How Top Educators Are Influencing A New Generation Of Entrepreneurs. Roberts was the driving force behind the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, which finally launched in 1990. He also helped grow a $10,000 business plan competition into the $100K Competition, which has resulted in notable alumni companies such as Silicon Spice (acquired by Broadcom for $1.2 billion), Firefly (purchased by Microsoft for $40 million) and Brontes Technologies (bought by 3M for $95 million).
As a supporter and teacher, Roberts also helped make possible the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, an MIT School of Engineering center designed to help innovative MIT research reach the marketplace. He and his staff at the Entrepreneurship Center teach entrepreneurial engineering participants at the Deshpande Center about important business fundamentals. And in 2006, he founded the MIT Sloan Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E&I) program, a rigorous track within the MIT Sloan MBA program for future entrepreneurs. As for Roberts' philosophy? Q & A. Features. Connecting Student Bodies. Open Education for an Open World | MIT World. No Parents Allowed: College-Exclusive Social Network Launches. This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups.
The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. Name: CollegeOnly Quick Pitch: Remember when Facebook was only for college kids? CollegeOnly is a return to those simple, pastoral days — with a whole lot more tech. Genius Idea: Facebook started out as a place for college kids to meet, greet and stalk crushes. Now the 500 million-member network is a haven for everyone from marketers to Moms to middle schoolers. While creating these school-oriented sites, Weinstein saw a need for more specialized social networks. Like the recently introduced gated social community, The Fridge, CollegeOnly is a much more protected space. Down to the nitty-gritty. Perhaps most interesting are CollegeOnly's posting abilities.
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark.