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Planting fake customer reviews hurts businesses big time

Katelynn C Hipolito — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:13:22 +0000

Planting fake customer reviews hurts businesses big time Katelynn C Hipolito Tue, 08/18/2026 - 11:13

The capital of any business comes in (at least) two categories.

There’s the kind that has a price—land, cash holdings, etc.—and a less tangible, priceless kind. Reputational capital falls squarely into the latter category. Try as they might, companies cannot buy positive public opinion, even with the largest of marketing budgets. But that doesn’t prevent some from engaging in dark marketing tactics, such as planting or buying fake “customer reviews” on influential platforms like Yelp and Amazon. Crossing that line can backfire if the company is caught. When its ethical lapses are brought to light, the company undergoes reputational damage, essentially auto-cannibalizing some of its intangible capital.

Yi Cao, assistant professor of accounting at Costello College of Business at ��ɫ��Ƶ. Photo provided by Yi Cao.

And that bite stings more, and for longer, than you might think, suggests a recently published working paper from Yi Cao, assistant professor of accounting at Costello College of Business at ��ɫ��Ƶ. The research plumbs the financial consequences of flagged false reviews on crowdsourcing platform Yelp, a key reputational broker for local businesses throughout the United States.

The paper was co-authored by Sean Wang (formerly of Southern Methodist University), John Bai of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Chi Wan of San Diego State University.

To punish businesses that it deems guilty of gaming the customer-review system, Yelp places a prominent “Consumer Alert” banner on all of their associated listing pages. These are typically 90-day penalties. (As of 2023, more than 4,900 businesses had been disciplined on Yelp in this way.)

“We don’t know every signal Yelp uses to identify fake or paid-for reviews, but from what we know, Yelp relies substantially on reports from consumers and business owners,” says Cao. “There are also reports that they also have an algorithm running in the background to screen reviews for AI-generated language—which is a sign of possible review inflation.”

The researchers accessed Yelp data for the years 2019 to 2024—288,426 firm-month observations in all, including 16,837 observations of flagged firms and their demand-side peers, during the six months surrounding an alert. They analyzed this data-set alongside monthly foot traffic reports for the observed businesses from global location data firm SafeGraph. For some of the businesses, they were also able to obtain credit card transaction data through Consumer Edge, a customer intelligence company.

Cross-referencing these three data sources, the researchers traced the rise and fall of businesses fingered for false reviews. The general demand premium for businesses with a high proportion of four- and five-star reviews equates to about 2.9 percent more foot traffic than lower-reputation rivals in their local area. This difference in demand is one objective way to measure the material benefits of intangible capital.

“This is a classical theory of a trade-off between the benefits of manipulating reputation and the risks of getting caught,” says Cao. “When the risk is relatively low, the business owners decide the incremental benefits are worth the risk.”

Once publicly censured by the platform, however, businesses endured a surprisingly durable—and measurable—dip in demand. Almost immediately upon exposure, foot traffic went down by eight percent on average relative to matched peers, a stark indicator of reputational collapse that was mirrored in the credit card transaction data (an even better reflection of bottom-line outcomes). The decline was greater under conditions of so-called “intermediation intensity,” such as holiday periods when consumers were more reliant on the intermediary (Yelp) to help them plan their free time.

What’s more, the demand penalty outlasted not only the 90-day alert itself, but also (in many cases) the multi-year observation period of the research study. On the whole, foot traffic estimates for the censured group of businesses were still well below pre-alert levels even after a year and a half, implying recovery was nowhere on the horizon.

Part of the problem, the researchers found, is that the manipulated-review alert instantly degrades the informational environment on Yelp around that business. In other words, fewer reviews are posted, and those that do go up tend to be more negative on average. This makes it harder for businesses to rebuild their reputation by offering positive trustworthy signals.

For Cao, the research points to a basic conundrum that has worsened in the digital age: Once depleted, intangible capital is very difficult to restore. “Businesses nowadays heavily rely on digital platforms such as Yelp and YouTube,” he says. “Because the information reaches so many different corners, they are so widespread that you cannot ignore them. This increases not only the benefit of high performance, but also the reputational penalty if you are found manipulating your content.”

