Approximately 500 future business leaders — including 33 USC students — from several colleges gathered on New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on April 3 and 4 for the first annual Kairos Summit, which aimed to create a network between these students and inspire them to start their own businesses.

The Kairos Society, which was founded last year by Ankur Jain, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, is designed to create collaboration among a college’s top business entrepreneurial students so they can share ideas, motivate each other and help their businesses succeed.

“It’s designed to bring together a very high caliber of college entrepreneurs,” said Josh Friedman, president of USC Kairos Society. “It’s networking on a grand scale.”

Of the summit’s showcase of Kairos’ top 100 student businesses, five businesses created by USC students were featured. The ventures ranged from clothing companies to websites that made online shopping cheaper.

“That was part of what made it [the summit] inspiring, just to see all the creative things that other college students are coming up with,” Friedman said.

Shacked Up, a surf-inspired clothing line created by Chris Murphy, a junior majoring in business, was one of the USC student businesses highlighted in the showcase. Murphy said the experience was rewarding and helped him network with people who could potentially help his company grow.

“I got to talk to a million people and give my sales pitch, so I got good at it,” Murphy said. “I definitely made some meaningful connections.”

Emily Tighe, another member of the USC Kairos Society and a sophomore majoring in business, said the summit, especially the showcase, motivated her to take on her own project and possibly start a business.

“It was really inspiring to see such a talented group of my peers with such passion and drive,” she said. “It inspired me to find my own passion.”

A gala was also held during the summit, where the student entrepreneurs were addressed by some of the most accomplished people in the business world.

Former President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates Sr. were keynote speakers via video, but live lecturers included Richard Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes Magazine; Phil Condit, former chairman and CEO of Boeing; and Admiral William Owens, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief Executive Officer of Nortel.

“I was amazed by some of the people they got to come speak to us,” Murphy said.

The speakers touched upon several issues important for any business professional, but the focus was on the importance of networking, and inspiring students to find what they love and take the risk of making it into a business.

“The general theme of it all was finding your passion and making connections,” said Tighe, who said her favorite speaker was Joe Plumeri, chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holding Ltd.

Friedman said he felt the summit accomplished its goals of inspiring students and promoting networking, and that he was impressed by the turnout.

“It was so much more successful than I could have imagined,” he said.

Friedman said he has high hopes for the Kairos Society, especially USC’s chapter, and that the summit was a testament to Kairos’ potential.

“It’s a great start to an organization that’s going to be a powerful force across the nation and across the globe,” he said.

Jain said he has plans to make Kairos more global in the upcoming years. Top university students from Israel and China were present at the summit, but Jain said he wants to go even further.

“In today’s economy it’s important to collaborate on a global level,” Jain said. “We just want to help these entrepreneurs find what it takes to go there and really succeed.”
Please follow this link to see the article on Daily Trojan website.

Tobenna Arodiogbu wants to take the world of social networking into his own hands, and at a weekend national entrepreneurship conference attended by several Penn State students, he found the connections to make it happen.

This weekend at the inaugural Kairos Summit in New York City, Arodiogbu (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) presented his plan for a new kind of social networking Web site, Linknage. The site would allow people to tag themselves in professionally taken photos at sporting events and parties, and share these images with friends over sites such as Facebook.com.

Arodiogbu was just one of about 45 Penn State students who attended the conference of more than 500, which was sponsored by the Kairos Society — a non-profit organization founded by a group of students and designed to foster an entrepreneurial culture, according to a press release. Students from the University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University and others also attended the summit, according to the release.

Many came prepared to pitch ideas. Arodiogbu said he already has a theme picked out for his business.

“It’s a crazy world of activities — let’s help you keep the memories,” he said. “People will feel like celebrities at events.”

The conference was designed for entrepreneurial students to build the businesses of tomorrow by learning from and presenting their ideas to the successful businesses of today. Students listened to speakers such as former President Bill Clinton and philanthropist Bill Gates Sr. who encouraged giving back to the community.

