Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN) brings you together with Cornellians who have the knowledge you need, and creates the chance for you to talk face to face. Network with us if you

  • need to tip your vision into action, connect with key players, or stimulate your next phase.
  • own a start-up, want the secrets of success so you can skip the pain points, or are looking for an angel investor.
  • want to rub elbows with potential future partners, meet true unicorns, or get tips on how to pitch your big idea.

CEN brings together people who get it because they’ve been where you are before: CEOs, serial entrepreneurs, and the experts who wrote the book on how to succeed. They’re not just CEN speakers; they’re members of our audience. And maybe they could be your future mentors, partners, or friends.

Since 2001, CEN has gathered over 50,000 attendees, in dozens of cities around the country and globe, as well as online. We are backed by a generous gift from the mega-successful founders of Ascend Communications, Rob ’69 and Terry ’69 Ryan, who are dedicated to promoting Cornell’s entrepreneurs. CEN has been profiled in Forbes for featuring speakers like Niraj S. Shah ’95 and Steve Conine ’95, CEOs and co-founders of Wayfair, Adele Oliva MBA ’93, Partner at 1315 Capital, and Scott Belsky ’02, founder of Behance and venture partner for Benchmark Capital, to name a few.

 

CEN Benefactors

CEN would not have gotten such a powerful start without the enthusiasm, commitment, and support of Rob ’69 and Terry ’69 Ryan. IN 1989, Rob and Terry founded Ascend Communications, which eventually became one of the most successful companies of the Internet revolution. The company grew to over $2 billion in revenues (and profits) with over 4,000 people and was sold to Lucent in 1999. Since then, Rob and Terry have devoted themselves to giving something back to America, to entrepreneurship, and to Cornell. Their organization, Entrepreneur America, mentors hi-tech startups both at Cornell and around the country. In funding CEN, it was their hope that CEN would be a resource to alumni as they pursue their visions of success.