19 Tech Companies, 3 Colleges, Lots of Opportunity

Senior Journalist

John Crawford

A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.

April 23, 2019

Stand-Up Career Fair for Entrepreneurial Tech Companies

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Matthew Yuan ’17 knows Babson all too well. That’s why he found himself back on campus, standing in Knight Auditorium on a Wednesday afternoon.

Yuan is the founder of CountN, an app that connects musicians with music venues. CountN just launched in February and is in need of interns, so that brought Yuan to Knight for the Stand-Up Career Fair for Entrepreneurial Tech Companies.

“I know the background of Babson students,” says Yuan, “and I know what they are capable of.”

Hosted by Babson, along with Wellesley and Olin colleges, the fair brought together 19 tech companies, most of which were new ventures. “It’s an opportunity to see the variety of startups that exist,” says Donna Sosnowski, director of Babson’s Undergraduate Center for Career Development. “Some of the businesses are really young. Some are really forward thinking.”

Intent Is to Hire

The companies were hiring for both technical and business roles, and so the fair served as a one-stop job shop for all the entrepreneurship, engineering, and liberal arts students in attendance from the three host schools. Combined, the companies had posted 35 paid positions, both internships and full-time jobs. “Their intent is to hire,” says Cheri Paulson, senior director of Babson’s Graduate Center for Career Development.

Paulson says the companies were particularly interested in Babson students. “They like our Entrepreneurial Thought & Action^®,” she says. “They like how our students learn to think.”

The fair had a less formal, more intimate vibe than typical job events. There were no slick presentations or elaborate booths. At the beginning of the fair, recruiters took turns talking about their companies, and they then stood at high-top tables to network with students.

Maunil Vora MBA’20 listened to the company pitches and then picked out 11 favorites. “I met all the people I wanted to meet,” he says.

Anthony Botha MBA’20 liked meeting the company representatives and asking them about their venture’s culture and other intangibles. “Sometimes, you can’t get that online,” Botha says. “I found the fair quite helpful.”