Articles:
Ten Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me
Lovely and Livable
Ten Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me
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A small measure of ignorance can be an asset when starting a business, alumnus Amol Joshi told a gathering of Georgia Tech's brightest students at the annual President's Scholars luncheon in November.
This was the first of "10 Most Important Things I Didn't Learn at Georgia Tech, But I Wish Someone Had Told Me," a tongue-in-cheek list of entrepreneurial advice compiled by Joshi, EE 92, an entrepreneur and vice president of marketing for BayPackets Inc., a communications software company he co-founded in Fremont, Calif.
The tips he shared with students were:
10. Youth and inexperience are often an asset when starting a company. "In fact they are a great asset," Joshi said. "You are never too young to start a company, you just have to be naive enough to do it and crazy enough to try."
9. Education is the only investment guaranteed never to decrease in value. "The more and longer you invest in your education, the more the benefit to you will be," Joshi said.
8. Don't be afraid of making mistakes, be afraid of not making them quickly enough. "The earlier you make mistakes, the more time you have to recover," Joshi said.
7. Never ask someone to do something you wouldn't do yourself. "Leadership by example is the best way to lead an organization," he said.
6. Be a team player. "A lot of the success you experience in the future will not only be based on your individual performance, but how you work in a team," Joshi said.
5. Your most important team is your family and friends. Joshi said, "Sometimes the only people who will believe you and believe in you are your friends, co-workers and family."
4. "Sales and marketing is not selling out to the dark side, that is keeping yourself in business," Joshi said.
3. Learn how to raise money. "No matter what kind of organization you are involved in, this will be a valuable skill to have," Joshi said.
2. Build your personal brand. "This is something I didn't understand when I was at Georgia Tech because I didn't have exposure to business. What I learned at business school was that you have to think about the brand and the image you project," Joshi said.
1. Dream big. "It may take a long time to get there and accomplish what you want to do, but dream big," Joshi said. "Only good things can happen to you if you pursue your dreams."
Joshi previously worked as the vice president of sales and marketing at BeVocal Inc., a speech recognition software company that he co-founded in 1999.
Joshi was a President's Scholar at Tech and earned an MBA and a master's degree in engineering sciences from Dartmouth College, where he was awarded the Junior Achievement Foundation scholarship for entrepreneurship.
Lovely and Livable
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Logs crackle in the gas fireplace of the new Shirley Mewborn and Gay Dull Alpha Xi Delta house sitting room, seeming to welcome visitors as the sounds of sisters chatting in the dining room float out into the bright foyer.
The cottage-style house with accommodations for 26 live-in students, a combination chapter/dining room big enough for 90 students and a basement level study hall has been a dream of the Gamma Eta chapter of the national sorority for more than 10 years. Current sisters moved into the home at Techwood Drive and Sixth Street in early January.
Janice Wittschiebe, Arch 78, M Arch 80, whose firm, Richard + Wittschiebe Architects, designed the house, was principal in charge and gathered a group of female-owned consultant firms to help design the house.
Taking the lead on raising money for the $1.7 million project were the late Mewborn, EE 56, a founding member of the chapter; Dull, wife of former Dean of Students Jim Dull and a member of the national sorority; and Tammy Tuley Purves, Mgt 90, a member of the chapter.
"They were instrumental in getting this project to move forward," Wittschiebe said. "As we worked on the plans, I said to Shirley, "Wouldn't it be great to have a completely female-owned firm team for this?' She agreed that this was appropriate for a sorority house."
In addition to Richard + Wittschiebe, which was founded by Wittschiebe's partner Carol Richard, other principal firms on the project were Cornelius Engineering, owned by Cathy Cornelius, ME 80; Transportation Systems Design Inc., owned by Anna Shmukler, CE 89; and Quinn Structural Engineering, owned by Diana Quinn. Cindy Hart, IE 84, and Alethia Thompson, IM 77, of Cindy Hart Interior Design, provided interior design services.
Along with living, dining and study spaces, the house has a commercial-grade kitchen, a handicap-accessible suite on the main floor and a conference room/library. Outside there is a covered front porch and a patio area in the rear.
Since 1984, the chapter had been located on Fifth Street in a small house that had been purchased by Mewborn, Dull and sorority member June Jones.
While installing shelves there recently, Wittschiebe said she received "the ultimate compliment" on the new house.
"One of the girls was here with her mother showing her around and she introduced me as the architect. Her mother said, ‘I just love this house. It is so livable.' If a mother feels great about her daughter being here on the Tech campus, that is the best," she said.
©2005 Georgia Tech Alumni Association