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Sustainability commitments have serious consequences

Katelynn C Hipolito — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 17:29:09 +0000

Sustainability commitments have serious consequences Katelynn C Hipolito Fri, 08/07/2026 - 13:29

Amid increasingly stiff competition for capital, one way for a business to stand out is to make strong social impact pledges.

Yi Cao, assistant professor of accounting at Costello College of Business at ��ɫ��Ƶ. Photo provided by Yi Cao.

For example, companies can voluntarily commit to environmental impact goals in hopes of attracting sustainability-minded investors and lowering cost of capital. However, it isn’t easy to tell whether these commitments, in and of themselves, make a difference to the marketplace—or, for that matter, to the planet.

“In regular settings, it’s really hard to evaluate the real economic effect of providing environmental commitments, and also establish that in making the commitment, the company is catering to real stakeholder preferences as opposed to their own idiosyncratic preferences,” says Yi Cao, assistant professor of accounting at Costello College of Business at ��ɫ��Ƶ.

Cao’s paper in Review of Accounting Studies capitalizes on a unique setting that helps isolate the impact of environmental commitments. It was co-authored by John (Jianqiu) Bai of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Xiumin Martin of Washington University in St. Louis, and Chi Wan of San Diego State University. In 2018, leading crowdfunding platform Kickstarter added an optional “Environmental Commitments” section to project pages where creators could post about their sustainable practices (e.g., responsible sourcing, recyclable packaging, and/or low-emission manufacturing). The new feature was rolled out gradually across product categories, enabling the researchers to compare not only project-to-project differences, but also overall changes within entire Kickstarter verticals.

The researchers scraped information from Kickstarter pages to form a data-set comprising 173,874 observations of unique projects during the years 2016 to 2021. They also gathered data on a host of outcome variables, such as whether the project was successfully funded, how much money each project ultimately raised, how long it took for fully funded creators to deliver products to backers, etc.

The researchers found that, on average, about one-third of creators chose to declare an environmental commitment once doing so became possible in their category. Several of the largest categories (e.g., Design, Technology and Games) saw significantly higher take-up rates.

On the whole, projects that included environmental commitments were 13.2 percent more likely to be funded and increased the pledged amount relative to the funding goal by 8.7 percent.

Using Google BERT, a natural language processing model, the research team separated projects into two categories: those with largely local appeal, and those with a national market base. “We pre-trained the AI with all projects from 2010 to 2016 that had at least 50 backers, and measured the geographic dispersion of these projects’ backers traced by their IP address,” Cao explains.

The purpose was to spare the human researchers the tedious and painstaking work of hand-classifying every project in the data-set. The BERT results showed that national projects with eco-commitments received 62.2 percent more backers from more environmentally aware states—that is, states whose residents reported above-average levels of concern about climate change on the Yale Climate Opinion Maps—than local projects that had made eco-pledges.

For Cao, these findings add crucial nuance to the general idea that pledges of social responsibility help attract capital. In the Kickstarter example, projects of national scale benefited much more from eco-commitment because they were pitched to a larger and more diverse backer base, including environmentally aware consumers from other states.

Additionally, projects offering physical products, as opposed to intangible services, confronted tougher economic trade-offs resulting from e-commitment. “First and foremost, the Kickstarter creators want to know whether [e-commitment] will benefit them,” Cao says. “Because this is pretty costly, based on our analysis. It delays delivery and increases costs, because recycled and other eco-friendly materials, for example, are a little bit more expensive.”

The fact that entrepreneurs were clearly grappling with these economic challenges suggests that e-commitment amounts to more than mere “greenwashing.” “We find consistent evidence that when these small businesses are trying to access environmentally aware consumers through e-commitment, they do incur cost. It isn’t cheap talk. And that means that consumers are attracted by a genuine commitment, rather than lip service or a nice-sounding pitch,” Cao says.

In sum, Kickstarter’s e-commitment feature was a net improvement for the ecosystem, giving creators (especially those with national aspirations) access to an untapped source of consumer demand—namely, environmental awareness. At the same time, creators had to weigh the financial benefit against the increased costs of making good on environmental commitments.

Cao suspects that the same basic rules might apply to other types of pledges related to issues that animate large groups of consumers. “For example, AI is especially polarizing nowadays. You could appeal to consumers or investors who are polarized against the technology with a declaration that no AI was used in the creation of a product, etc. It could be anything where there are differing preferences, and a broader impact on the social perception of those preferences,” he says.