“They emphasized that you have to do something you’re passionate about,” Arodiogbu said. “You have to do something well, as well as do something good.”
Brett Bergen, president and founder of the Kairos Society chapter at Penn State, said the speakers also highlighted the importance of staying in school, even if there is the temptation to leave for the possibility of money.

Bergen (senior-finance and industrial organizational psychology) said the summit was a fantastic opportunity for students who are serious about starting their own businesses — that’s why he started the chapter at Penn State.
“I’m really, really passionate about entrepenurship,” Bergen said.

Bergen himself is working on a Web site made of three key components: social and professional networking, linking businesses to its employees at home and a combination of internal and external resource consulting.

He said the Kairos Summit gave him different perspectives about his business, helping him think of ways to improve his idea.

“As people walked around and asked me what I did, I heard questions I hadn’t heard before,” Bergen said. “I had to address those things.”

To read the article on Collegian News website, please follow this link.

Forty Tufts students interested in entrepreneurship spent this past weekend on an aircraft carrier with many prominent executives and representatives from the nation’s biggest companies, as part of a conference on entrepreneurship.

The first annual Kairos Summit, which took place on Friday and Saturday, was hosted by the Kairos Society, a group dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship among college students. The event took place at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on the former USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, which is permanently docked in New York City.
The conference offered college entrepreneurs the opportunity to connect with other students and professionals from all over the country and share stories, experiences and ideas about entrepreneurship.

Five hundred students attended the summit alongside many prominent former and current CEOs and executives, including Phil Condit, the former chairman and CEO of Boeing Co. and Ellen Kullman (E ‘78), CEO of DuPont and a Tufts trustee.
“We had some great speakers come, and it was great to hear what they had to say about entrepreneurship,” said Kullman’s daughter Maggie, a Tufts freshman, who attended the Saturday portion of the summit. “I met some people that may help me find an internship in New York this summer. Overall, it was a great experience.”

For members of the Tufts chapter of Kairos, the conference provided an opportunity to establish connections and to solicit input from other like-minded students.

“It was great to see these top students helping each other with the problems they face with their ventures,” said sophomore Artem Efremkin, the president of the Tufts chapter of Kairos.

Tufts was well-represented, with five alumni and two trustees in attendance, junior Greg Hering said in an e-mail before conference.

Heidi Collins, an anchor on the cable news show “CNN Newsroom,” hosted the summit, which featured video keynote presentations from former President Bill Clinton and William Gates Sr., the father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Kairos Society was founded in 2007 by current president Ankur Jain, now a sophomore at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The international organization encourages socially responsible collegiate entrepreneurship.

Please follow this link to see the article on Tufts Daily website.

In a time when big business has failed, many are looking to entrepreneurship as a solution to help fix the country’s plummeting economy — and NYU students are working to help.

“In this economy right now, everybody has this idea that entrepreneurship will bring us out,” Stern senior Katie Shea said.

In that vein, Shea and fellow Stern senior Susan Levitt presented their shoe company, CitiSoles (a company selling comfortable and fashionable shoes), at the Kairos Society’s unveiling of the top-100 student companies in the U.S. at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York from April 3 to 4. The Kairos Society is an invitation-only entrepreneurial group.

Of the 100 companies from universities across the nation, seven of them were created by NYU students.

The event began with a welcoming address from Kairos founder Ankur Jain, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, and Louis Lautman, producer of the entrepreneur documentary “The YES Movie” (the Young Entrepreneur Society movie).

“You are the future generation,” Lautman said. “You are the innovators. You are the ones making things happen.”

He added: “You’re in the right place at the right time.”

The attention then turned to the students and their companies, who were given an opportunity to present their companies to other attendees. Students used poster boards and videos on computers to explain their companies to other students and business executives at the event. Many had business cards or fliers to hand out.

Generally, two or more students presented each company so they could take turns wandering around and meeting the heads of other companies.

At the event, Stern seniors Caroline Tseng and Candice Madan presented their fashion blog Street-Spotted, which features photos of fashion-forward NYU students. They said the Kairos event was a good opportunity to network.

“We get to talk face-to-face with a bunch of different schools and spread word about what we’re doing,” Tseng said. “It’s good to connect with different companies.”

