News by Topic: Entrepreneurship

Rachel Romaine, a fourth-year international business and management information systems double major, received a $10,000 Award for Excellence in Business Commentary from The Executive Leadership Council, a preeminent membership organization committed to increasing the number of global Black executives in C-suites, on corporate boards, and in global enterprises.

Forbes has identified a few of the RIT alumni set to define the next decade—and beyond. Two RIT alumni—and a third just a few months shy of the age cut-off—were named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2022. Jackie Wiley ’16 (game design and development) was honored in the Games category, and Dylan Ayrey ’15 (computer engineering) was named in the Enterprise Technology category.

The Tech Tribune ranked two Venture Creations companies, Casana and Circle Optics, on its list of Best Tech Startups in Rochester.

RIT Dubai held a grand opening ceremony to dedicate its state-of-the-art new campus in the Dubai Silicon Oasis on Nov. 28. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, toured the facilities and inaugurated RIT Dubai’s new home designed for interactive learning along with RIT President David Munson, RIT Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration James Watters, and RIT Dubai President Yousef al Assaf.

The Baileys, an RIT legacy family, have dreamed of opening a restaurant in the Rochester area for more than 11 years. In 2020, when their youngest child graduated from high school, they decided it was finally time.

RIT alumnus and trustee Frank Sklarsky ’78 and his wife, Ruth, have made a significant gift to the university’s one-of-a-kind maker space and performing arts complex. They have given $2.5 million to RIT’s Student Hall for Exploration and Development (the SHED) to establish the Sklarsky Glass Box Theater.

Jennifer Indovina—RIT alumna, entrepreneur, international TED Fellow and adjunct faculty member—was part of the WXXI team that won a 2021 New York Emmy for its educational and career focused programming, “I Can be What?” 

A $250,000 grant from the U.S. State Department will fund a program led by RIT professors Clyde Hull and Eric Williams to help entrepreneurs in Jordan form circular economy businesses.

My Burbank features Max Lopez '12 (film and animation), executive producer, and Sean Malony '12 (film and animation), creative supervisor, founders of stop motion animation studio Apartment D Films.

RIT Venture Creations client company Circle Optics was awarded a $500,000 investment from the GENIUS NY accelerator competition. The year-long GENIUS NY program is the world’s largest business competition focused on unmanned systems, cross-connected platforms and other technology-based sectors.

Owl AI, an RIT Venture Creations member company, earned an Honorable Achievement designation at $200,000 in the Luminate NY accelerator competition.

Ryan Brooks ’96 (food management) is the third-generation owner of the business that began as a poultry farm, providing fresh eggs and packaged meats to nearby stores. His grandparents dreamed of opening a restaurant, and in 1961, they adapted their catering business into what would become a recognized family-owned business—Brooks’ House of Bar-B-Q.