Coaches’ Corner
Virtual Coaching Sessions with Alumni Entrepreneurs
INTRODUCTION
The Entrepreneurship Center has partnered with alumni entrepreneurs for an amazing opportunity to offer virtual coaching sessions to student ventures that can lead to long-term mentoring.
WHY YOU NEED A MENTOR
A study by Forbes Magazine found that 92% of entrepreneurs agree that mentors have a direct impact on the growth and survival of their business.
WHO & WHEN
Who Should Apply: Any UNC Student!
Program Date: June 8th to July 2nd
READY TO APPLY?
Please complete this form and we will be in touch (put in the notes section that you are interested in virtual coaching!)
For more information or questions, please email chijioge_nwogu@kenan-flagler.unc.edu
MEET THE COACHES
Gautam Aggarwal
UNC BS ’98, MS ’00- Biostatistics, Duke MBA ’05
Gautam is a partner at Triangle Insights Group, LLC management consulting firm. Triangle Insights Group, LLC provides strategic guidance on the most critical business issues to leaders in life sciences organizations. Gautam also has thirteen years of pharmaceutical and consulting experience. His recent experiences have involved commercial assessment, indication prioritization, white-space strategy, commercial model design and in-licensing/out-licensing support. He has provided strategic advice to a wide range of clients, spoken at a variety of industry conferences, and has published a peer-reviewed article on deal timing.
Colin Scott
Duke BSE ’03 – Electrical Engineering, MBA ’18
Colin is VP, Head of DownSelect at Innventure. Innventure focuses on systematically matching and aligning innovative technologies with substantial market opportunities, quickly commercializing them into highly successful businesses. Colin has applied his background in engineering and physics to solve problems for customers in multiple technology industries from a variety of functional roles. He has experience in cross-functional team leadership; corporate strategy development; new product development and management; sales, marketing, and business development (including internationally); technology project and program management; and fundraising and investor relations support.
Brooke Lowrie
Ohio State University BS – Civil Engineering, UNC MBA ’18
As a Customer Success consultant with Qualtrics, Brooke builds and advising on best in class customer experience, employee experience, product experience, and brand experience programs . Her expertise also extends to strategy and product marketing. During her time with KFBS, Brooke was a teaching assistant in Data Analytics & Decision making, VP of Innovation with the Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club, and a recipient of the Kenan-Flagler Merit Fellowship.
Taylor Meyer
UNC BS ’13 – Chemistry, UNC MBA ’18
Taylor is a Managing Partner at Hyperspace Ventures which is a company that designs, builds, and invests in powerful digital products for startups and leading brands. He is a serial entrepreneur based in RTP area with expertise in product, technology, and software/web-mobile applications. He also has extensive experience raising capital from both the founder’s and investor’s perspectives. During his time at UNC, Taylor was a student-athlete on the Men’s Varsity Tennis team.
Niki Shamdasani
UNC ’15 – Political Science, Minor in Business Administration
Niki is the Co-founder and CEO of Sani, a South Asian-inspired fashion brand. Sani is within the $60B South Asian clothing market that combines innovative designs with the most accessible shopping experience for cultural clothing. Niki runs the business end-to-end, including design, sourcing, growth, and partnership strategies. Niki also has experience working in government entities, the nonprofit sector, for-profit social impact businesses, consulting firms, and start-ups through work with organizations such as Deloitte, Miraclefeet, Ellevate, Port Jackson Partners, Matter, and Connected in Hope. During her time at UNC, Niki was a Morehead-Cain Scholar, a member of Honors Carolina, and a recipient of the Gene Clark Memorial Scholarship through the Kenan-Flagler Business School.
David Spratte
Duke/UNC BS ’17 – Health Policy and Management, Chemistry, Philospohy/Politics/Economics (PPE)
David is the CEO and Co-founder of Carpe, an antiperspirant sweat solutions brand. With hundreds of thousands of customers, Carpe’s online sales have quickly expanded in the four years since launch, and the product is now making waves in retail – with a national presence at CVS and Target, and more retailers soon to come. David was a Robertson Scholar during his undergraduate years, and thus spent time at both Duke and UNC. He is fluent in Spanish and also has international experience as a Principal Investigator with Duke Global Health Innovation Center in La Paz, Bolivia.
Kasper Kubica
Duke/UNC BS ’17 – Physics & Computer Science
Kasper is the Co-founder and COO of Carpe, an antiperspirant sweat solutions brand. With hundreds of thousands of customers, Carpe’s online sales have quickly expanded in the four years since launch, and the product is now making waves in retail – with a national presence at CVS and Target, and more retailers soon to come. Kasper was a Robertson Scholar during his undergraduate years, and thus spent time at both Duke and UNC. He also has his Private Aircraft Pilot license and volunteers with the Civil Air Patrol as an Emergency Services Officer.
Dewey Burke
UNC ’07 – Economics & Management
Dewey is the Founder and CEO of Luxury Asset Capital, a leader in the alternative finance segment that provides loans using borrowers’ luxury assets as collateral with more than 20,000 transactions and over $450,000,000 in loans funded since inception. Dewey is based in Denver, Colorado with another company site in New York. His expertise includes finance, raising capital from both the founder’s and investor’s perspective, and M&A. Dewey was also a student-athlete on the Men’s Basketball Team while at UNC.