Tiffany Norwood ’89, Tribetan founder and Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year 2022, will be honored April 28-29 during Entrepreneurship at Cornell’s Celebration event, a two-day conference. The event brings together students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members who have an interest in entrepreneurship.
Other featured speakers include:
- Kavita Bala, dean, Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science;
- Scott Belsky ’02, CPO of Adobe, author and investor;
- Mac Cummings ’01, CEO and co-founder, Terakeet;
- Marissa Saporta ’99, co-CEO and co-founder of Gorilla Commerce;
- Savneet Singh ’05, president and CEO of PAR Technology Corp.; and
- Fredrik Wester, CEO and founder, Paradox Interactive.
“We are excited to be back in person with Celebration this year,” said Zach Shulman ’87 J.D. ’90, director of Entrepreneurship at Cornell. “Bringing entrepreneurial people together creates an energy that’s inspiring to see, and we know that this event fosters great connections for attendees.”
Norwood’s talk, from 4:30-5:30 p.m., April 28 in Statler Hall Auditorium, Statler Hall, is free and open to the public and will feature an interactive presentation of Norwood’s entrepreneurial journey. Her company, Tribetan, uses technology, music, video and animations to teach entrepreneurship, innovation and practical creativity. Norwood is also co-founder of SimWin Sports, the first-ever digital sports league platform, with tokens, online betting and e-sports fantasy tournaments.
The Celebration conference also includes eLab Demo Day, announcement of the Student Business of the Year winner and the BenDaniel Venture Challenge.
Demo Day, which takes place from 5:30-7 p.m., April 28 in the Statler Hall Auditorium of Statler Hall, is also free and open to the public. Student teams who are part of the present their businesses and progress made so far this year. The 19 businesses who are part of eLab include a broad group: from a platform to address shortages at nursing homes, to an app to help friends decide what movies and shows to watch together, to a service offering customized travel experiences in Morocco.
“This year’s eLab cohort features the largest group of student teams in the history of the program,” said Ken Rother, eLab program director. “We are excited to bring this event back in person and highlight the progress these companies have made as they prepare for launch.”
The BenDaniel Venture Challenge is also free and open to the public, from noon-1:50 p.m., April 28 at the Statler Amphitheater. This event, the Big Red Venture’s annual pitch competition, gives five companies the chance to pitch their business ideas to a panel of investors.
Other events at the conference are open only to those registered. Cost for the entire conference is free for students, $50 for faculty/staff and $100 for anyone else.
