Centrepiece Online | Summer 2010

Centrepreneurs

by Terena Bell ’99
CEO, In Every Language

Cen•tre•pre•neur [sĕn trə-prə-nûr ] n. An entrepreneur who graduated from Centre College. [Origin: 2009; (n.) English, from Centre, abbr. of Centre College, a leading national liberal arts college in Danville, Ky; English/French, from entrepreneur, a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

Shara Sisney Davisson ’01 and Kimberly Nasief-Westergren ’96 had never met until last summer. I had met Kim as a freshman and Shara later as an upperclassman. I’d known them both for so long, it blew me away that they didn’t know each other. Sometimes I think we Centre graduates have a habit of forgetting who knows whom. We’re all so interlinked; if you didn’t know someone as a student, you usually connect as an alum. That’s simply how it works.

When I finally managed to get them together, the conversation started about business. (Shara runs a company; so do Kim and I.) But it didn’t take long before we were talking about Religion 23 and Air Guitar instead. Soon the two combined, and we were talking about the positives and the negatives of how being Centre alumna impacted our work today. Turns out there are idiosyncrasies that come from being an entrepreneur who went to Centre. Our self-expectations are higher. We run companies at a younger age than our business peers. We demand more from our employees, and we provide more to our clients. I’m sure the wine and the high we got from being with one another helped, but that day we realized together that we were of a different breed. Before the end of the day, a term to describe this breed was born: the “Centrepreneur.”

According to the alumni office, 1,227 Centre alumni work in C-level positions (upper-level decision-makers such as CEOs or CFOs). How many of them personally started their companies is unknown, but as entrepreneurship takes on more importance in our nation’s economy, it’s clear that Centre alumni are taking the lead. As more and more Centrepreneurs enter the small-business (and eventually, we hope, the big-business) world, I thought it would be interesting to look at this new breed.

Below, five Centrepreneurs (including me) tell you what makes them tick. The alumni to interview for this article were many (thanks to the alumni office, which provided the names); the time alumni had to participate was limited. As you’ll see in Kim’s interview, running a business is like having a baby: it takes all you have.

It is with gratitude that I include these participants, who took time away from their “babies” in order to share with you.

Julie Senavinin Erwin ’89
Executive Director, Adoption Assistance Inc., Danville
Education: Elementary education major; M.A., guidance and counseling, Eastern Kentucky University

What does your company do? Assists Kentucky and Tennessee families in adopting a child, assists birth mothers who desire to place a child for adoption.

Why did you start it? After personally going through the adoption process, I felt the need to assist children in finding loving homes and to help families experience the joy of adoption. I also felt I could develop the best agency in the state that would literally assist families every step of the way.

What’s the difference between an entrepreneur and a business owner? An entrepreneur creates an idea and develops it into a business; a business owner merely owns and runs a business.

What makes a Centrepreneur different from other entrepreneurs? Not only have our minds been trained to think and learn, but we have also been taught to write well, speak effectively, be a team player, and lead others. Centrepreneurs also have the confidence to think big and take risks.

Brook White ’91
Owner & Artist, Flame Run, Louisville
Education: Government major

What does your company do? We’re a glassblowing studio and gallery. We also represent a large number of other national and international glass artists.

Why did you start it? I started Flame Run to be able to do what I wanted to do—and that was blow glass and create glass art.

Is your current company the first company you began? My first [company] was also a glass studio.

What’s the difference between an entrepreneur and a business owner? A business owner takes an existing model/franchise/company and works to increase the bottom line by following traditional business guidelines. (This is not to say that there is not great risk or effort involved.) An entrepreneur creates/develops/merges something new out of a need or desire to blaze a new path.

Kimberly Nasief-Westergren ’96
President, Measure Consumer Perspectives, Louisville
Education: Religion major; M.B.A., University of Louisville

What does your company do? Provides brand and quality-assurance audits, loss prevention services, and mystery shopping services.

Why did you start it? I work well with corporations, but I don’t think I fit well within corporations. Plus, I wanted to be able to take my cat to work.

What do you think makes a Centrepreneur different from other entrepreneurs? The work ethic and level of critical thinking Centre instills in students is the perfect recipe for being a strong entrepreneur.

Is your current company the first company you began? No. I sold my first company in 2007. In the past six months, I have co-founded two companies in addition to Measure Consumer Perspectives, The Meet Locker and Brandscan 360.

What’s the difference between an entrepreneur and a business owner? A business owner is looking to have a lifestyle company, where s/he can come in 8 to 5. An entrepreneur lives, eats, breathes, and sleeps strategy. The entrepreneur’s mind is always evolving the business and thinking of new, differentiated ways of growing the business.

Do you have any advice for other Centrepreneurs? 1. Owning a business will be one of the most rewarding, amazing, and most difficult things you will ever do. It truly is like an infant, in that it needs constant tending to. 2. Put away the ego. Respect is not earned just because you start a business, or solely because you went to Centre. It is gained over time.

Sidney VanNess ’99
President & CEO, Acumantra Solutions Inc., Eagle River, Alaska
Education: Biochemistry and molecular biology major; Ph.D., Emory University

What does your company sell? A software application called On Call Central—a gateway through which phone conversations between patients and providers travel. The software routes calls to the physician and can timestamp, record, and permanently document medical advice administered over the phone.

Why did you start it? I enjoy technology and innovation, and my family circumstances demanded something creative. When my wife, an Air Force physician, was assigned to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, Alaska, it was a great opportunity to run this business full time.

What’s the difference between an entrepreneur and a business owner? An entrepreneur assumes significant personal risk in building a business that does something innovative in product development, strategy, service, marketing, or financial management. By this definition, the founders of small drug development companies, emerging software businesses, and even the company responsible for Snuggie ads are entrepreneurs. Lawyers, physicians, and Subway franchisees are frequently very successful, but typically don’t meet the definition of an entrepreneur.

What makes a Centrepreneur different from other entrepreneurs? I don’t think there is necessarily a difference between an entrepreneur who goes to Centre and one who doesn’t. Many successful entrepreneurs—Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet—are college dropouts. I do think, however, that schools where you are exposed to a broad range of material tend to select for entrepreneurial traits such as curiosity, strong communication skills, and stick-to-itiveness. These traits are demanded of entrepreneurs, and the rigors of a Centre education help students better understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Do you have any advice for other Centrepreneurs? 1. Learn to communicate the entirety of your business concept—including background, status, and financials—in a single page. Save your business plan only for those who respond favorably to your initial document. 2. Pay attention to visuals and product design. Even if you have an amazing idea, investors and customers will not pay attention if you can’t explain your concept with strong visuals or if the product is ugly.

Terena Elizabeth Bell ’99
CEO, In Every Language, Louisville
Education: English major; M.A., French, University of Louisville

What does your company do? Translates and interprets foreign languages.

Why did you start it? I woke up with an idea and didn’t have anything better to do that day, so I started a company.

What makes a Centrepreneur different from other entrepreneurs? I find that people with a liberal arts background are able to adapt to changing circumstances, which is the one talent you need most to keep your doors open and to keep your business afloat. You must be able to think critically. I’ve met owners of other companies like mine who have been in business 25 years without accomplishing what In Every Language has done in five. I’m not saying that they’re not good at their jobs—they are—but there’s something to be said for thinking critically and independently, for writing well, and for being able to put forth who you are in an open and honest manner. You can find these skills in a lot of people, but studying the liberal arts forces you to find them in yourself.

---

Terena Bell ’99 is CEO of In Every Language, a translating and interpreting business in Louisville.