‘Apprentice’ winner to share industry experience
Bill Rancic, the first winner of NBC’s ‘The Apprentice’ and current host of ‘We Mean Business’ on A&E, will speak today about entrepreneurship and his personal success story.
The event will take place at 6 p.m. in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s Lender Auditorium and is sponsored by the Syracuse University Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club).
Rancic, who created an online cigar-selling business before he was selected to compete in ‘The Apprentice,’ has gained commercial appeal through his television appearances and frequent motivational speeches around the country.
‘The fact that he’s been on TV is an important part of why we chose him to come talk to us,’ said Tory Gentes, the E-Club’s vice president of finance. ‘There’s that intrigue … people are more inspired to come listen to somebody of that nature.’
During his speech, Rancic will talk about his education, his first job out of college and how to think like an entrepreneur regardless of profession, said Gentes, junior entrepreneurship and accounting major. ‘It’s not just about starting a business, but about the mentality and spirit of entrepreneurship that you can carry into anything you do.’
Rancic, originally from Chicago, decided to manage the construction of Trump Tower Chicago after winning the show in 2004 and occasionally served as a guest judge for the following seasons.
‘(Rancic) is a source of inspiration, because not everyone’s successful right away,’ said Bob Smith, the E-Club’s president and a senior finance and accounting major. ‘It’s good to learn from those experiences, though, because maybe your first business didn’t work out, but the second one might.’
Rancic himself started out small with a boat washing and waxing business in college before founding CigarsAroundtheWorld.com in his apartment. The Web site now features more than 30 cigar brands and has become a multi-million dollar enterprise.
‘Entrepreneurship is not just for business majors,’ Smith said. ‘It’s a way of living, and it’s looking at the world in a way that you can see opportunity and seize it.’
Published on November 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm
