Cornell University The Johnson School at Cornell University

Entrepreneurship@Johnson

Entrepreneur in Residence

The Johnson School, in collaboration with the Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise, and Commercialization (CCTEC), now maintains an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) program. The purpose of the program is to mentor and advise Cornell start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The EIR actively works with entrepreneurially minded members of the Cornell community including current students - both Johnson School students and students from other Cornell programs - faculty, staff, and alumni. The EIR assists these constituents in developing proposed business ideas (including business plan review), solidifying business strategy, identifying market position, securing intellectual property, and obtaining funding. The EIR mentors and advises startups, particularly those in the early stages of development and particularly those seeking to commercialize Cornell technology. In addition, the EIR works with aspiring Cornell entrepreneurs to move potential ventures from the idea phase to startup as well as helping Cornell inventors (including professors and PhD students) create businesses around Cornell technology.

Sean Neville is the Johnson School's current Entrepreneur in Residence for the 2009-2010 academic year. Sean earned his MBA from the Johnson School in 2002, with exchange studies at IESE Business School in Spain. Sean most recently was the CEO and Co-founder of Simply Audiobooks, a $7 million internet retailer focused on the rental and sale of audiobooks. Sean led the company from inception to becoming the world's largest audiobook rental company with offices in Canada and the United States. He received the 2005 Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award in Ontario for his efforts in building the company. Sean negotiated the successful sale of Simply Audiobooks to another Canadian media company in the summer of 2009. Prior to his MBA, Sean worked in the Canadian securities industry, focusing on naked equity short selling and derivatives trading for hedge funds. Sean has been a nationally ranked figure skater and public speaker in Canada.