Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy

‘Be Patient, but Move Fast’: An Interview With Entrepreneur Josh Aviv ’15, G’17

Tuesday, October 1, 2019, By News Staff
Share
alumniBlackstone LaunchPadGraduate SchoolITSOrange Central

Josh Aviv MakerSpace Quote

Syracuse University alumnus Josh Aviv ’15, G‘17 is the founder and CEO of SparkCharge, a startup that manufactures portable high-speed chargers for electric vehicles. Aviv began working on his startup during his time as a student at Syracuse by utilizing several innovation hubs on campus, particularly the MakerSpace located in the Kimmel Computer Lab.

“The MakerSpace was crucial to our company,” he said in an interview with Information Technology Services. “I just have a lot of fond memories of going in there and getting jump-started in our business.”

As part of the 2019 Orange Central celebration, Aviv returned to his alma mater to host two Fireside Chats at the Blackstone LaunchPad, a campus-based entrepreneurship program based in Bird Library. During these chats, Aviv discussed how he built SparkCharge from the ground up and provided the audience with insight into how to develop their own entrepreneurial ideas.

The MakerSpace’s 3D printers were a huge help to Aviv as he began to construct the portable charging units that formed the basis of his company. The printers enabled him to design prototypes and intricate parts for the devices. Aviv said he found the printers so useful that he later purchased the same model of 3D printer for his company after he graduated.

Beyond 3D printers, the MakerSpace houses a wide range of technological resources for students to utilize, including textile machines, a laser engraver and other machines. Through the MakerSpace, Aviv found an outlet for his entrepreneurial spirit and received the opportunity to make significant progress toward achieving his dream of starting his own company.

Aviv also used the MakerSpace’s laser engraving machine and t-shirt maker to create marketing materials that would become essential in his startup’s efforts to get off the ground.

“Some of our first business cards, we made on the laser machine there,” he says. “Those were some of the first business cards we handed to investors that actually got us funding for our startup.”

The MakerSpace is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and from noon to 6 p.m. on weekends. All Syracuse University students are welcome to use the center, whether they are interested in computer science, design, engineering or any other field. The MakerSpace has several staff members—including lead technologist John Mangicaro—who can show students how to use the center’s various machines and help them realize their visions for a particular product or design.

“We practically lived in the MakerSpace,” Aviv said. “We’ve been working with (Mangicaro) pretty much since day one. He’s so knowledgeable about the tools you have at your disposal as a student that it makes getting things done a lot easier.”

Aviv encourages Syracuse University students to explore the MakerSpace and utilize its technologies and bounce ideas off of its staff. With the help of the MakerSpace, Aviv was able to turn his dream of starting an innovative and successful technology company into a reality. To students who hope to achieve the same entrepreneurial success as Aviv, he offered this advice:

“Be patient, but move fast at the same time. If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self, ‘Hey, it’s going to take a long time to take something that doesn’t exist in the market and the world and bring it to fruition and actually make it happen. That doesn’t happen overnight. So be patient.’”

For more stories of students and faculty taking their research and creativity to the next level, follow Information Technology Services (ITS) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Story by ITS student-worker Gillian Follett ’22.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Syracuse University Press Participating in Path to Open Program
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
  • A&S Chemistry Professor Receives Award From the American Chemical Society
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By News Staff
  • ‘Guys and Dolls’ opens Syracuse University Department of Drama 2023/24 Season
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Joanna Penalva
  • Libraries Add MindSpa Wellness Rooms
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse University Announces the Opening of the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Astrophysics
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Kerrie Marshall

More In Business & Economy

Whitman School of Management Climbs in Bloomberg Businessweek Rankings

The Martin J. Whitman School of Management has again been listed among the best MBA programs for 2023-24 in the U.S. by Bloomberg Businessweek, improving its ranking by seven spots to No. 61 nationally, up from  No. 68 last year….

Falk College, UNLV to Launch Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference Next Summer

On July 14, University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Sports Innovation and Syracuse University’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, in collaboration with the Las Vegas-based guest experience agency Circle, proudly announced the launch of a first-of-it-kind Sports,…

Syracuse University to Offer Google’s New Cybersecurity Certificate

Syracuse University’s College of Professional Studies today announced it will offer Google’s new Cybersecurity Certificate. The Google Career Certificates prepare learners for in-demand fields including cybersecurity, data analytics, IT support, project management and UX design—with no experience required. This offering…

Whitman School Announces Panasci Local Leadership Initiative

The Martin J. Whitman School of Management announces the creation of the Panasci Local Leadership Initiative, which will support professional connections and career building for students to remain in Central New York beyond graduation. This new initiative is made possible…

College of Professional Studies Faculty Member Co-Authors Project Management Textbook

Arthur Thomas, Ph.D., executive director for the Office of Professional Acceleration and Microcredentials in the College of Professional Studies, co-authored the textbook “Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Exam Official Cert Guide Premium Edition and Practice Test” with Vijay Kanabar…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.