DC Entrepreneurs Share Innovation Experience With M&O Society

The Management and Organization Society at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business recently invited undergraduate students to meet with a panel of three local entrepreneurs, all of whom began their journey into innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland. The panelists included Lana Bronipolsky, VP of Finance and the CFO at MPOWER Financial, Julie Giffin, Head of Customer Success at TransitScreen, and Zeluis Teixeira, co-founder and CFO of SOAR Baltimore.

Topics ranged from day-to-day activities to finding employment in startup firms. As these topics were discussed each panelist continued to underscore the importance of finding purpose through passion. Bronipolsky shared the story of her persistence in internship hunting while getting her MBA. After months of immersing herself in the DC entrepreneur scene, she landed an internship with MPOWER Financial, where her passion for helping international students matched perfectly with the mission of the organization. Her internship later led to full time employment at MPOWER, where she wears a variety of hats. It may be tough work, but Bronipolsky is excited to go to work every day. When asked why she enjoyed her work, she answered, “I enjoy building a company from the ground up and solving current problems in order to impact the future.” That same excitement was evident in all three panelists.

Panelists also discussed innovation and their competition. While telling a story of the challenges faced by SOAR Baltimore when Google began offering a similar product to theirs, Teixeira explained sometimes it is necessary to take a step back, regroup, and research ways to tackle the problem. Working for a startup is stressful, but he relies on his network to support him when the going gets tough and to challenge his ideas so he can improve them. He stressed that those in innovation have to accept failure and use it as fuel to improve.

Can large companies innovate like startups? Giffin compared the innovation possible at TransitScreen to that at a much larger company. “Innovation is about culture!” She explained that if creativity and innovation are valued by company leaders, it will be important for the whole company, but it is rarer to find organic innovation in larger companies.  Data and metrics can help convince leadership at any company to take creative risks and spark innovation.

Inspired by each entrepreneur, students asked for tips about breaking into innovation and startups. “It takes a big ego, but you also need to be able to execute ideas,” Bronipolsky answered. The speakers agreed that it is important for students to be passionate and to make others aware of the value they add to an organization.

As the event came to an end, it was evident that the conversation about creativity, risk taking and passion between Bronipolsky, Giffin and Teixeira had kindled a passion for innovation in many of the attendees.

For more information about the Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC), visit www.rhsmith.umd.edu/clic.

- Elliot Dickerson, Smith MBA Candidate 2018