Emery Goossens, a Stern junior who created the company WeCycle Inc., agreed.

“When we’re doing our entrepreneurial thing, it’s good to share that with other people,” he said.

The event was not completely devoted to networking; many attendees were happy just to talk to other entrepreneurs.

“The people in Kairos are good to talk to, to bounce ideas off of,” said Stern freshman Ken Knight, the founder of Palos Verdes Youth Organization.

“We feed ideas to each other,” Levitt said. “We’re not only giving each other feedback, we’re giving each other support.”

To read the article on the Washington Square News site, then please click here.

.travel, the travel and tourism industry’s exclusive Internet extension, supports the Kairos Society as a founding sponsor for its First Annual Summit. The Kairos Society is a non-profit organization created by students to foster inspiration, experience, and innovation. The organization encourages students to become more entrepreneurial by bringing together the best undergraduates from across the country, the greatest entrepreneurial firms, and the most passionate mentors.

The First Annual Summit will be held in New York City at the Intrepid Air, Sea, and Space Museum this April 3-4. The event will feature keynote speakers including President William J. Clinton, William Gates Sr., Chairman of the Gates Foundation, and many other world renowned speakers and entrepreneurs. Alongside the impressive guest list will be five hundred entrepreneurial students from the best colleges and universities from around the country. As part of the first day’s events, one hundred of these students will be unveiled as the top 100 entrepreneurial projects of 2009.

With a history of supporting young entrepreneurial projects such as theglobe.com and Nantucket Nectars, Michael S. Egan, Chairman and Owner of .travel commented, “Bringing together great minds from distinct cultures, areas of expertise, and ages is precisely what fosters great ideas, companies, and the next trend. I am proud to participate both as an entrepreneur and sponsor in the first of many of these summits.”

The event will conclude on Saturday evening with the Kairos Gala Dinner where the brightest collegiate minds and world leaders will join to enjoy a blend of featured speakers, awards, and musical entertainment. The highlight of evening will be an awards ceremony where industry leaders will be presented with an achievement award in one of six major categories including: American Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, Energy Entrepreneurship, Global Entrepreneurship, Media Entrepreneurship, and Tech Entrepreneurship.
Please follow this link to see the article on .travel website.

Kairos Summit Brings Together the Top Collegiate Entrepreneurs With World Leaders and Industry Icons to Help Reinvent the American Dream in These Tough Economic Times.

Invite-only event to be held on April 3-4 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York.

Kairos Society, a non-profit organization, was founded in 2008 to foster an entrepreneurial culture among college students. Kairos is providing the opportunity for the students to bring their innovations from dorm rooms to the center stage under the guidance and mentorship of today’s business leaders. In an age of economic and employment uncertainty, these young entrepreneurs are taking control of their own futures by building ventures that are likely to become the leading businesses of tomorrow. These entrepreneurs are building socially responsible ventures that are not only focused on doing well, but doing good.

The event’s welcome addresses will be given by the 42nd President of the United States of America, President William J. Clinton, and William Gates Sr., co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, via video. Other successful leaders who will be addressing these young college entrepreneurs include Admiral Bill Owens, Managing Director AEA Investors & former Vice Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff; Bill White, President Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund; Scott Mednick, founder of Legendary Pictures and Mandalay Entertainment; Ellen Kullman, CEO of DuPont; and Naveen Jain, CEO of Intelius Inc.

Ankur Jain, founder and President of Kairos Society, a sophomore at the Wharton School of Business, credits his father with giving him the tools to develop the mindset of an entrepreneur.

“My father instilled in me the idea that everyone can shape their own destiny; they can’t wait for things to happen, they have to make them happen,” said Jain. “There has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. Many of the successful enterprises were started during tough economic times. The passion of these young entrepreneurs with their innovative ideas can reinvent the American dream of building a better tomorrow.”

The Summit’s gala event will include a dinner on the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. There over 1300 years of professional experience will converge with 500 of the country’s most innovative students. The gala will feature several panels and an awards ceremony, which will honor top student innovative ventures for their achievements.

