Name: Josh Velez
Year: Senior
Hometown: Andover, MA
Major/Minor: Financial Services/ Legal Studies
HC: What are you involved in on campus?
JV: I am currently the President of CEO (the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization), a member of ODK and the Bryant Senior Advisory Council. I recently stepped down as Vice President of CALO to focus more on CEO and my last year at Bryant.
HC: What’s CEO?
JV: CEO’s main mission is to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship here on campus and in our community. We believe entrepreneurship is so much more than just the act of starting a business, it is a way of thinking. Bryant CEO is a nationally recognized chapter (6 time #1 Overall Chapter winner) for several reasons. First off, our dynamic interactive general member speaker’s series meetings have been a hit this year. We bring in accomplished entrepreneurs from around the region, and our general members have the opportunity to network with them and better themselves in terms of professional development. More importantly, what sets us apart from other chapters across the country is the caliber of our events given we are completely student run! CEO is responsible for putting on the Semi-Annual Freshman E-Pitch Competition, the App-A-Thon, admissions events, and most importantly, our annual regional Northeast Collegiate Entrepreneurship conference called BUNEEC.
For more info check out our website: bryantceo.org
HC: How did you get involved with CEO?
JV: I was exposed to CEO before I was even accepted to Bryant 4 years ago. I saw a video of the then CEO President Harris Roberts attend an Entrepreneurship event hosted by the White House. Entrepreneurship has always been of interest to me for as long as I can remember, and I when I saw that video it had a profound impact on me. I realized this club had tremendous reach, and would be crucial to my success at Bryant. I joined day 1 of my freshman year, and have been part of it ever since. I was elected to an E-board spot after my first year to serve as Secretary. The following year I took a more involved role as Treasurer, and now I’m here. Wouldn’t change a thing.
HC: Why should someone join CEO?
JV: It obviously doesn’t carry much weight when I say CEO is the best club on campus, but I wholeheartedly believe it. My E-board believes it, our members believe it, and the hundreds of CEO alumni believe it. Our meetings serve as an inspiration for most of our members. Believe it or not, most of our members are unsure whether or not they want to become full-fledged entrepreneurs later on in life. It only takes one speaker to change someone’s life and career track forever. I think that’s one of the many powerful impacts CEO has on its members.
However, looking at it from a high level perspective, CEO will undeniably aid you in your professional development no matter what career track you choose. As a side note, CEO has recently launched a new outreach initiative to attract more women to the club. We have Catherine Emond and Briana Trifino at the head of this. Feel free to reach out to them for more info.
HC: What is your favorite part of being the president of CEO?
JV: It is very hard to nail it down to one thing because I can think of a few things. If I had to boil it down to one sentence I would say the opportunity to have a direct role in making significant transformational change in the entrepreneurial community here at Bryant.
HC: What CEO inspires you most?
JV: I know a lot of people choose Steve Jobs when asked this question, but Steve Jobs has been at the core of my entrepreneurial aspirations for the last 7 years or so. His rise to power and management style is something I admire deeply. His famous “Here’s to the crazy ones” quote is something I look at every day to drive me forward. Here’s the full quote below:
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do”.
HC: What do you like to do for fun?
JV: As lame as it sounds, there’s nothing I enjoy more than getting in a good political fight with a person who disagrees with me over a beer.
HC: What are you most excited to do over winter break?
JV: Christmas, New Years, going on a vacation to the Caribbean & Central America, spending time with friends, making finals preparations for BUNEEC our Entrepreneurship conference, and spending time with family. In that order.