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Experiential learning fuels veteran’s entrepreneurial success

Katelynn C Hipolito — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:33:42 +0000

Experiential learning fuels veteran’s entrepreneurial success Katelynn C Hipolito Tue, 07/14/2026 - 11:33

Bailey Mahoney, MBA '26, presenting at the Patriot Pitch Competition. Photo by John Boal Photography.

“I think it's the real American dream to have something of your own, build something of your own,” says Bailey Mahoney, MBA '26. He grew up witnessing firsthand not only what could be built but also the freedom it created, as his father, who owned an electrical contracting business, always made time to be present for the important moments in his life. Without even realizing it, Mahoney found his first business mentor in his father.

Bailey Mahoney, MBA '26. Photo by Denise Van Photography.

After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Mahoney was looking for his next chapter. He began working for a company but soon realized that the corporate environment did not empower the kind of independent, mission-aligned decision-making on which he had thrived on in uniform.

When his constructive input on improving company culture went unheeded, it only strengthened his resolve. “If the CEO is not going to listen to me when I’m providing some advice that I know could have a meaningful impact on the culture of the company, let me go build my own,” he says.

“I think it's the real American dream to have something of your own, build something of your own,”

— Bailey Mahoney, MBA ‘26.

Rather than feeling dejected, he was inspired to found Pathfinder Federal Solutions, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business delivering federal business development consulting and mission-focused management support to defense agencies and the broader federal market. Months before launching the business, he had enrolled in the Costello MBA program at ��ɫ��Ƶ.

“The MBA was very helpful in that, even if it wasn’t directly related to entrepreneurship, all of the classes that I took touched a little piece of the C-suite,” he says. Several of the courses and programs were instrumental in helping him develop and launch his newest venture, AgentForge, Inc.—a defense tech startup building an agentic artificial intelligence (AI) platform for defense and national security.

(left to right) The Patriot, Gurdip Singh, divisional dean of the School of Computing in the College of Engineering and Computing, Bailey Mahoney, MBA '26, Cheryl Druehl, Interim Dean. Photo by John Boal Photography.

In the semester leading up to graduation, AgentForge and Mahoney received a major boost when he won $8,000 for first place in the Innovative Ideas track of the Patriot Pitch Competition. “There were so many added benefits outside of just the prize money that I didn't even realize were a part of it,” he says.

He says he felt fortunate to be assigned Scott Hine, BS Decision Science ‘85, as his Patriot Pitch mentor. “He had made it pretty much to the highest civilian level that you can within the Department of War and then transferred over into the Department of Energy,” says Mahoney. “He was super familiar with our target customer and how to sell to them and how to get in front of them. A few years ago, when he was still working for the federal government, he would have been one of the folks that I am approaching now to sell our products to.”

Mahoney had been encouraged to enter Patriot Pitch by Skip West, the instructor of the Turning Ideas into Successful Companies MBA elective, also known as “Geeks to Gazillionaires.” Drawing on his experience and hard-earned insights, West played a key role in shaping the core of AgentForge.

Additionally, the Innovation and Design Lab for Business and Government elective—taught by Ioannis Bellos, MBA program director, and Natalie Foley, adjunct professor—immersed Mahoney in hands-on, experiential learning, challenging him to make decisions for a nonprofit organization. The course provided a valuable perspective on what it takes to run a successful business.

Experiential learning courses like these provided him with the opportunity to move his learning beyond the classroom, test ideas, and navigate challenges, translating concepts learned into meaningful impact.

Armed with these insights, invaluable mentor feedback, and the momentum from his Patriot Pitch prize victory, Mahoney is now focused on scaling AgentForge to deliver cutting-edge agentic AI capabilities that enhance mission effectiveness for defense and national security stakeholders. His journey exemplifies how George Mason’s experiential programs turn ambitious ideas into ventures with real-world impact.

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George Mason alum wants coffee to create intentional moments of rest

Katarina Benson — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 20:15:08 +0000

George Mason alum wants coffee to create intentional moments of rest Katarina Benson Wed, 02/18/2026 - 15:15

Michael J. A. Davis, BA Integrative Studies ’09, roasts coffee using the time-honored pan-roasting tradition of beans tumbling in a pan as the smoke rises like incense. What once fueled his long workdays eventually became his antidote to corporate burnout. In fall of 2024, he brought that transformation back to ��ɫ��Ƶ in a bag labeled “Brave & Bold.”