“We are extremely fortunate to live in a country where we have the freedom to be innovative and entrepreneurial,” said Ankur. “We owe this freedom to our forefathers and the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country. For this reason, we are honored to host this event on the USS Intrepid, a symbol of this freedom.”

The Kairos Society’s advisory board is a who’s who of global leadership and includes Scott Mednick; Chris Kitze, founder of Xoom.com; Bill White, President of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund; Rajat K. Gupta, Managing Director Worldwide at McKinsey & Co.; and Bill Owens, former U.S. Vice Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff. Along with Mednick,Kitze and White will be speaking at the Summit.

All of the board members say they got involved with the organization because they believe in what the Society can do to foster tomorrow’s top entrepreneurs. In the words of Bill Owens: “In this world, in which ‘everything is changing’, I believe the spirit of entrepreneurship, open-minded capitalism and glowing global relations will be of the utmost value. I think that this Society believes in that spirit, and that it will do much to enhance these most promising students’ futures. I’m proud to be a small part of that!”

“I have been speaking to business and entrepreneur programs at colleges and universities for many years,” said Mednick. “In my interaction with these future business leaders their thirst for knowledge and information from those who have been on the front lines has been insatiable. In putting together the opportunity to bring a breadth of business leaders together with these bright minds is not only a great idea but one that will help create a vibrant community of business leaders for years to come.”

“We’re proud to support an organization that has the potential to inspire and cultivate the next generation of business owners, innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Naveen Jain, CEO and founder of Intelius. “The students being recognized at this event demonstrate inspiring out-of-the-box thinking and bring new methodologies to the table. In today’s economy we can’t rely on what’s already been done, the only way to move forward is through innovation.”

Intelius and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum are the title sponsors for the Summit.

Please follow this link to see the article on Reuters’ website.

Don’t be surprised to find a sealed envelope with a velvet bag and a gold-plated medallion under the door – it might just be an invitation to join the Kairos Society.

Founded at Penn, the Kairos Society is a worldwide invitation-only entrepreneurial society. It consists of “the most innovative students at major universities,” said Wharton freshman Ankur Jain, founder and chairman of the Kairos Society.

The idea for the society struck Jain in December of last year, he said, when both he and his friends wanted to bring together students with different academic interests but who were all excited about entrepreneurship.

The group was launched on March 24 when hand-picked Penn students began to receive invitations to join the society. Approximately 160 of 250 first-round invitations have been extended to students, who will be allowed to invite others. The group declined to comment on if or when a second round of invitations would be given out.

“It’s not a secret society, but it is an exclusive society,” Jain said. “We hope to maintain quality and prestige.”

The society will continue to approach students who seem “inspired,” “ambitious,” “passionate” and “have a vision,” said Wharton freshman and board member Erik Buischi.

With a motto of inspiration, experience and innovation, the Kairos Society aims to foster the entrepreneurial spirit among students by connecting them with one another, forging relationships with emerging start-up companies around the world, said Wharton freshman and Kairos head of global expansion Peng-fei Chen, who also runs Unitrade, a multi-million dollar, off-road, tire-trading company.

The society’s advisory board is composed of eminent entrepreneurs and industry leaders such as William Owens, managing director of AEA Investors in Hong Kong – an investment firm – and Rajat Gupta, former managing director worldwide for McKinsey & Company.

Any member of Kairos who wishes to start his or her own business or get a job in a new firm can expect to receive both capital and human resources from the various start-ups the company is associated with, as well as a network of motivated entrepreneurial students around the world, Jain said.

“I would also like to see different business opportunities in different parts of the country,” College senior Rafael Burde said.

Kairos soon plans to expand its network throughout the country to attract top students at other universities, including Duke University, Babson College, Emory University, University of Southern California, Columbia University and Furman University, Jain said.

After its national launch, the Kairos Society plans to expand internationally. Chapters will be created in China, Brazil, and the United Kingdom in 2008 and in continental Europe, India, Korea and Russia by 2009.

The Daily Pennsylvanian was one of the first publications that covered Kairos. To see the article please follow this link