From the Start - Entrepreneurs share their journey
From formation to first customers and everything between, a panel of successful entrepreneurs will share their stories. Entrepreneurship can be exciting, scary, isolating, overwhelming and amazingly satisfying - all at once!
Larry Genovesi is a serial entrepreneur with 35+ years experience starting and running hi-tech companies. As both a CEO and CTO Larry has operational as well as technological experience, which give him deep insight into the challenges facing startups. Larry has been involved in startups in the networking, storage, high performance computing, and big data analytics markets. His current focus is in the areas of IOT’s, energy efficiency, and building management. He is currently CTO/VP Engineering at Embue, Inc. As one of Embue’s co-founders he is responsible for their strategic direction as well as product development.
Stacy Chin, Ph.D. is the co-founder and CEO of HydroGlyde Coatings. She led the developments of a self-lubricating condom coating technology that becomes slippery and lubricated when wetted with water or bodily fluids. The HydroGlyde Coating technology aims to transform the condom industry by offering longer-lasting lubricity to improve user satisfaction and comfort while promoting correct and consistent usage to minimize STI transmission and unwanted pregnancies. This project started from support by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the company has raised about $500,000 in grant funding from a number of organizations including the National Institute of Health SBIR program and the MA Life Sciences Center. HydroGlyde Coatings in 2017 has been recognized as one of the companies in Start-Up Worcester. Stacy is a chemist with an interdisciplinary research background in biochemistry, polymer science, biomaterials, and translational research. She has published five manuscripts in peer-review journals, is the co-inventor of two patents, holds an HBX credential through Harvard Business School, and is currently a Female Founder Fellow of The Capital Network. She is also a board member on two non-profit organizations focused on promoting women and minorities in STEM fields. Stacy completed her bachelors from College of Holy Cross and her doctorate from Boston University in chemistry where she was a Feldman Award recipient and a Laursen Research Scholar.
Spyridon 'Ross' Tsakas is a biotechnology entrepreneur, venture advisor, and entrepreneurship lecturer with over a decade of international business experience. As an entrepreneur, Ross invented the revolutionary Single Vial System, a pharmaceutical packaging technology with the potential to store and deliver twice as many medicines at half the cost worldwide. Prior to successfully selling the business, he received numerous awards from prestigious organizations including the World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, HRH Prince Charles' Prince's Trust, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the European Regional Development Fund among others. Ross has also been officially inducted into the Forbes Coaches Council, an invitation-only network for premier business coaches and he regularly advises current and prospective entrepreneurs. He also teaches entrepreneurship at Babson College and Worcester State University as well as serving as the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Worcester State University. Ross is currently completing his Ph.D. in Science, Technology, and Innovation Studies from the University of Edinburgh and is passionate about researching the intersection of innovation and entrepreneurship for the betterment of society.
Matt Naimoli is co-founder of G&N Insurance, one of the country’s fastest growing insurance agencies. Matt uses his obsession for expansion and his passion to help others as guiding forces in building his company. Through effective networking, intelligent use of digital, and an over-investment in their people, G&N has become a BBJ Best Places to work, an INC 5000 recipient, and a National agency of the year award winner. If Matt isn’t building strategic relationships or growing the team, you’ll find him filming his weekly vlog, BOBBLE ON, with Zack Gould, highlighting their entrepreneurial journey and thriving partnership.
Zack Gould is co-founder of G&N Insurance. In 2005 at the University of Connecticut, Zack was pulled into a meeting with his Risk Management Insurance professor and told to pursue sales instead of a career in underwriting. Thankfully, he listened. After graduating, Zack began his career at Liberty Mutual in outside sales, and he was awarded the National Rookie of the Year in 2007. Beyond that, the biggest reward from his tenure was meeting his future business partner, Matt Naimoli. Together, they left Liberty Mutual and opened G&N Insurance in 2010.
Fast forward 8 years and G&N has grown from a team of two with zero carriers to team of 34, writing for over 25 carriers. In 2017, G&N gained national recognition with their weekly vlog, BOBBLE ON, and with three awards: Boston Business Journal Best Place to Work, INC 5000, and PropertyCasualty360 National Insurance Agency of the Year. Zack’s primary role at G&N is Business Development and Marketing. He is passionate about growth through social media, referral relationships, and brand strategy.
Bryan J. Coleman is a certified public accountant (CPA) in Massachusetts, as well as a certified valuation analyst (CVA). He is the founder of Coleman CPA LLC, an accounting and consulting firm. Bryan has worked with many small and medium sized businesses, including those with up to $100 million in sales. He has also worked with many entrepreneurs and startups, some of which have gone on to raise over $50 million dollars in investor capital. Additionally, Bryan teaches accounting and entrepreneurship at Assumption College.
Ryan Canuel founded Petricore, Inc. alongside fellow classmates only a few months before graduation from Becker College in May of 2015, and serves as Co-Founder & CEO. Petricore is a full-service software development company, that specializes in game and kiosk development. Petricore has released three mobile games, Mind the Arrow, Gelato Flicker, and Battery Boy; all of which have been featured on the apple app store under “Best new Games.” Together, the three games have been downloaded and played over 650,000 times in 50+ Countries. Petricore employees 5 Full-Time staff, and has been entirely bootstrapped through their consulting business creating over 30 interactive installations for museums around the world. Ryan was chosen by the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce as Entrepreneur of the Year for 2016, and is also an Adjunct Professor at Becker College, where he teaches a class that is creating an Augmented Reality application for the world's first Video Game Opera.
Nick Belsito, founder of OpenCity.co, spent his early life in the food industry helping to grow his family's delicatessen and catering company in Worcester, Massachusetts. A world traveler, Nick has experienced many cultures through living in different places around the globe and has found a common theme: that food and communication are the keys to the soul of its people. His travels inspired him to pursue his passion and help others connect with great places to foster local experiences. OpenCity was born to bridge the technological gap and help small businesses effectively and efficiently communicate with their customers. His first startup BeeLine connected amazing restaurants with customers looking for a unique food adventure, even at a moment's notice. Prior to the startup life, Nick spent five years at Raytheon Co. in strategic finance, spearheading areas of international growth and acquisition. Nick graduated magna cum laude from Bentley University and always looks to turn a night out on the town into a memory that will last a lifetime.
