Entrepreneurship Centers and Resources For NYC MBAs
Think you have enough moxy, bravado, gumption, etc. to be the next Elon Musk, Warren Buffett or Richard Branson? There are more resources and opportunities than ever before to go rogue and start your own business, especially in New York City
Lehigh Names Executive Director of Martindale Center for the Study of Private Enterprise
Lehigh University College of Business and Economic‘s professor Todd A Watkins has been named the executive director of the Lehigh University Martindale Center for the Study of Private Enterprise. Watkins is the second person to hold this title since the center was founded. In addition to serving as the Arthur F. Searing Professor of Economics at Lehigh, Watkins is also the founding executive director of the Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation and co-founded the Integrated Product Development (IPD) program at Lehigh.
The Martingale Center for the Study of Private Enterprise was established in 1980 by Dr. J. Richard Aronson through a generous endowment from Elizabeth and Harry Martindale. Dr. Aronson joined Lehigh as an assistant professor of economics in 1965. He was with Lehigh University for 50 years until his retirement this year. Dr. Aronson spent 30 years with the Martindale Center and has helped to shape it in to the successful center it is today.
Lehigh Alumni Named Small Business Exporter of The Year
An aquarium-technology company co-founded a decade ago by Lehigh alumni Tim Marks and Pat Clasen has been named a “Small Business Exporter of the Year” by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Philadelphia District and Mid-Atlantic Region offices.
EcoTech Marine, whose growth in international markets accounts for 33 percent of its total sales, received the prestigious award for the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., and West Virginia.
“We are proud to have been awarded this honor,” said Clasen. “As a small business—now in our 11th year—we have tremendous respect for the unique challenges presented to a business like ours, as well as for the other entrepreneurs chasing their dreams to make their own success. “
The company was created in an Integrated Product Development class at Lehigh where it won the grand prize at the 2002-2003 Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 Student Entrepreneurs competition. Revenues of $3.8 million in 2009 helped place them into Inc.com’s Top 500 companies in 2010.
Two years ago, EcoTech Marine expanded from Bethlehem into a 36,000-square-foot facility in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
Clasen ‘04 ‘07G is the company’s director of finance, and Marks ’04 ‘06G, director of manufacturing.
“It is incredibly humbling to have been selected for this award knowing so many other businesses that are doing such great things,” Clasen said. “It is a true honor to have been selected for this designation and it is one that we will take to heart as we continue to grow and evolve.”
The Exporter of the Year awards recognize the accomplishments of companies that have shown creative overseas strategies, increased export sales and profits, found creative solutions to business strategies and encouraged other small businesses to export.
