Business, Entrepreneurship Opportunities Expand

Faculty LuAnn Reeb is director of Entrepreneurship Studies and Business Studies.

Now in its 11th year, Emerson’s Experience in Entrepreneurship (E3) minor is joined by Emerson Launch (formerly known as Emerson Accelerator) and the College’s newly announced Business of Creative Enterprises major, which was recently featured in the Boston Globe.

Each program supports Emerson’s longtime entrepreneurial culture and offers students a variety of opportunities to immerse themselves in creative and business acumen—whether through developing a business plan, launching a business, or concentrating on a career in the creative economy. The three programs are distinct but complement each other.

For the second year, Lu Ann Reeb, senior executive-in-residence in Marketing Communication, is leading the E3 program. Students develop a business plan in the two-semester academic program that culminates at the annual E3 Expo each spring, where students present their ideas for a chance to win seed money to start their ventures. Reeb says the program’s track record of participants who go on to launch their businesses is part of what makes the program so appealing to students. “The success rate among participants in the program, combined with the freedom students have to pursue whatever business ideas they are passionate about, have made E3 a uniquely Emerson tradition and one I’m very proud to be leading.”

Cathy Waters is director of Emerson Launch.

Cathy Waters is the newly appointed director of Emerson Launch, the College’s incubator program for student teams with start-up business ideas. Students apply each semester to receive funding, mentorship, and work space to launch their businesses. “I’m looking forward to continuing to grow the Emerson Launch program and helping students turn their passion into a profession while strengthening Emerson’s community of entrepreneurs,” said Waters, who has taught in the Marketing Communication Department and has leadership experience in developing and implementing programs in corporate, nonprofit, and academic settings. Emerson Launch announced its first entrepreneurial teams in fall 2014 and was most recently covered by Forbes, which also recognized Emerson on its list of Most Entrepreneurial Colleges for 2015.

Heading up the new Business of Creative Enterprise's major, which is accepting student applications now and will launch in fall 2016, is Yuri Cataldo, the director of the new major, and executive-in-residence in Marketing Communication. “Creative thinkers are highly desirable. They see the world differently and are able to communicate ideas in a compelling manner with an innate predisposition for storytelling,” said Cataldo, who understands the creative economy through firsthand experience.

Faculty Yuri Cataldo is director of the new Business of Creative Enterprises major.

A classically trained set designer with credits on Broadway, feature and independent films, theater, and opera, he founded IndigoH2O, an award-winning alkaline water business. Cataldo says the new major’s focus on creative, business, and technical talents with human-centered thinking will allow students to thrive in a world where business strategy and artistic vision are no longer at odds but rather work in tandem.