of—franchise locations, or work in a variety of disciplines, from marketing to finance to supply chain management, within franchise brands. “Our hope is to increase awareness, increase education, and create new opportunities and pathways in the industry,” he says.

Igram believes that Babson’s franchising students are entering an industry full of possibility. Consider the significant amount of investment franchising is attracting, not just with franchisors but also with franchisees who own multiple locations. A few large multi-unit franchise operators have even gone public. “If you had asked me 15 years ago if I thought that would be the case, I wouldn’t have been sure,” Igram says.

READ MORE: The Franchising Journey of President Spinelli

Not only have investors taken companies public, but they also are doing the opposite: taking public companies private to create large multi-brand operating companies and platforms. “You now have private equity funds acquiring and taking companies private and adding brands to create synergies and scale,” he says.

Reflecting on his past experience as a lender to both franchisees and private equity funds acquiring franchisors and franchisees, Igram says, “I have seen firsthand the increased demand and interest in the sector, which bodes well for the future.”

Igram also is inspired by the effect that franchises can have on a community, whether by creating jobs or by addressing sustainability and societal concerns through a socially responsible brand that’s passionate about such issues. “Franchising is a means to scale business and create economic and social value,” Igram says. “You can use franchising to make more of an impact in a community. That can be really, really powerful.”

“Franchising is the best of entrepreneurship. You bring your energy, and we’ll give you something to sell. We build millionaires. We build entrepreneurs. That’s what we do. We are an incubator of entrepreneurs.”
Tariq Farid P’15, CEO and founder of Edible Brands

Franchising is a potent means to grow wealth, and that’s what excites Farid. Unlike a corporate-run chain enterprise, such as Starbucks, companies that franchise give others the chance to share in their success. Own a proven franchise, run it right, and one will do well.

“It’s a great model. Franchising is the best of entrepreneurship,” Farid says. “You bring your energy, and we’ll give you something to sell. We build millionaires. We build entrepreneurs. That’s what we do. We are an incubator of entrepreneurs.”

Babson’s institute will better prepare others to take part in the industry. “I like to think what Babson is doing is the final piece in the franchising ecosystem,” he says. “The last missing piece is this institute.”

There’s a different kind of ETA gaining traction at Babson College, and it’s a compelling—and popular—twist on Babson’s signature Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® (ET&A™) methodology.

What is Entrepreneurial Acquisition?

It’s called entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), and while it’s not new, it’s surging in popularity as a different path to entrepreneurship. For those able to purchase an existing small business, ETA, or entrepreneurial acquisition, provides a path to becoming an entrepreneur without starting from scratch, Babson Adjunct Lecturer John Hallal said.

“Entrepreneurship through acquisition is a great way to create wealth for a number of reasons,” Hallal said. “First, the entry costs are relatively low. Second, the returns can be high. Third, there is a growing pool of businesses for sale.”

Emilio Ruiz Padilla MBA’23, who founded Babson’s Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Club last year, originally dreamed of building his own business from the ground up. He learned about entrepreneurship through acquisition during his first semester at Babson and hasn’t looked back.

READ MORE about entrepreneurship through acquisition and the entrepreneurial journey of a Babson College alumnus who, instead of launching a new business, built up an existing one.

“Usually when you think about entrepreneurship, you think about starting from scratch and courting venture capitalists,” Ruiz said. “Once people realize that they can be an entrepreneur without starting a new business, that they can acquire something and grow it, they want to know more.”

Ruiz connected with many interested classmates and Babson alumni who already were interested in buying a small business.

“That’s when I realized there’s something interesting here that everyone needs to hear about,” Ruiz said. “I realized there was a whole community at Babson just waiting to be leveraged.”

Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Conference

Ruiz attributes ETA’s growing popularity to a so-called “silver tsunami,” a wave of retiring Baby Boomers seeking a secure future for their small businesses. Meanwhile, many recent graduates are looking for an alternative to the well-known avenues to entrepreneurship.

“There are a lot of young MBAs that don’t really want to follow the traditional path of getting a consulting job, then getting the private equity role, then becoming business owners,” Ruiz said. “They want to be CEOs, but they don’t really want to go through all the struggles of the startup journey.”

Those who pursue a business acquisition also face far better odds, with roughly 90% of startups failing within the first year.

Interest in ETA continues to grow at Babson. The ETA Club recently announced an October 20 Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Conference slated to include successful acquisition entrepreneurs from throughout the Babson community.

“These aren’t just any alumni, these are folks who were once in the trenches searching for companies to invest in, and are now sitting in the CEO seat,” read the ETA Club announcement.

Entrepreneurial Acquisition Basics

The kind of business acquired is key to ETA success, said Hallal. Searchers need a business that is already profitable so they can jump right in and focus on operating the company. The cash flow will help pay off the debt used to buy the company and increase equity value.

“You want to focus on stable, traditional companies that have predictable revenue and cash flow,” Hallal said. “Some good examples of these types of businesses include services, distribution, or specialized software. One recent example is a specialty service company that cleaned windows for skyscrapers.”

