Pete Kistler, Robert Sherman and Trace Cohen spent a few sleepless nights before heading to New York City this past weekend for the Kairos Summit, which is planned to be held annually.

They found out only one week ago that their company, Brand-Yourself.com, was named to the Top 100 Most Innovative Student Companies by the Kairos Society, a nonprofit organization that recognizes student entrepreneurship. At the Friday and Saturday summit, the three Syracuse University students won an award for ‘best marketing’ – one of 12 awards given out.

The trio of SU students got together about 18 months ago to create the idea for the Web site. Their project – Brand-Yourself.com – launched in March. The Web site aims to help students build personal and professional Web sites to establish an online brand. The site contains materials like articles, resume templates, and cover letter and interview tips, Sherman said.

‘People fell in love with the idea,’ said Sherman, a senior entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises, finance, and information management and technology major. ‘We just feel so honored and completely energized.’

The summit brought together students and entrepreneurs, as well as investors from around the world. Former President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates Sr. both delivered speeches via video stream, and a dozen other speakers came to give their talks live.

Kistler, a co-founder of Brand-Yourself.com and a junior information management and technology major, said part of the site’s goal is to create a good image for someone on the Web. Employers now often Google a prospective employee’s name to see what shows up.

The SU students were able to share their site with the creators of the other Top 100 companies at the Kairos Summit. Investors were able to see the up-and-coming companies they could possibly invest in for the future, Kistler said.

‘This event was a way for true innovators who are doing great work to take a look at what we are doing,’ he said.

The students plan to present their ideas to career development centers at universities across the country, and they have already started working with the career center at SU.

This summer, they will open a company office in downtown Syracuse at the Syracuse Technology Garden. Their next step is to look for investors, hire programmers and interns, and put up new tools to help job seekers.

‘I think the best part about the weekend was being a part of a group of forward thinkers, being able to share our ideas and the invaluable opportunities that were brought in to the summit from across the globe,’ Sherman said. ‘We’ve been presented with such a great opportunity.’

rltoback@syr.edu

Published on April 5, 2009 at 12:00 pm