New York University Entrepreneurs Festival 2019

For my going out activity, I attended the New York University Entrepreneurs Festival 2019, their 8th annual festival. As I was home for spring break in New Jersey, it was easy for me to go into NYC on Friday, March 8th to attend this event. I am relatively familiar with NYC so it was more convenient for me to go to an event closer to home when I didn’t have to worry about scheduling it around my schedule while at school in Boston. New York City is one of the top entrepreneurial cities in the world, next to Boston, so this event fit perfectly with the assignment.

The NYU Entrepreneurs Festival is held in the NYU Stern School of Business, which is on 44 West 4th Street right past Washington Square Park. I had to take the subway from Penn Station but it did not take me long to find where to go. There was a check in desk where volunteers checked your ticket (the tickets were $25 for non-NYU students), and I received a cool little tote bag with the festival name and logo as well as a pamphlet of the event schedule and the keynotes speakers that were going to be in attendance. The Festival took place over two days, March 8th and 9th, and over the course of the two days there were four keynote speakers scheduled at different times. The keynote speaker that I heard was Jeff Furman, Co-Founder and President of the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, Inc. and Corporate Board Member Emeritus of Ben & Jerry’s.

I should mention that I attended this event by myself. Normally, I don’t like going to events on my own, as I feel uncomfortable and don’t quite know what to do. I stayed for the duration of Furman’s panel, where a moderator led the discussion with Furman and at the end there was an open floor for audience members to ask questions as well. My favorite question that was asked was “Why ice cream?” to which Furman quickly replied, “Why not ice cream?”

All the keynote speakers were alumni of NYU; Furman graduated the Stern School of Business in ‘65 and the Law School in ‘68, making him quite the accomplished individual. Before Furman spoke, the head of the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute gave an introduction about the festival and the opportunities available for aspiring NYU entrepreneurs interested in beginning a start-up. The event had a pitching competition, where interested students could try their hand at relaying their ideas for a startup to potential investors. The festival had many sponsors as well, many of which had tables set up outside the auditorium for aspiring entrepreneurs to make connections.  

These are the sponsors of the NYU Enrepreneurs Festival 2019.

One thing I appreciated that Furman said was that he “never chose a career path,” he “chose a way of life.” Oftentimes, new graduates are pressured to find the best job right out of college and to know exactly what you want to do. Furman graduated with a business and a law degree, and after college he worked as a taxi driver. Several other positions he mentioned were at a temp agency, a law firm, and a bus driver in the Adirondacks.

As a social entrepreneur, Furman founded the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, along with Ben and Jerry, in 1985 with a mission of “engaging Ben & Jerry’s employees in philanthropy and social change work, giving back to our Vermont communities, and supporting grassroots activism and community organizing for social and environmental justice around the country.” The organization awards $2.5 million of grants annually to eligible organizations within Vermont and across the country that are also interested “in furthering social justice, protecting the environment and supporting sustainable food systems.”

It was interesting to learn about a new nonprofit that is dedicated to social justice sustaining our environment and is supporting other organizations that are aiming to do the same. There is a lot of change to be made in our world and it is inspiring to see organizations taking the step to enact that change and make our environment a safe place to live in.

Furman mentioned that it is important to be well-rounded and to experience success but also experience failure. Your path in life is not always dependent on your college experience, and it is important to find something that you find meaningful to dedicate your career to. This was probably the biggest take away I got from attending this event. Since I am not interested in beginning my own startup, I didn’t find the resources at the event particularly useful, but they would have been for aspiring entrepreneurs. The highlight of the event for me was the free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream that was handed out after Furman’s panel.

While the event lasted two days, I only stayed for around three hours and then afterwards ate some artisan New York pizza (2 slices and a can of soda for only $3!) and enjoyed the nice day in the city. It was an interesting event I wouldn’t have otherwise attended it if weren’t for this assignment, and I received more knowledge about entrepreneurship as well as some free Ben & Jerry’s.