Norton '08 and Ordonez '07 cook up Startup Dinner
Noura Choudhury
Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: Features
Dozens of students filled the third-floor lobby in the Center for Information Technology last Thursday evening to munch on pizza and meet each other - and to discuss ideas that may someday become the next MySpace. Thanks to Startup Dinner, a series of events sponsored by the Slater Technology Fund, computer science students have a new outlet to explore entrepreneurship.
Scott Norton '08 and Chris Ordonez '07 came up with the idea for the informal evening sessions because they wanted to give students a space to share and hear brief pitches on ideas for startup businesses by fellow Brown and Rhode Island School of Design students and alums. Though this first meeting featured just five pitches, Ordonez said he and Norton plan to bring more ideas to future meetings - as well as guest speakers, such as the entrepreneurs behind well-known startup companies.
The goal of the event, Norton and Ordonez said, is to encourage Brown students to pursue original entrepreneurial careers after graduation rather than taking the traditional recruitment path. Norton and Ordonez - who are forming their own online startup, Havadot - cooked up the idea for Startup Dinner after spending the summer in Silicon Valley, where they attended numerous pitch-and-mingle events. Norton said through their dinners, they hope to recreate the energy of Silicon Valley on College Hill.
Norton and Ordonez also hope to match students with different talents in possible collaboration projects. They extended an invitation to RISD students in an effort to combine the "back door" aspect of technology with the "front end" of art and design, according to Ordonez.
"The important thing here is that we're connecting Brown to RISD," Ordonez said. "We're connecting talent to technology."
Several computer science students, including Jonathan Rhone '08, attended the event simply to hear about the field of startups, although Rhone said he will probably pursue a more traditional path.
"Brown doesn't do a lot to encourage kids to do startups," Rhone said. "The push is mostly for them to get recruited by big companies."
Scott Norton '08 and Chris Ordonez '07 came up with the idea for the informal evening sessions because they wanted to give students a space to share and hear brief pitches on ideas for startup businesses by fellow Brown and Rhode Island School of Design students and alums. Though this first meeting featured just five pitches, Ordonez said he and Norton plan to bring more ideas to future meetings - as well as guest speakers, such as the entrepreneurs behind well-known startup companies.
The goal of the event, Norton and Ordonez said, is to encourage Brown students to pursue original entrepreneurial careers after graduation rather than taking the traditional recruitment path. Norton and Ordonez - who are forming their own online startup, Havadot - cooked up the idea for Startup Dinner after spending the summer in Silicon Valley, where they attended numerous pitch-and-mingle events. Norton said through their dinners, they hope to recreate the energy of Silicon Valley on College Hill.
Norton and Ordonez also hope to match students with different talents in possible collaboration projects. They extended an invitation to RISD students in an effort to combine the "back door" aspect of technology with the "front end" of art and design, according to Ordonez.
"The important thing here is that we're connecting Brown to RISD," Ordonez said. "We're connecting talent to technology."
Several computer science students, including Jonathan Rhone '08, attended the event simply to hear about the field of startups, although Rhone said he will probably pursue a more traditional path.
"Brown doesn't do a lot to encourage kids to do startups," Rhone said. "The push is mostly for them to get recruited by big companies."