Channel surfing? Catch these two Bryant alumni

January 13th, 2012

The elevator pitch is something every Bryant first-year student learns, and Dave Greco '00 will give the elevator pitch of his life on Jan. 27 when he tries to persuade a panel of investors to back his business idea on the ABC reality show Shark Tank.

"I beat out 30,000 other competitors to get on the show, had Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavs NBA team) eating out of the palm of my hand and told the gazillionare Daymond John (creator of FUBU 'For Us By Us' clothing) to be quiet because he was obnoxious — which had the producers screaming and laughing - that's never happened on the show before," Greco wrote in an e-mail about his experience as one of 20 contestants selected to appear in season three.

Greco, whose Bryant degrees are in marketing and computer information systems, will pitch his sales training method, The SalesPreneur, on the show, which begins at 8 p.m. (You can catch Greco in this network promo.)

Lessons from the "Tank"

No doubt Business 101 students taught by Lecturers David Greenan and Adam Rubin will be watching. Greenan and Rubin have used the show as a digital teaching tool, and last year students Skyped with a contestant with great success, Greenan said. "The students love the show because it allows them to see and evaluate new business ideas and get a better understanding of the pitch process," Rubin added.

From reality TV to telecom expertise

Another Bryant alumnus, Eric Handa '97, was featured recently in an interview on Fox Business.

Handa, who studied economics at Bryant and is an expert in global telecommunications, commented on a range of telecom trends in 2012, from giants AT&T and Verizon, to the countries he sees as ripe for growth: Mexico, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Nigeria.

Handa is cofounder and CEO of an industry consulting company and carrier, AP Telecom.

Keywords: alumni, Dave Greco, entrepreneurship, Eric Handa, In the News, telecommunication