Those interested in entrepreneurial acquisition usually conduct two fundraising campaigns, the first is to fund their search. They’ll need months to carefully investigate and identify a business that is a good fit. Once they’ve identified a business, they’ll need another round of fundraising to secure financing and negotiate the sale.

“There are more investors by the day and new searchers by the minute, so it’s a space that is starting to boom.”
Emilio Ruiz Padilla MBA’23

Hallal offered additional tips for those considering entrepreneurship through acquisition:

• Get the right advice. Talk to other searchers before embarking on your ETA journey. Network with investors and the search community as a whole. Connect with lawyers and accountants who are familiar with ETA and can help you navigate the process.
• Do your due diligence. Thoroughly investigate the business you are considering buying. This includes reviewing financial statements, talking to employees, and assessing the market.
• Be prepared to work hard. Buying a business is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes hard work and dedication to be a successful entrepreneur through acquisition.

Ruiz, who is attending Babson’s ETA conference in October, said anyone interested can connect with him or the Babson ETA Club.

“It’s something that’s becoming really popular right now,” Ruiz said. “There are more investors by the day and new searchers by the minute, so it’s a space that is starting to boom.”

Health care was the matter at hand as entrepreneur Barbara Pinto MS’24 stood in front of a panel of investors. Armed with a PowerPoint and a microphone, she began her pitch. 

Pinto spoke of her venture, NestSaúde, an integrated digital healthcare platform in her native Brazil. She spoke of the need for the platform, how it stores patient info and leverages artificial intelligence to enable preventative medicine.  

She even spoke of her experiences with the Brazilian healthcare system when she was 10, when her mother was diagnosed with cancer and Pinto accompanied her to many, many doctor’s visits. “I was right by her side,” she said. 

Then when the presentation was done, the questions started. They were pointed and probing, the questions coming not only from the investors but from an audience in attendance. People asked about the privacy of patient info and the investment that Pinto was seeking and the uniqueness of what her platform offered.  

One by one, the questions came, and one by one, Pinto answered them. “This was helpful,” she said afterward. “It made me rethink a couple of things and how to improve my pitch.” Specifically, she realized that she needed to do a better job describing the challenges of Brazilian health care. “I am trying to explain something that is alien to the American reality,” she said. 

Understanding Healthcare Investors 

Pinto presented during a Babson College event that, billed as a roundtable on evaluating healthcare startups, offered a peek at entrepreneurship’s role in health and the interplay between healthcare investors and entrepreneurs.  

As entrepreneurs discussed their ventures, a panel of investors gave their feedback. The audience filled with Babson students was encouraged to do the same. “Think of yourself as a healthcare VC,” Iman Bendarkawi ’19, MBA’24, told the audience.  

A member of a private equity and venture capital student group at Babson, Bendarkawi served as the MC for the event, which was part of the College’s celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week, a global campaign to applaud and empower entrepreneurs. 

While Babson students and alumni are certainly experts in entrepreneurship, the event’s focus on healthcare startups and investors spotlighted a vital and growing industry that they may have less experience with. The size of the healthcare sector, and the need and opportunity it presents, is hard to ignore. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, $4.3 trillion was spent on healthcare expenditures in 2021, a number that is only expected to grow.  

“I think the future of many industries today will be in the healthcare sector,” Bendarkawi said. Before returning to Babson for her MBA, she worked in tech strategy consulting and was surprised by the amount of money and innovation targeting health care. “The sheer amount of growth that is happening there—it needs to be top of mind,” she said. 

A Pitch from a Healthcare Startup

Another entrepreneur pitching at the event was Aleksandr Malashchenko MBA’24, founder of ReviMo, which has developed a mobility device that uses remote control and automated seating to help those with impairments to move independently around the house. “We believe independent mobility is a fundamental human right,” Malashchenko said. 

Malashchenko spoke of starting ReviMo after helping his grandfather recover from a stroke that caused severe paralysis. “It was painful and embarrassing for him to ask for help,” Malashchenko said. “He always wanted to regain his independence and dignity.” Using his experience in research and development and mechanical engineering, Malashchenko decided to create a device that could help people like his grandfather. 

As with Pinto, Malashchenko was subject to rigorous questions, with healthcare investors and audience members asking about manufacturing, pricing, and insurance reimbursements. Malashchenko, though, welcomed their inquiries. 

“Pitching is a part of entrepreneurship. We have to do pitches every day,” he said. “Their tough questions are helping us to prepare.” 

Held at Babson’s Knight Auditorium, the roundtable event was organized by three Babson organizations: the Graduate PE/VC Group, the Graduate Healthcare and Life Sciences Club, and the Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 

Wiljeana Glover, the KMH Center’s founding faculty director, said she hoped the event helped Babson students to better understand that the value of healthcare startups extends beyond a monetary bottom line.  

“I hope people take away the importance of health ventures to not only achieve economic value, but also to understand what this contributes clinically,” said Glover, the Stephen C. and Carmella R. Kletjian Foundation Distinguished Professor of Global Healthcare Entrepreneurship at Babson.