When you’re an aspiring entrepreneur trying to start a business in a dorm room, the “Zuckerberg Expectation” to launch a highly successful platform within a couple months feels incredibly intimidating. But for most start-ups that isn’t a reality, nor an expectation.
During the 2026 TIA Entrepreneur Showcase, the panel of distinguished and highly successful innovators sat down for a discussion to remind students that while success could be a straight line, it could also include twists and turns. The forum — moderated by Gus Coldebella ’91, chief legal officer at Castle Island Ventures—set out to answer the question top of mind of every young innovator: What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?
“Passion — tell that story with passion, as if it’s your most important thing in the world,” was the advice from Viraj Puri ’03.
Puri, who was named Colgate’s 2026 Entrepreneur of the Year, kickstarted the conversation with his own innovation journey. If his fraternity brothers were polled in 2003 about who would be the least likely to be a future showcase, Puri said he would surely top that list. However, in those two decades he has become an accomplished entrepreneur and innovator, transitioning from an internship on Wall Street to backpacking in the Himalayas, to eventually becoming co-founder and CEO of the lettuce production giant Gotham Greens.
Sitting next to Puri on stage was Sara Brooks, a University of California San Diego graduate and co-founder of Goldilocks with investing experience in well-known brands such as Olipop, Once Upon a Farm, and Magic Spoon. While Brooks built up experience in a variety of fields — from producing, to the beauty industry, to executive jobs — it was a chance encounter with a college acquaintance in New York City that thrust her into entrepreneurship. When the peer offered Brooks a job opportunity that she wasn’t initially interested in, Brooks took the leap, launching a successful career in PR and brand strategy.
Kevin Heffernan ’90, P’27 — writer, actor, director, and producer in the Broken Lizard Comedy Group — was introduced next. Perhaps best known for the 2001 cult classic comedy film Super Troopers, Heffernan comedically illustrated a path that started with founding the Charred Goosebeak comedy group at Colgate, moved through the Brooklyn Law School — including passing the bar exams in Connecticut and New York — and finally ended on the big screen. This journey was fueled by a distinct entrepreneurial drive; he and his team independently funded and sold their first film, a high-stakes move that bridged the gap between a student troupe and professional filmmaking. The Tacoma FD actor described laughing in a dorm room with friends and thinking, “Boy, that’s really funny. We should do something about it,” sparking both Colgate’s comedy improvisational troupe and a career defined by rigorous discipline. Heffernan emphasized that his success relied on a specific strategy: never losing focus on his audience — his customer — and constantly refining his work to make that group laugh, proving that, even in the creative arts, knowing your market is the key to scaling a vision into a Hollywood success.
The final panelist was Lila Sullivan ’17, president and co-founder of Flourish Plant. Sullivan started her company when a childhood friend approached her about creating a healthy, organic plant fertilizer. Since then, the business has achieved major milestones, including launching in Whole Foods and landing the founders on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. Sullivan has accomplished great feats with the help of the Colgate entrepreneurship alumni network along the way.
Despite having drastically different journeys, the four innovators all had one thing in common: a pivot. Puri wanted to start a solar company, Heffernan went to law school, Brooks dreamed of being a TV host, and Sullivan worked in executive recruiting. The panelists embraced these shifts, emphasizing that while a clear vision is vital, success ultimately requires constant adaptation and a DIY mentality.
“It’s focus, but also the humility to say, ‘Okay, something needs to change a little bit,’” explained Brooks on the ability to pivot.
She echoed this sentiment through an anecdote of a snack brand that struggled for a decade before pivoting to pasta — a move that eventually led them to outperform industry giants such as the Kraft Heinz Company. For these entrepreneurs, innovation does not result from following a rigid plan, but rather by learning from the market and shifting when necessary.
As the discussion shifted toward the future, the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) took center stage. The panelists considered both how AI can be useful for trivial tasks and harmful when deployed as a replacement for creativity. Heffernan provided a perspective from the creative arts, noting that while AI-generated scripts won’t make good comedy, machine learning is a tool that cannot be ignored.
“I think it’s important to maintain that personal human value, but it’s also an important tool to have, because the train’s coming down the tracks, it’s not going to stop, and we’re not going to go back to where we were. So, you guys have got to figure out how to use that as a tool,” said the actor.
To conclude the panel, the quartet offered a final piece of advice to the students currently sitting in those dorm rooms, feeling the weight of the next big idea. The experts emphasized telling a story, conveying passion, and communicating why a product is worth investment.
“The thing that makes a pitch stand out is why are you the person who’s going to solve that problem? And what is the proof that you have for me that’s going to make me really believe that you are the one to solve that problem?” Sullivan expressed to students.
The panel demonstrated that the path to innovation is less about instant genius and more about the grit developed through necessary course correction. Looking ahead, the judges encouraged students to embrace the curiosity to ask the right questions and the passion required to tell a compelling story.