This weekend, Colgate University hosted it’s annual Thought Into Action (TIA) Entrepreneur Showcase in conjunction with the annual Arts, Creativity and Innovation Weekend. The TIA Entrepreneur Showcase is designed to provide a space for student entrepreneurs to promote their businesses and receive feedback from alumni.
This year, the showcase featured the work of two dozen student startups, with the student businesses on display ranging from omega-3 beverages to food-waste recycling. While some of the start-ups may be known to students on campus, such as GateTVs, the event also provided a space for students and alumni to learn about student ventures that might be unknown to them.
Four ventures also participated in a “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition. First-year Nathan Walsh won first place for his venture, Students Helping Students, and took home the grand prize of $10,000 in funding.
Among the panelists judging the pitch competition was Michael Ellenbogen ’86, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Evolv Technology. Ellenbogen was also named Colgate’s 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year.
Student entrepreneurs at the event emphasized the impact that TIA had on turning their ideas into a reality. Junior Harshitha Talasila, whose business venture looks at different ways of reducing food waste through composting, discussed her TIA experience.
“TIA provided the resources and mentorship to be able to follow this idea,” Talasila said. “This program allowed me to explore in a hands-on way — going out to do interviews, creating business models, meeting with stakeholders and considering business policies and their impacts. Being able to bounce ideas off of mentors and receive guidance from alumni who were in my position and who were passionate about helping students also helped to shape the creation of this idea.”
The most valuable impact that TIA has on its members varies from student to student. Senior Charlotte Prendergast, the creator of Trust Beverages, an omega-3 water designed to support digestive health and mental well-being, participated in the pitch competition.
“TIA has been instrumental in transforming my idea into a viable business,” Prendergast said. “They’ve taught me everything from customer research to scaling a business, but more importantly, they’ve helped me develop my public speaking and networking skills.”
The existence of TIA on Colgate’s campus provides students with an opportunity not available to many. First-year Henry Newhall, who is launching Mount Desert Moves, a company designed to provide residents with a first-class fitness experience without needing a traditional gym this summer, emphasized this possibility.
“TIA isn’t just a resource — it’s a launchpad,” Newhall said. “It’s rare to find a space on campus where creativity and business thinking are so closely connected. TIA gives students the tools and encouragement to turn ideas into real ventures, and the support doesn’t end when the workshop does. It’s a network.”
Sophomore Zaharah Fiorentinos, who took over the GateTVs venture after its previous student owners graduated, shared her first-hand experience.
“Being a Colgate student enabled me in my entrepreneurship journey to be provided with the opportunity of GateTVs in the first place,” Fiorentinos said. “This is not a business on other campuses, and I am so happy to have been presented with the opportunity to inherit such a wonderful business.”
The immense support of the alumni network and community was fully on display at the annual showcase. The alumni network maintains this devotion to Colgate students years after their own graduation, as Prendergast explained.
“The Colgate alumni network has opened doors for me to connect with alumni who are helping to build my business,” Prendergast said. “My company wouldn’t be where it is today without the mentors I’ve worked with through TIA, as well as the alumni connections I’ve made beyond the organization.”
TIA is not only for students who know they are interested in business, but also for those who are just considering it. The TIA showcase offered a fulfilling experience for students to cap off their year of hard work of creating and innovating.
