Never mind the humidity; CBE brings back “fireside” chats

The chats take place in Stephens Hall, room 211 every Friday from noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 2 through Oct. 28 and are open to the public.

By Megan Bradshaw on September 21, 2016

Towson University’s College of Business and Economics’ minor in entrepreneurship has partnered with the Student Launchpad to host a Fireside Chats series on Fridays this fall. 

The meet-and-greets bring seasoned and successful entrepreneurs to campus to share their stories, experiences, insights and advice. The chats are every Friday starting Sept. 2 through Oct 28 and take place in Stephens Hall, room 211 from noon to 2 p.m. Each event is open to the public and participants are encouraged to bring their lunches and enjoy an informal meeting with real entrepreneurs.

Friday’s chat, called “Disrupting Education, is with Burck Smith, CEO of StraighterLine, an education company offering online higher education courses equivalent to general courses required for a bachelor’s degree.

The series began on Sept. 2 with Funlayo Alabi, founder and CEO of Shea Radiance, an all-natural skin and hair care product line that grew out of her kitchen and onto the shelves at Target. She discussed her journey from small beginnings to the dangers of scaling up too quickly. Her talk was entitled, “Scaling a Startup: Saying ‘Not Right Now’ to Target.”

Read the Forbes article on Funlayo Alabi and Shea Radiance 

The second chat welcomed Phil Dimuro from Loople to Stephens Hall. Loople is an app that focuses on deals in Baltimore-area bars. Within 10 months, it had 11,000 users. Dimuro and partner Dave Phelan worked through interface issues by listening to users and have bounced back with a growing user base.

Read the Baltimore Sun article on Phi Dimuro and Loople

Last week’s visiting entrepreneur was Anthony Michael Bustillos, founder and CEO of FITREC, a social fitness app that operates on the principle of community. It connects users via geographical location based on shared interests and fitness level.

Upcoming Fireside Chats

  • Carolin Yarina, Sisu Global Health (Sept. 30) – “Changing Landscape for Medical Devices in Emerging Markets”
  • Larry Fiorino, G.1440 (Oct. 7)
  • Brooke Hall & Justin Allen, Light City Baltimore (Oct. 21) – “Ideas, Ideas, Ideas: How to Make Ideas Tangible”
  • Ellyn Sheffield, verb8tm (Oct. 28)