Startup Global Philadelphia Arrives at Temple University Fox School of Business
In late September, Temple’s Fox School of Business hosted Startup Global Philadelphia, which provided resources, strategies, and advice for startups that wanted to expand internationally. The panel topics included: tools and strategies to grow internationally; legal considerations for global startups; startups going global; and government partners and community resources.
One of the overarching themes of the advice given at the event was: take advantage of resources offered to startups. Both the private and public sectors can offer a multitude of resources to help start ups expand their reach.
Export.gov is a resource provided by the Department of Commerce to offer advice and tools meant to help U.S. companies effectively reach global markets. Usman Ahmed, Head of Global Public Policy at PayPal, spoke on a panel, and revealed that PayPal actually has a Global Sellers Program to create versions of company websites specific to different regions. Using cutting targeted marketing techniques, PayPal is able to hone in on exactly which color schemes and verbiage work in various locales.
It is also essential that startup companies looking to go global utilize the professionals who specialize in protecting ideas, such as advisors and lawyers.
“You have to protect [your idea] before you go anywhere. Eighty-six percent of SMEs and independent inventors did no know that their United States trademark of patent would not be protected overseas,” said attorney-advisor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Benjamin Hardman.
Another theme of the event was: utilize your own knowledge base. Temple student Nigel Satenstein told the origin story of his startup, Pinpointer, which exists to help people without clear addresses benefit from eCommerce.
According to Satenstein, “It all started one day late last summer when I got a call from one of my best childhood friends. He started telling me about his roommate, Sam, who was born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal, and to this day still down not have a home address.” This story prompted Satenstein and his friends to build a tool that would account for this gap, and because they had personal knowledge of Kathmandu, then chose to start by using the technology there.
The free annual event took place at Temple’s Alter Hall, on 1801 Liacouras Walk.
Startup Global Philadelphia is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Global Innovation Forum.
The Week Ahead at the 2017 NBMBAA Conference in Philadelphia
Tuesday, September 26, marked the first day of the annual National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) annual Conference & Exposition, held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. The five-day event, stretching to Saturday, Sep. 30, brings together entrepreneurs, business leaders, students, and other seasoned professionals into an immense, collaborative atmosphere that helps introduce next-level vision to the business world.
The center-piece of the event is the two-day Career Exposition. Touted as the “largest diversity career fair in the country” by the NBMBAA, the event brings together over 300 companies, government entities, nonprofits, and more brings together on-site stations and active recruitment, helping attendees potentially earn new employment. Well-established companies like Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson have previously attended the Career Exposition.
An inside look last year’s NBMBAA Career Exposition.
The conference is also highlighted by several notable guest speakers, including former CNN and Today Show personality Tamron Hall, celebrated sports journalist Kevin Blackistone, political strategist Symone Sanders, popular actress Tia Dashon Mowry-Hardrict, and many more.
Beyond the Career Exposition and illuminating figures attending, the five-day event is packed with almost too many world-class events to keep track of: from the Scale-Up Pitch Challenge that features $65,000 in cash prizes, to the first ever higher education exposition, and the black tie Impact Awards Dinner, which will feature the aforementioned Tamron Hall, Girls Trip star Larenz Tate, as well as local Philly icon D.J. Jazzy Jeff.
Over the next several days, the conference will also host countless industry discussion panels, with topics like: International Business: Doing Business in Africa—Entrepreneurship Meets Social Investment; Entrepreneurship: Taking the Franchise Route; Education & Workforce Development: Coalition Building—The Power of Partnership; Marriott Ownership Session: Investment and Ownership Opportunities in the Hotel Industry; Financial Prosperity: How to Retire by 40, and much more.
For information on the event, including schedule, registration opportunities, and more, head to the official National Black MBA Association website. Official NBMBAA members will receive a discount if they wish to attend the Philadelphia event.
San Diego Enters Amazon HQ2 Bidding War
Amazon is in the market for a second home, and the city of San Diego wants in.
The tech giant, which has built its base through digital sales, is looking to expand beyond its Seattle headquarters. Other cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York have also expressed interest in having the company build its new headquarters in their cities. Amazon is looking at cities with populations higher than one million, an already-set tech workforce, and a business-friendly work environment, the San Diego Tribune reports.
“We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters,” Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos told the Tribune. “Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs. We’re excited to find a second home.”
This new headquarters will potentially employ 50,000 people and provide a major economic boost to any city it joins. San Diego city officials confirmed earlier this month that they’d submit a proposal by the Oct. 19 deadline for Amazon’s $5 billion headquarters. San Diego might just be a perfect place for the company to create a nest. It’s already home to a number of qualified employees, especially its MBA graduates.
READ MORE: The New Amazon Headquarters Bidding Race Begins
“San Diego has the geographic proximity to international markets, unparalleled quality of life, and workforce talent that companies like Amazon are looking for, so Mayor (Kevin) Faulconer’s office has directed the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. to coordinate a regional response,” said Matt Awbrey, Faulconer’s Deputy Chief of Staff, in a statement, to the Tribune.
The city has property available downtown and is hopeful that Amazon will decide to make this city is next stop. However, it remains to be seen if the company wants to extend beyond its already-existent West Coast presence. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Full-Time MBA Battle: New York vs. Philly
Whether it’s Giants vs. Eagles or the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell, New York City and Philadelphia are two cities famous for being at odds with one another. Continue reading…
New Amazon Headquarters Bidding Race Begins, with 50,000 New Jobs on the Line
By October 19, bids for the newest Amazon headquarters (dubbed HQ2) will close. For the eCommerce giant, it’s another benchmark for an already historic year.