After Davis graduated from George Mason in 2009, he began working in corporate branding for government and public and private sectors. Over time, his work evolved to sit at the intersection of branding and inclusion, helping Fortune 500 companies think through equitable design.

Davis created a special flavor for George Mason, called Brave & Bold. Photo provided

“Through all of those projects, coffee became like a battery pack to keep me awake, productive, and delivering on time,” said Davis. “That's how a lot of us in the Western hemisphere kind of relate to coffee.”

That relationship shifted in 2015, when Davis first encountered the pan-roasted coffee in the back kitchen of an Ethiopian café in Falls Church, Virginia. Watching the beans being roasted in small batches made coffee feel less like a commodity and more like an art. That visit sent Davis on a journey into coffee’s deeper history.

“Through research, conversations with friends of the Ethiopian and Somali communities in Virginia, and time spent learning from family members in the countryside of the Dominican Republic, I came to understand coffee’s long history of traditional roasting and brewing is very much alive,” said Davis. “These communities don’t treat coffee as something to rush through; it’s intentional, it’s communal.”

As his corporate career intensified, coffee became a grounding ritual. Working as a consultant, Davis spent his days in what he recalled were emotionally draining conversations with executives while advocating for marginalized communities.

“Those conversations really beat me up and really took a toll on my mental health and my emotional health,” said Davis. “But during those years, roasting coffee was a ritual of rest for me.”

After leaving the corporate world in 2023, Davis founded Tinycup Coffee to share the idea that coffee is much more than fuel for productivity.

"Tinycup preserves this long history of coffee in Black and Brown communities in the global south by teaching Western coffee drinkers to change their relationship with coffee,” said Davis. “Our mission is to help coffee lovers to experience coffee, not as fuel to power through the Monday morning grind, but as a ritual of rest and restoration.”

In summer of 2024, Davis partnered with George Mason to create a co-branded coffee. He tested his flagship Tinycup roast with members of the George Mason community, refining the flavors to reflect the university’s character. From there, he turned to branding, naming it “Brave & Bold: The Patriot Roast” in collaboration with David Atkins, executive director of brand development and licensing at George Mason’s Office of University Branding, who initially introduced the co-branding opportunity to Tinycup.

TinyCup coffee is pan-roasted, a specific technique. Photo provided

For Davis, the name nods to George Mason’s history while centering on the community who carries that legacy forward, and he hopes Tinycup becomes a reminder that being “Brave & Bold” can also mean choosing rest.

For students considering becoming an entrepreneur, Davis shares some advice he wishes someone had told him: “Don’t let hustle culture convince you that rest is ‘lazy’—protect your energy like it’s the most important asset you have. You have more time than you think, so give yourself permission to step back, breathe, restore—those quiet moments are what keep your creativity, joy, and heart alive and well for the long term.”

Brave & Bold: The Patriot Roast coffee blend can be found online and at on-campus convenience stores. A percentage of sales is returned to the university.

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Guiding innovation: Meet the George Mason mentors helping entrepreneurs turn ideas into impact

ckearney — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 19:31:31 +0000

Guiding innovation: Meet the George Mason mentors helping entrepreneurs turn ideas into impact ckearney Wed, 10/08/2025 - 15:31

In the heart of Northern Virginia’s Innovation District, you can feel the buzz of ideas turning into action. Labs hum with experiments, whiteboards fill with sketches of prototypes, and the seeds of new ventures begin to grow. Guiding these entrepreneurs and inventors are TJ Master and Elizabeth Pyle, mentors with the Virginia Small Business Development Center’s (SBDC) Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP).

TJ Master. Photo provided

Their job? Helping early-stage entrepreneurs transform vision into viable business strategy.

For both Master and Pyle, mentoring is more than advising—it’s about meeting founders where they are, asking tough questions, and helping them navigate the uncertain early stages of growth.

“I’m a go-to-market expert,” Master said, describing his background that spans Business-to-Consumer, Business-to-Business, and Business-to-Government sectors. “At ICAP, I work with teams from ideation through scaling. Most teams come in with an idea of their initial market and value proposition—I help them test those assumptions and figure out how to turn early interest into a go-to-market plan that makes sense.”

