“It’s rewarding to guide students through the process — from
tenant guarantees. The business blossomed, and Williams sold
the original idea to harvesting their efforts. I tell my students
for double the money. His next business — a partnership —
they should study to be an entrepreneur whether they plan to
rented furniture to Rutgers students.
be one or not, because they just might need to.”
Since then, Williams has taught at McGill University in Mon-
He was a 10-year-old paper boy when he learned his first les-
treal and at Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Engineering
son in business. “I had to collect money every month. I learned
— and has gained a wealth of corporate experience as chair-
pretty quickly to go on the 25th because my customers might
man, CEO, and president, in venture capitalist and investment
have moved on by the first of the month.” During college, he
firms. Williams, who was ranked by BusinessWeek as the
had a computer consulting company, then later worked for
second best entrepreneurship professor in the country in 1996, now limits his entrepreneurial activities to investments and projects with former students.
students are looking reneurial opportunities.
”
Conoco for seven years. While at the University of Texas working on his PhD, he observed other professors working as consultants, decided that was a good idea, and ended up owning
a consulting company with 15 full-time employees. He owned
Napier & Judd, Inc., a computer consulting company that also offered training services and composed software manuals.
With over 60 books published and 20 years in the business, Napier sold it to his partner in 2001.
Williams credits Heights grocer Carl Cohen with setting him on an entrepreneurial path early in life. Williams would ac-
company his father to Mexico and bring back merchandise to sell in front of Cohen’s store. Cohen spotted his natural ability to sell, but he turned down an opportunity to go into the grocery business. “The economics didn’t impress me nearly like selling $20 worth of curios for $50. I had to go with the greater profit margin.” After studying economics and finance in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and getting his doctorate at the University of Texas in 1968 he started to teach in the economics department at Rutgers. Practicing the 20 percent rule, living on 20 percent of earnings and saving the rest, he prepared for his next endeavor. While in New Jersey, Williams put $5,000 down on three quadplexes in an economically distressed part of town and negotiated with the county to secure
Vision for the future
Although Williams and Napier are proud to be recognized for their personal successes as well as developing an entrepreneurship program ranked among the nation’s top five, they aren’t content to rest on their laurels. “With the economy in a downturn, students are looking more carefully than ever at entrepreneurial opportunities,” Williams says. “People like independence, and nobody knows what the future holds.” They have been committed to supporting new entrepreneurial resources for students and alumni, including a growing initiative — the Jones Graduate School Entrepreneurs Organization (JGSEO) — which brings together alumni who are entrepreneurs to network and collaborate with each other and to mentor current students and other alumni. They recognize the current economic situation is helpful to entrepreneurship, but both men are less sanguine about the future of entrepreneurship programs. They worry that down the road, schools won’t be able to find academically-certified people who can effectively teach courses from their practical experience. “Many business schools are adopting the philosophy that programs can be run by pure academics, or ‘theoretical entrepreneurs’,” comments Williams. Napier agrees. “Not everybody who is a successful entrepreneur can teach because they lack the necessary communications skills.” Which is why Williams and Napier continue to be heavily involved with mentoring alumni and keeping their eyes out for entrepreneurs with the talent to teach. Both men have a vested interest in seeing the program thrive. “This will be our legacy,” Williams says. “Every large company started with an entrepreneur. Every organization, school, or program had an entrepreneur behind it, too.”
Jones Journal Spring 2010 31