The launch of a student-run business venture will allow students to get experience in their career fields by working in the firm for credit.

About 80 members of the SU community, including faculty, staff and students of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, gathered Thursday for the opening of the new firm, Consurtio, which is designed to “transform business education, as well as support local companies and economic development,” according to a Whitman release.

“Today is a historic and exciting day for the Whitman community,” said Whitman Dean Kenneth Kavajecz, who is also the board chair of Consurtio.

Students will be responsible for the finances of the firm as well as client management, the turning around of challenged firms and responses to human resource issues, said Consurtio CEO Terry Brown.

The students will also represent companies and help them develop through consultations, Brown added.

“This will be a huge (learning tool) for students getting out in the corporate world,” Brown said.

Consurtio will have three tracks available to students: a consulting track that will allow students to do market research and social media for businesses, a track that will allow for new businesses to be launched and a track that will help distressed companies.

The firm will select students to partake in the program, but Brown said the program will be available to all students at every level if they wish to take part.

Students working in the firm will have student leaders at the head of the company, but professors, faculty and subject experts at Whitman will be available to help, which is where Brown said the education part comes into play. Students will be walked through issues rather than being left alone, Brown added.

The students will work with real companies on real issues. One of the first companies to partner with the firm is SiteWorx. SiteWorx CEO Ken Quaglio said employers find student experience in programs such as Consurtio valuable.

Sandra Carruitero, a senior retail and supply chain management student who will graduate in December, worked on one of Consurtio’s first consulting projects. Carruitero and a team of other students worked for the Minnowbrook Conference Center, a nonprofit owned by Syracuse University. The students did market research, analyzed financials, modeled a new price structure, expanded the nonprofit’s social media and measured the impact of these recommendations on the local community, Carruitero said.

“I worked with a real business that has real people and affects real lives,” Carruitero said. “I have grown more as a person through this.”

In addition, the venture has potential for global reach. Kavajecz said he hopes the venture will expand to SU’s centers in London, Hong Kong and Beijing.

To fund the firm, Consurtio will sell shares and in a symbolic gesture, Kavajecz placed a seal on one of the bonds that Consurtio will sell. Kavajecz said 100 shares had been sealed but many more would be made as the company continues to grow.

Published on October 4, 2015 at 10:21 pm

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