Master’s experience is hard-earned. He helped lead a global communications company from start-up to more than $100 million in annual revenue across six countries—culminating in a NASDAQ IPO. Now, his focus is on using that experience to fuel others’ success. “Working within a community of peers fosters collaboration and shared learning,” he said. “Founders get access to objective guidance in a space where everyone’s trying to solve similar problems.”

For Pyle, mentorship has always been about helping ideas find traction in the real world. Over the past two decades, she’s worked with start-ups and growth-stage companies in tech and health care, supporting founders as they turn ideas into sustainable businesses.

Elizabeth Pyle. Photo provided

As chief operating officer of Aperiomics, Pyle led operations and regulatory strategy. Before that, she helped shape the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the University of Virginia (UVA), directing the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps site program and serving as associate director for technology entrepreneurship at UVA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Today, through her consulting firm, Pyle & Associates, she supports companies across industries in interim leadership roles. At ICAP, “I typically work with first-time founders and later-stage teams, faculty spinouts, and start-up to early-stage companies in life sciences, tech-enabled, and government-adjacent sectors,” Pyle said. “My focus is helping them optimize business models, prepare for funding, and build teams that can execute.”

Both mentors say that while funding is often the first thing founders mention as a challenge, it’s not the only hurdle.

“Many teams haven’t deeply defined the problem they’re trying to solve,” Pyle said. “They focus on the technology instead of the customer’s pain. What they really need to do is set the tech aside and validate the problem—understand who has it, what it looks like, and how it affects workflow.”

Hiring and limited lab space can also slow momentum.

Still, for both mentors, the region’s innovation energy is unmistakable. New initiatives like Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Lab-to-Launch program, which aims to streamline commercialization processes across Virginia’s universities, promise to make it even easier for entrepreneurs to turn ideas into impact.

“It’s an exciting initiative,” Master said. “It introduces a transparent and founder-friendly approach to licensing and tech transfer across the state, helping both researchers and entrepreneurs move their products forward faster.”

And while the innovation landscape is changing—particularly with artificial intelligence accelerating product development and investor expectations—Master sees opportunity in the shift. “Investors are asking for stronger growth signals earlier,” he said. “AI raises the bar for lean teams and drives faster hypothesis testing. That creates pressure and opportunity.”

For founders who don’t have a technical background, Pyle has simple but powerful advice: Build your team. “Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses,” she said. “Recruit people who can fill the gaps. Investors back teams who they feel can execute.”

Her second piece of guidance: Keep listening. “Leverage customer discovery interviews,” she said. “Talk to potential users, test assumptions, gather data, and refine the problem you’re solving.”

That focus on curiosity and adaptability is exactly what the Innovation District, led jointly by George Mason, Prince William County, and the City of Manassas, and anchored by George Mason’s Science and Technology Campus, hopes to cultivate—a community where researchers, students, and entrepreneurs collaborate to build something bigger than themselves.

Through ICAP, Virginia-based founders have access to free resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities designed to turn great ideas into market-ready ventures.

Master and Pyle are both on site to meet with founders and teams in the Innovation District. Learn more and register to for ICAP program benefits and mentorship through the Virginia SBDC website.

To connect with Master and Pyle, entrepreneurs can sign up for the Innovation District newsletter by emailing ibhi@gmu.edu.

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Costello MBA students are turning their ideas into successful companies

Greg Johnson — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 13:55:26 +0000

Costello MBA students are turning their ideas into successful companies Greg Johnson Mon, 07/07/2025 - 09:55

“I wanted to start my own business,” says Patcharaporn Adchariyavivit, a Costello MBA student, “It seemed like this course was going to help me start it. But I didn’t expect it be this good, you know?”

Skip West

Skip West, founder of MAXSA Innovations and adjunct faculty at the Costello College of Business at ��ɫ��Ƶ, offers the course Turning Ideas into Successful Companies once a year to MBA students. The concept for the course came from West’s own entrepreneurial experiences of turning his ideas into companies. He has co-taught the MBA version of the course with Suresh Shenoy, an engineer, senior business executive, and philanthropist.