Following its outward commitment to more hiring and the landmark purchase of grocery store chain Whole Foods earlier this summer, Amazon just announced it will be establishing a new non-satellite headquarters outside of Seattle for the first time, which is expected to bring 50,000 jobs to a select city that bids for hosting duties. With the announcement, Amazon notes, “We are looking for a location with strong local and regional talent—particularly in software development and related fields—as well as a stable and business-friendly environment to continue hiring and innovating on behalf of our customers.”
In the six-page Request for Proposal form, which can be read here, Amazon notes a preference for North American cities that have the following:
- “Metropolitan areas with more than one million people.”
- “A stable and business-friendly environment.”
- “Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent.”
- “Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options.”
Assuming Amazon does elect to build in a city with those population restrictions, there are only nine possible U.S. locations: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas. Three Canadian cities—Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver—also hit the qualifying population figure.
In Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney quickly announced the city’s intent to enter the bidding war. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also seems to be close to the effort. However, there may be reason to believe that Texas will be the eventually landing spot for HQ2, where 53-year old CEO Jeff Bezos spent much of his youth.
In a statement, Bezos said, “We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters. Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in upfront and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs. We’re excited to find a second home.”
Local Economic Growth
Amazon notes that the host city will receive a boon beyond more lucrative job opportunities. In its announcement, the company, which employs nearly 400,000 people worldwide (not including short-term seasonal employees), detailed its financial impact in Seattle, which “resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy–every dollar invested by Amazon in Seattle generated an additional $1.40 for the city’s economy overall.”
As well, the company created more than 40,000 direct jobs in the Emerald City, and 53,000 additional jobs “as a result of Amazon’s direct investments,” according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the Request for Proposal form, the company promises it “will hire as many as fifty thousand (50,000) new full-time employees with an average annual total compensation exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) over the next ten to fifteen years, following commencement of operations.”
According to Wall Street firm Needham & Co., Amazon is expected to control 50 percent of all U.S. online sales by 2021. The ever-increasing market dominance has earned Amazon a fairly negative reputation, but has done little to deter growth.
Via Fortune
Seattle has also been witness to years of skyrocketing housing costs due to the immense economic growth. The Seattle Times notes “the median price hit $730,000, up nearly 17 percent from a year ago” for houses. Amazon and the rest of the Seattle corporate community may not be the only players responsible for the unusually high prices, but it is an inescapable part of the equation.
In a recent interview, Columbia Business School professor Rita McGrath said that Amazon may be looking for a location with less staggering housing costs.
“It’s hard to attract people if they can’t afford the housing available locally,” she said.
The Amazon MBA Impact
Last year, we highlighted Amazon’s massive effect on the MBA job market. The company creates a direct pipeline from its MBA internship program to full-time employment, which should rapidly increase with the creation of HQ2. In a previous interview with the Financial Times, Miriam Park, the Amazon Director of University Programs, highlighted the company’s recruitment strategy:
“The Amazon recruitment process is designed to ensure we hire top candidates with high-growth potential whatever their background may be. As part of this we recruit current MBA students and MBA alumni for permanent and internship opportunities worldwide and see MBAs as an important part of our leadership development. We value people who can balance long-term strategic thinking with tactical execution, and who have the ability to make data-driven decisions.”
The internship programs open opportunities for MBAs to join the company as senior product managers, operations analysts, and more. Throughout the Request for Proposal form, Amazon frequently reiterates its desire to build in a location that has a strong academic culture, writing, “a highly educated labor pool is critical and a strong university system is required.”
Amazon will formally announce where it will build HQ2 next year.
Fox Temple Renovating and Expanding to Historic 1810 Liacouras Walk
The Temple University Board of Trustees and the Philadelphia Historical Commission have passed Fox School of Business’s proposal to renovate and utilize 1810 Liacouras Walk. The renovations to the building, which stands next to Temple’s Alter Hall, are scheduled to begin this month.
The new building will provide over 77,000 square feet of space for Temple’s expanding student body. Though the inside of 1810 Liacouras Walk will see significant changes, including another floor and an atrium, the front of the building will remain unchanged. The facade is protected, since it is technically a part of Philadelphia’s Park Avenue Historic District.
1810 Liacouras Walk is one of the oldest buildings on the Temple campus, as it was built at the turn of the nineteenth century. It was initially a group of row homes intended for the community outside of Temple. After the university bought 1810, the homes served various uses, including women’s dorms in the 1970s. Since 1810 is certified as historic by the city of Philadelphia, it could not be torn down, even when it began to decay. In light of this, Temple left the facade and modernized both the inside and the back of the structure.
The additional renovations, however, will create significant classroom space, while increasing the convenience of accessing Temple’s renowned Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI), which will be setting up shop on the first floor.
“The growth of our student body and our faculty is a testament to the momentum of our school and the rankings our academic programs have attained,” said M. Moshe Porat, Dean of the Fox School of Business, “The space at 1810 Liacouras Walk will support our commitment to several other academic pillars, and improve the accessibility of the services we provide.”
Completion of the project is slated for the fall semester of 2018, which lines up with the school’s 100th anniversary.
