Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • 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
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy

Young Alumni Entrepreneurs to Speak About ‘Breaking the Rules, Blazing New Paths, Not Waiting Their Turn’

Monday, November 11, 2019, By Kevin Morrow
Share
Blackstone LaunchPadNewhouse Center for Digital Media EntrepreneurshipNewhouse School of Public CommunicationsOffice of Academic AffairsSyracuse University LibrariesUniversity Lectures

Six successful young alumni entrepreneurs are returning to Syracuse University this week to share their insights and inspire others to follow their own creative paths to success.

Joshua Aviv ’15, G’17, Kelsey Davis ’19, Daniel Folkman ’12, Julia Haber ’18, Erin Miller ’16 and Michelle Schenandoah G’18 will participate in a panel discussion, moderated by Davis, on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel.

The event—“Young Alum Entrepreneurs: breaking the rules, blazing new paths, not waiting their turn”—is free and open to the public. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided.

It is presented by the University Lectures with co-sponsors the Syracuse University Libraries, the Blackstone LaunchPad Powered by Techstars, the Newhouse Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship and the Office of Academic Affairs.

About the panelists

Josh Aviv (College of Arts and Sciences/Maxwell School, School of Information Studies) 

man's faceJosh Aviv launched SparkCharge as a Syracuse University student and has gone on to become a dynamic figure in the clean-tech community. SparkCharge makes portable, ultrafast charging units for electric vehicles and has been featured in major technology and clean energy publications.

While a student, Aviv won the grand prize in the New York Business Plan Competition, as well as top honors in more than seven business competitions while earning his degrees from the University. Aviv won the top prize of $1 million at 43North, a Buffalo-based startup competition, and won the California Climate Cup, Startup Fest’s global pitch competition and Plug and Play’s clean energy innovation award. TechCrunch most recently named Spark Charge as a top tech disruptor. He was selected for the prestigious Techstars accelerator program in Boston.

SparkCharge is now starting manufacturing operations in Buffalo and has an engineering division at Greentown Labs in Somerville, Massachusetts, the world’s largest clean-tech incubator.

Aviv received the Generation Orange Award at this fall’s Orange Central celebration. The award recognizes Generation Orange alumni who have made an impact on campus and in their communities through their volunteer work and philanthropy on behalf of Syracuse University.

Kelsey Davis (Newhouse School) 

woman's faceKelsey Davis is the founder and CEO of CLLCTVE, a platform that empowers the next generation of college creatives by connecting creatives with brands looking to reach Generation Z.

She has been featured in The New York Times and Adweek, and she created the column #AskGenZ for MediaVillage.com.

Prior to CLLCTVE, Davis worked in production for Condé Nast Entertainment and UniWorld Group.

A recent graduate of the Newhouse School, she is pursuing a master’s degree in entrepreneurship at the Whitman School.

Daniel Folkman (Whitman School)

man's faceDaniel Folkman is the vice president of business at goPuff, the fastest-growing digital convenience retailer, delivering thousands of products—including ice cream, candy, beverages, cleaning products, diapers, pet goods and, in some markets, beer, wine and spirits—to customers directly from centrally located facilities.

goPuff is operating in more than 100 U.S. locations, with more than 1,500 employees. At goPuff, Folkman oversees business development, corporate development, brand and communications, which includes developing strategic partnerships with the world’s largest consumer brands, such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and many others.

Before goPuff, Folkman spearheaded business development at Sumpto, a marketing and insights platform for the college demographic. At Sumpto, he was the first hire and led user growth and partnership strategy.

A thought leader in the tech and CPG space, Folkman has spent time consulting, advising and operating startups with an emphasis on business development, corporate strategy and brand partnerships.

Additionally, he serves on the Young Whitman Advisory Council for the Whitman School.

Julia Haber (Newhouse School)

woman's faceJulia Haber is a creator, innovator and go-getter. She is the founder and CEO of WAYV Inc., which she began in her first year at Syracuse University. During her sophomore and junior years, respectively, Haber interned with Spotify and Snapchat.

