Four student innovators will be the embodiment of entrepreneurship in Bryant’s new center devoted to nurturing enterprises founded by members of the university community and beyond.
Vincent Emery ’26, Chase Whitman ’27, Sam Lower ’26, and Sean Nelson ’27 were recently named the first FOUNDERS (Fellowship for Office Use, Networking, Development, Entrepreneurship, Representation & Support) in the Center for Entrepreneurship and Design Thinking, according to Director Kristie DeJesus.
Each of the FOUNDERS, appointed by the Bryant Provost and Chief Academic Officer Rupendra Paliwal, Ph.D., has been assigned a private office in the main hallway of the center to develop and promote their products and serve as a resource for other entrepreneurs.
“The FOUNDERS have been entrusted with more than just office space,” says DeJesus. “Vincent, Chase, Sam, and Sean are culture-setters and visible examples of what is possible in this center. Their presence, participation, and energy will shape how students, faculty, staff, and community partners engage with this transformative new resource.”
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“I'm very excited for what the center is going to bring to campus — new ideas, creativity, and sense of community,” says Lower, whose company, The Paw's Post, sells commemorative jewelry that promotes mental health awareness and how animals help in the healing process.
Having the office allows him to “communicate and collaborate with fellow students, to come up with new ideas, new marketing strategies, new product designs, and show my process off to the people who want to see it,” Lower says.
“I'm very excited for what the center is going to bring to campus — new ideas, creativity, and sense of community."
Previously, Lower was using his home and dorm room as his office and workspace.
“That caused a lot of mess and anxiety over the past few years, trying to bring my materials all over the place to make bracelets,” he says. “Having a designated place to build my dream is going to be a night-and-day difference in my productivity.”
Emery is the founder of The Lil’ Rhody Coffee Company, which is now a multimillion-dollar company distributing coffee to 10,000 homes. “Bryant has a very good entrepreneurship program on the academic side of things, but we didn’t have a place to make things before the Makerspace,” he says. “People who wanted to make something had to go off-site, travel to Providence or somewhere else.”
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Whitman, for example, uses a commercial kitchen in Providence to roast the main ingredients in Chip’s Sunflower Seeds. While a kitchen isn’t currently part of the center’s facilities, Whitman says the planned storage areas will help support his snack food business.
“I used to store all the sunflower seeds in my dorm; they would be everywhere, and I’d literally be selling them out of my dresser drawer. Having storage on campus will be especially helpful,” he says.
The presence of the FOUNDERS and the center’s role as a hub of activity will raise the visibility of Bryant’s entrepreneurial community, says Whitman.
“In the past, you had no idea who the entrepreneurs were on campus, so seeing them outside their dorm room and working on their business is good inspiration,” he says. “I think the space will attract more entrepreneurs from outside of Bryant and really build that sense of entrepreneurship on campus.”
Nelson started his footwear and designer clothing company, The Sole Provider, with an initial investment of $125 in 2021; it now has six figures in sales and has grown to include custom marketing materials in its product line.
“When I was in the beginning stages of my company, I relied heavily on those who mentored me,” he says. “Some of those mentors were hard to find and took a lot of work. With my presence in the center, I have become an always-available resource for new business owners, or even just students who are interested in the idea of starting a business.”
Nelson plans to use his FOUNDERS office and the center to meet with clients, house inventory, create invoices, and build an on-campus presence for his company.
“It’s a privilege for me to be able to help shape the next line of Bryant-based entrepreneurs,” he says.
“It’s a privilege for me to be able to help shape the next line of Bryant-based entrepreneurs."
Emery says the center and mentors like the FOUNDERS can help dispel the perception that being an entrepreneur is something you can only do after graduating college.
“There are kids who know from a very young age that they want to start something, but they assume, ‘Well, I'll study this in college, then I'll go off and get a job, and then I’ll try something when I’m 25 or 30,’” Emery says. “But as you get older your responsibilities tend to go up. By some age you're going to have a partner, kids, a house, and your ability to start a company and invest a lot of money in it will go down because you don't want to risk your life savings.
“When you have the ability to fail and not lose everything it is actually a much better time to start, especially when you have all the equipment and support available right here at Bryant,” he says.