Entrepreneurship Alumni Network
Welcome to the Entrepreneurship Alumni Network
On behalf of the Baiada Institute and Charles D. Close School graduates who have preceded you, congratulations on earning your Drexel degree! Now join entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship graduates worldwide who already benefit from our Entrepreneurship Alumni Network programs and services. You can attend events – both in-person and online – and take advantage of alumni perks offered by University departments and our corporate partners.
Whatever your background, find what interests you in the world of Entrepreneurship and stay connected!
Join Our Dragon Network
Dragon Network is Drexel University’s online professional community for alumni and students. This platform was created to facilitate career-focused conversations, provide meaningful opportunities to give back and unite Dragons from around the world — one connection at a time.
Check out our Dragon Network!
Get Involved
Baiada alumni can stay connected to the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Drexel through many ways. We have programs to match you with a Baiada mentor or mentee, opportunities for your startup to sponsor or present during an event and other fun ways to get involved with Drexel.
Become a Mentor
Sponsor an Event
Speak at an Event
Leadership
Philadelphia
John Kang, '94
Christina Flory, '10
Northern California
Billy Brandreth '93, Joshua Amrani '11, KJ Dhaliwal '13, Mare Lucas '88, Dipak Patel '96, Joe Philip '01, Stefan Seltz-Axmacher '12, Tony Stolis '87
Southern California
Joe Dillon '91
Austin, TX
Bob Knorr '83, Michael Baselice '83
Upcoming Events
TBA
Startup Tree
Explore and connect with companies incubated in Drexel University's Baiada Institute on StartupTree. Whether it's finding resources, communicating with team members, or staying in the know with fellow Baiada businesses, StartupTree provides the easiest way to manage, track, and support founders and startups in your network.
Create A Startup Tree Profile
Online Networks
Join our social media networks to connect with classmates and get the most up-to-date happenings from Drexel.
LinkedIn – Make the Drexel University Alumni Networking Group on LinkedIn your number one professional networking tool.
Facebook – Connect with Drexel grads through the most popular networking site in the world.
Twitter – Stay in the loop in 140 characters or less!
Instagram – Through pictures and short videos, this is a fun way to see what’s going on with the Alumni Association and to keep in touch with the University.
YouTube – Watch videos from Close School alumni, students, faculty, and staff.
(link to close school profiles)
View our Drexel Alumni Webpage
Event Photos
View Philadelphia EAN Gallery
View Northern California Gallery
Other Alumni Resources
Virtual Mentorship
Current or former Drexel students can give or get insights on the 1 Minute Mentor platform - an asynchronous platform designed to capture lessons learned by experienced alumni. Virtual mentors provide the valuable lessons they’ve learned in life by recording brief, video responses to questions commonly asked by first time entrepreneurs. Aspiring entrepreneurs can then access relevant insights provided by these experienced entrepreneurs on a 24/7 basis.
Note-able Alumni Company Profile
GoPuff
Gopuff was founded in 2013 by Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola, two Drexel University sophomores determined to find a more efficient way to stock their college townhouse with snacks and other household items. Within three months, the pair had successfully launched their app-based delivery service and were conveying dorm-room essentials around campus from the back of a Plymouth Voyager, saving their busy Drexel classmates unnecessary trips to the store.
Today, the Philadelphia-based Gopuff boasts hundreds of micro-fulfillment centers and BevMo! stores in cities across the United States. In 2019, co-founders and co-CEOs Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola received the Drexel University’s Close School of Entrepreneurship Founders Award. And, in 2020, Gopuff announced it was establishing a $25,000 scholarship with the Close School of Entrepreneurship to help encourage and support future Drexel student entrepreneurs. Gopuff was also named to CNBC’s Top 50 Disruptors list in 2020 and 2021. They also won an award for Best CEOs for Diversity 2021 from Comparably.
PurpleCloud
https://purplecloudtech.com/
Adria Bagdonavicius, CEO & Co-Founder of PurpleCloud, started her company to fill the gaps and inefficiencies she saw created by legacy IT infrastructures in the hospitality industry during her coop experience at Drexel. PurpleCloud is a team and service optimization software platform that can help hotel operators increase productivity and decrease labor costs while enhancing customer experience. PurpleCloud’s platform is scalable and customizable, with a proven return on investment for hotels. In addition to being a successful Drexel entrepreneur, Adria’s involvement with Drexel has come full circle as PurpleCloud participates in Drexel’s coops program which helps shape our future entrepreneurs.
View Alumni Website