When he was in graduate school at Stanford, West took a course that was attended by both engineering and business students, working together to turn their ideas into companies. Several years later, he reconnected with his partner from the class to build upon their ideas from school. Together, they founded DesignTech International, where they pioneered remote car starting and keyless entry, among other automotive safety accessories and wireless home automation products. The successful launch of the business took many years, but it really began in the collaborative environment of a classroom.

Now, Skip West has designed the curriculum for his course at the Costello College of Business so that students can realize their own success.

“It’s all about the students coming up with their passion. It’s not what I care about. It’s what they care about and developing a business that they’re interested in," says Skip West, founder of MAXSA Innovations and adjunct faculty at the Costello College of Business at ��ɫ��Ƶ.

Ramel DuPree. Photo provided

Ramel DuPree entered the course with his idea for a men’s special skincare brand that is primarily targeted to Black men. “Once I was presented with the possibility to actually take a graduate level course, to actually learn more and go into details with it, and also have some guidance, I just jumped at the opportunity.”

Adchariyavivit also entered the course with a concept already in mind. Inspired by observing all the processes in her family’s restaurant business—combined with her previous professional experience as a project manager in an IT startup—she had been working on an AI-powered restaurant consultant application.

“In today’s digital world, where AI makes market research, competitive analysis, and business plan writing almost mundane, the real skill is learning how to learn,” says Shenoy. “That means teaching students to validate, verify, and seek relevant information to bring their ideas to life.” Throughout the course, the students examined every facet, from manufacturing to marketing and everything in between. “In the end, they develop a business plan, and it’s a lot of pitching to the class, feedback from your classmates, feedback from us,” says West. “It’s a discovery class.”

Patcharaporn Adchariyavivit. Photo provided

The class has made a significant difference in the business ideas from both Adchariyavivit and DuPree. “With Skip, the guy’s more practical, and he is a real investor and a real entrepreneur,” says Adchariyavivit. DuPree appreciated how the feedback loop kept him on his toes and focused on eliminating any blind spots. “Once I was able to get that feedback,” he says, “I had to come back. I had to readjust. I had to restructure. It was super beneficial to allowing me to do an outside-looking-in perspective for myself.”

The course was tailor made for students to turn their passionate ideas into successful companies, but it’s beneficial to all business students. “Even if you’re developing your business conceptually, it forces you to look at everything holistically,” says West. “You get to see all the aspects of a business.”

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Mason’s research is best in Virginia in multiple EduRank rankings

sholla4 — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 16:41:23 +0000

Mason’s research is best in Virginia in multiple EduRank rankings sholla4 Wed, 04/03/2024 - 12:41

Eighteen ��ɫ��Ƶ programs are ranked the best in Virginia in a new report by EduRank that focuses on performance in research.

Students enjoy the cherry blossoms on the Fairfax Campus. Photo by Eduardo de Souza/Office of University Branding.

Topping the list is Mason’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, which for the second consecutive year was ranked No. 1 among all public institutions and No. 2 among all institutions nationally.

Best-in-Virginia programs were spread across the university and included those from the Costello College of Business, the Schar School of Policy and Government, the College of Engineering and Computing, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Antonin Scalia Law School, the College of Education and Human Development, and the ROTC.

That research is supported by entities such as the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact, which has overall responsibility for Mason’s research enterprise and support of entrepreneurship and innovation. And Costello College’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship lets students dig into entrepreneurship, from the theoretical to the experimental.

Mason’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is anchored by the university and reaches out into the broader community. Mason Enterprise, a division of the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact, is a strategic collection of 24 programs that support entrepreneurs and small business owners across Virginia, and conducts more than 1,500 training programs and more than 30,000 hours of one-on-one counseling with entrepreneurs in the community and from universities each year.

It is that environment of research, discovery, and innovation, which is a main contributor to Mason’s R1 designation from the Carnegie Classification of Higher Education as one of the nation’s top research universities.

And though the EduRank rankings focus mainly on research performance, they are an indicator of the quality of the programs from which that research is produced.

“Mason is committed to accelerating the translation of research into practice by leveraging university talent, infrastructure, and partnerships to create solutions for societies’ toughest challenges at speed and scale,” said Andre Marshall, Mason’s vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact. “It is a credit to our faculty and students that Mason is a place where we can put theory into practice.”

