Avani Modi Sarkar is the first entrepreneur-in-residence at Manhattan University’s O’Malley School of Business.
MANHATTAN.EDU / COURTESY
Emmanouel Sofillas, Sports Editor
This semester Manhattan University (MU) announced Avani Modi Sarkar has been named the first entrepreneur-in-residence at Manhattan University’s O’Malley School of Business (OMSB).
Sarkar brings two decades of marketing experience and firsthand knowledge of starting a company to her new position at the university. At MU, Sarkar will be focused on helping students turn ideas into businesses. In 2018, she co-founded her own company Modi Toys, a children’s brand centered around toys and books rooted in ancient Hindu culture.
Sarkar will work with the university’s entrepreneurship center and other campus partners, with an emphasis on mentoring students involved in the Innovation Challenge, an annual competition in which participants develop ideas for products and services.
Sarkar’s appointment gives students an opportunity to learn from a business owner who has lived experiences and has had to navigate the challenges of developing a product, finding customers and building a brand.
“I’ve been there, done that,” Sarkar said in the university’s announcement.
In the announcement, Sarkar describes how her past experience informs the guidance she hopes to offer students who are still figuring out how to develop an initial idea.
For students interested in entrepreneurship, the addition of someone with business experience could make the process of starting a company feel more approachable. The Innovation Challenge asks students to do more than come up with a creative concept; it encourages them to consider whether their ideas can work outside the classroom.
Ally Bennett, sophomore and marketing major at MU, spoke to The Quadrangle about Sarkar and her new position at the university.
“I think it’s easy to have an idea and think it sounds great, but it’s harder to know what comes next,” Bennett said. “Having somebody who has actually started a business could help students understand what they’re missing and what questions they should be asking.”
In addition to working with students, Sarkar is expected to collaborate with faculty and campus leaders through the Entrepreneurship Center. The position is supported by Mike Kelly, ’80, a member of the OMSB Advisory Board, whose investments have supported the center.
Grishma Shah, interim dean of the OMSB, noted in the university announcement that Sarkar’s experience starting and running a company, along with her persistence during setbacks, would be valuable to students. Shah also stated that the appointment would raise awareness of entrepreneurship programming connected to the university’s ARCH initiatives.
The university’s existing entrepreneurship opportunities extend beyond business majors. The Entrepreneurs at MU program brings business and engineering students together to work on product development, finances and business strategy. The Innovation Challenge also provides a pathway to the Battle of the Bronx, a pitch competition involving competing student teams from MU and Fordham University.
To Jordan Rivera, freshman mechanical engineering major at MU, the program having broader accesses is important. Rivera told The Quadrangle that a promising product idea does not necessarily mean knowing how to market it.
“Engineering students spend a lot of time figuring out how to make something work, but we don’t always know how to turn that into a business,” Rivera said. “I would want advice about talking to customers, setting a price and explaining why an idea is worth investing in.”
Later, Rivera commented on how collaboration between students in different majors could help teams identify weaknesses in their proposals earlier, especially when technical and financial questions need to be considered together.
Notably, Sarkar’s own career reflects the uncertainty that can come with entrepreneurship. In a 2023 Rutgers Business School publication, Sarkar described deciding to leave corporate work behind and concentrate on her company after years in marketing.
“I decided to quit corporate America and focus on Modi Toys full time,” Sarkar told Rutgers.
Sarkar’s experience also includes learning when to seek advice, a lesson she wants to bring into the new role.
“I know how much a little guidance at that stage matters,” Sarkar said in the university announcement.
As Sarkar begins working with the campus community, students will have a new resource for moving beyond the initial excitement of an idea, toward the decisions required to put it into practice. The role places mentorship at the center of the university’s efforts to connect classroom learning with entrepreneurship.