ANDREW Stickney
Favorite Part of Job? Working with entrepreneurs is one of the most rewarding environments in which a person can be! I am surrounded by the smartest, most agile-minded, forward-thinking people in our community, who are unconstrained by convention or the status quo.
Most Inspiring Mentor: It is difficult to narrow this down to one person, as I have several personal and professional mentors:Azriel Grishman (grandfather), Cairn Cross (FT Capital), David Bradbury (VCET), John Evans (UVM), Pieter Schiller (Middlebury), I think the key to having successful mentor/mentee relationships is to find someone who embodies your personal values and is successful in a particular aspect of life that you would like to emulate, but realizing that a mentor is excellent in one or a few areas doesn’t mean they are perfect in all. Having a variety of mentors for different things gives great balance and perspective.
Tell us something fun about yourself that few people know: As a teenager, I hid my first motorcycle in my mother’s basement for 3 months before she found out. Needless to say, she wasn’t thrilled with my purchase!
Favorite Downtime Activity: I like to run every day after work. In addition to providing relaxation, It allows me to think in an uninhibited way.
Favorite Vermont Escape: Motorcycling through AppGap or Smuggler’s Notch on a crisp fall day.
Favorite Social Media: Linkedin - The value of people’s networks is becoming more and more visible in everyday life. Linkedin is focused enough to give the same value as other social media, without being a distraction.
Favorite Website: TechCrunch or Business Insider – both are bleeding edge on what they are reporting, but also do a great job of reporting the multiple facets of every story.
Vermont Business Person you would most want to Network with: Robert Stiller - In addition to his success as an entrepreneur in Vermont, his efforts in the area of social responsibility are fantastic examples that other business leaders can mirror.
Career Highlights: Co-founding UVM Start is a bright spot. The program allowed students to get their entrepreneurial ideas off the ground, but it also led other institutions in their creation of similar platforms. My hope is that the students at other schools have been able to derive significant benefits from the leadership we were able to show.
Community Involvement:I try to engage with the community as much as possible through both my profession and hobbies. Advisory board of LaunchVT, a young entrepreneurs business plan competition. Vermont Investors Forum steering committee. Epscor SBIR & Innovation Fund review committee. Co-founded Tech @ Vermont - a statewide networking series to bring entrepreneurs and investors together. Boys and Girls Club mentor 2012 Avid runner (charity running races - in/out of Vermont).
John Boutin, Publisher of VBM, Lisa Gosselin, VT Dept. Economic Dev. and Rising Star Andrew Stickney.