WAYV is the brand of the college market, unlocking hyper-tailored experiences for college students. WAYV crafts experiential, data-driven pop up shops on college campuses across the country.

With WAYV and her earliest pop-up shop iterations, Haber worked with national brands such as Lululemon, Rent The Runway and Shopify, and partnered with companies such as AT&T and Adobe.

Haber and Kelsey Davis were both featured on AdWeek magazine’s “Gen ZEOs, the Top Entrepreneurs of Generation Z” podcast.

Erin Miller (Newhouse School)

woman's faceBorn and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Erin Miller, co-founder of Out There Productions, started making films with her brother by borrowing equipment from their community television center. After an enriching four years at Syracuse University, she started her own production company that specialized in making promotional videos for startups and small businesses.

Miller pivoted towards producing films after the successful premiere of her first short, “No Nuts” (now streaming on Amazon Prime), a romantic comedy about two camp counselors that fall in love at a summer camp for kids allergic to peanuts.

She values diverse representation on and off set, sharing friends’ films, and honest expression of self.

Miller currently helps tech startups reach their full potential at Capital Factory in Austin, Texas. There she helps run hackathons, happy hours and the Virtual Reality Lab.

Michelle Schenandoah (Newhouse School)

woman's faceAn inspirational speaker and thought leader, Michelle Schenandoah is a traditional member of the Oneida Nation Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. She is the founder of Rematriation Magazine, a new Indigenous women’s online media platform. Schenandoah is  focused on leadership development and the reclaiming of Indigenous women’s traditional roles among their nations.  She also operate Indigenous Concepts Consulting with the goal of incorporating Indigenous perspectives into the mainstream and in existing business and media paradigms.

Schenandoah is president of the board of directors of the nonprofit Seven Dancers Coalition, focused on ending domestic violence and sexual assault through empowerment in Indigenous communities.

She earned a B.A. at Cornell University, an M.S. at Syracuse University and J.D. and LL.M. degrees at the New York University School of Law.

  • Author

Kevin Morrow

  • Recent
  • ‘ADA Live!’ Focuses on Protection and Advocacy Systems for People with Disabilities
    Sunday, February 28, 2021, By News Staff
  • Hilda A. Frimpong Becomes the First Black Student to Lead Syracuse Law Review
    Saturday, February 27, 2021, By Robert Conrad
  • Important Update for Flexible Spending Accounts
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • Message From Dean of Students Marianne Thomson
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • CAS in Intercollegiate Athletic Advising and Support Addresses Unique Needs of College Student-Athletes
    Thursday, February 25, 2021, By Jennifer Russo

More In Business & Economy

Funding Available for Student Innovation Plans

Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars is accepting applications on a rolling basis from undergraduate and graduate students who need help moving an idea from concept to commercialization. Grants of up to $2,500 may be awarded to individual students…

New Paper Questions the Safety and Reward of Investing in Business Development Companies

A new paper by Syracuse University Professor Joseph Warburton offers compelling new evidence of the risk of business development companies (BDCs). Warburton, who holds dual appointments as professor of law in the College of Law and professor of finance in…

Female Sport Analytics Students Look to Transform Their Love of Math, Sports into STEM Careers

Syracuse University senior Bailie Brown will be the first female to earn a bachelor’s degree in sport analytics from the Falk College when she completes her coursework in May 2021. She is grateful for connections made with women in sports…

Amy McHale’s Investment Portfolio: Whitman Graduate Student Success

Amy McHale, assistant dean for master’s programs at the Whitman School of Management, calls herself a jack of all trades. Since 2008 she has held roles focused on the student experience and preparing graduates to enter the workforce with a…

Women in Leadership Initiative Announces Spring 2021 Programming

After kicking off in the fall of 2018, the Women in Leadership (WiL) initiative, created through the vision of Candace Campbell Jackson, senior vice president and chief of staff to Chancellor Kent Syverud, and a steering committee of women leaders,…

Subscribe to SU Today

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

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • 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
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.