HOW DID THEY DO IT?

A closer look at the careers of five of the most famous entrepreneurs reveals a
non-linear career trajectory and a pattern of big breaks:

RICHARD BRANSONS
fledgling recording studio
changed forever when his
sound engineer introduced
him to a demo tape of
Mike Oldfield.

After his first successful

venture, MARK CUBAN
reconnected with Todd
Wagner, a college
classmate, who proposed
the idea of streaming sports
on the internet. Five years
later Broadcast.com sold
for $5.8 billion.

ELON MUSK meets

Aerospace Engineer Jim
Cantrell who opened up
his network of rocketeers
to enable the SpaceX
vision to become a reality.

5
STUDENT SUCCESS
A Program Creating Big Breaks

GROWTH
EXECUTIVES

FUNDERS

FOUNDERS

6
IDENTIFYING UNCS TOP
STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS
In the Fall of 2016, we received 95 applications from undergraduate juniors and first year graduate students.
The application consisted of a letter of reference, a resume, and essay questions about career goals,
leadership strengths and weaknesses, the role of mentorship in their lives, personal values and
entrepreneurial mission.

Through a multi-round interview, which included Adams Advisors interviewing candidates at the Fall
Conference, 30 students were selected for the 2017 program, including 16 graduate students across three
schools (MBA, Public Health, and Law) and 14 undergraduate students (across ten majors). Additionally, we
have 37% women and 50% minorities in this year's class.

The selection criteria is based on students strengths across the following areas:
Entrepreneurial ability
Leadership ability
Commitment to the Adams Program

As the newest members of the Adams Apprenticeship, the 2017 class of apprentices
are now part of the lifelong network. Congratulations!

Learning lessons from the football team, 2016 Adams Forum

7
ADAMS CLASS OF 2017
Sophia Alvarez
1st Year Graduate Student from Miami, FL
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Entrepreneurship and
Operations
Julian Boyd
1st Year Graduate Student from Memphis, TN
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Entrepreneurship
Armando Chekerdemian
1st Year Graduate Student from Sao Paulo
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Corporate Finance
Alina Clarke
1st Year Graduate Student from Raleigh, NC
Gillings School of Global Public Health.
MSPH, Health Policy and Management
Matthew Dallhoff
1st Year Graduate Student from Burke, VA
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Marketing and Entrepreneurship 1st Year Graduate Student from Los Angeles, CA
Madrid Danner-Smith
Undergraduate Junior from Newark NJ
Interdisciplinary Studies, User Interface Design 1st Year Graduate Student from Durham, NC
Amela Dybeli
1st Year Graduate Student from Tirana, Albania
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Marketing
Tanyi Fuoching
1st Year Graduate Student from Cameroon
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Healthcare
Karla Garcia
Undergraduate Junior from Dallas, Texas
UNC Honors College, Public Policy
Irenie Habib
1st Year Graduate Student from Cairo, Egypt
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Entrepreneurship and
Operations
Destiny Harrell
Undergraduate Junior from Gastonia, NC
Kenan-Flagler, Computer Science
Alexandra Hehlen
Undergraduate Junior from Los Alamos, NM
UNC School of Media and Journalism and
Kenan-Flagler, Reporting
Josh Jackson
Undergraduate Junior from High Point, NC
Pre-Business, Entrepreneurship and Corporate
Finance
Ray Jang
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Finance and Entrepreneurship
Brittany Kielhurn
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Abhishek Kumar
1st Year Graduate Student from Manhattan, Kansas
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Capital Markets and
Investments, Entrepreneurship
Sami Lachgar
Undergraduate Junior from Winston Salem, NC
Kenan-Flagler, Business Administration
8
ADAMS CLASS OF 2017
Luke Lechner
Undergraduate Junior from Asheville, NC
College of Arts and Sciences, Communications
Kristen Lee
Undergraduate Junior from Chapel Hill, NC
Kenan-Flagler, Food Systems Planning
Garrett Locklear
Undergraduate Junior from Winston Salem, NC
College of Arts and Sciences, Peace War and
Defense
Nina Luker
Undergraduate Junior from Radnor, PA
School of Media and Journalism, Advertising
David Mansor
1st Year Graduate Student from White Plains, NY
J.D. School of Law, Business Transactions
Harry Masters
1st Year Graduate Student from Paget, Bermuda
Kenan-Flagler MBA; Master of Environmental
Management (Duke Nicholas School), Corporate
Finance
Taylor Meyer
1st Year Graduate Student from Raleigh, NC
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Entrepreneurship
Chijioge Nwogu
1st Year Graduate Student from Bronx, NY
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Entrepreneurship and Marketing
Nash Prince
1st Year Graduate Student from Woodbury, NY
Kenan-Flagler MBA, Product Management and
Entrepreneurship
Andrew Skinner
Undergraduate Junior from Clayton, GA
Kenan-Flagler, Entrepreneurship
Tyler Tonnesen
Undergraduate Junior from Kitty Hawk, NC
Kenan-Flagler, Business Administration
Damian Walker
Undergraduate Junior from Charlotte, NC
Kenan-Flagler, Business Administration
Sophie Whelchel
Undergraduate Junior from Asheville, NC
College of Arts and Sciences, Global Studies
and Womens Studies