Added Paula Sorrell, Mason’s associate vice president of innovation and economic development, “Mason was originally created by the business community to serve its needs, and for 50 years it has been doing just that. In the past four years, we’ve significantly amped up our tech entrepreneurship to support and mirror the rapidly growing tech economy, adding 16 new programs and counting.”

Research is the bedrock of entrepreneurship, Costello College dean Ajay Vinzé said.

The university’s top rankings “are in many ways reflective of our approach to business education and the business of higher education,” he said. “Our approach—built on the foundation of a rich university-wide entrepreneurial ecosystem, powered by a growing body of faculty research across multiple fields of study—is changing the arc of higher education expectation and delivery as we prepare the next generation of leaders.”

Costello College is a contributor to the top entrepreneurship ranking, along with the Schar School and the Mercatus Center, all of which produce volumes of research, articles, and papers for an abundance of publications.

Schar School dean Mark J. Rozell called entrepreneurship research “a very distinguishing feature for a public policy and government school.”

Its research at the Center for Micro-Economic Policy Research (CMEPR), for example, is focused on diversity and disadvantaged groups among entrepreneurs, especially those who are Black, immigrants, and female. It also looks at job creation by minority entrepreneurs in minority and low-income communities.

“The center brings an unusual contribution to research on entrepreneurship by focusing on these issues,” said John Earle, the center’s director and a Distinguished University Professor, who has published more than 60 articles and scholarly papers. “While the typical focus for entrepreneurship studies is for performance, especially for firms receiving venture-capital support, CMEPR research analyzes a much broader range of businesses, and how public policies affect the entry, growth, and survival of those owned by minority entrepreneurs.”

At the College of Engineering and Computing, Dean Ken Ball noted that CEC faculty garnered more than $119 million in research awards in 2023.

Dean Alpaslan Ozerdem's Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution class. Photo by: Ron Aira/Office of University Branding.

“I’m proud that our research has informed and strengthened our academic programs and led to innovation and economic growth that benefits society,” Ball said. “Mason has consistently been a national leader in cybersecurity, data analytics, software engineering, aviation, and web development. These rankings reflect the impact CEC researchers have in areas of engineering and computing that are relevant to everyone, as well as our leadership position among Virginia’s public universities.”

CHSS dean Ann Ardis said her college’s contributions to research in best-of-Virginia areas such as criminology, broadcasting, law enforcement, journalism, and political economy “are a testament to the scholarly excellence of our faculty. We take immense pride in our researchers’ contributions to Mason’s growing reputation nationally as a comprehensive R1 institution with strengths across a range of research areas.”

For Alpaslan Özerdem, dean of the Carter School, the ranking in conflict resolution “fuels our dedication to shaping a more peaceful and understanding world.”

Özerdem noted that the school has been at the forefront of teaching, researching, and implementing conflict resolution for four decades.

“So being recognized as the premier institution for conflict resolution in Virginia deepens our pride and reaffirms our vital role within the broader conflict resolution ecosystem of the commonwealth,” he said.

Here are the programs ranked the best in Virginia, with ranking among public institutions and overall national ranking; best in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland (DMV) where noted:

Aviation: 8, 11 (best in the DMV)

Broadcast Journalism: 40, 58

Cinematography: 29, 48 (best in the DMV)

Conflict Resolution: 15, 28

Criminology: 19, 26

Cybersecurity: 21, 33

Data Administration: 19, 29

Entrepreneurship: 1, 2 (best in the DMV)

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The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Launches the SOAR Initiative

Marianne Klinker — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 14:07:05 +0000

The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Launches the SOAR Initiative Marianne Klinker Mon, 09/25/2023 - 10:07

The business school’s SOAR Initiative is a critical building block in ��ɫ��Ƶ’s efforts to advance social mobility, or an individual’s ability to improve their socioeconomic status. U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2024 ranks Mason #1 on social mobility among public universities in Virginia.

On Saturday, September 9, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at ��ɫ��Ƶ’s School of Business launched its new inclusive entrepreneurship training initiative, SOAR. The grand launch took place from 11 a.m. to noon at the Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA) Resource Center in Alexandria, Virginia. The SOAR Initiative provides resources and training for aspiring entrepreneurs who are refugees and immigrants, currently in a low socioeconomic status, or residing in rural and emerging communities. Joining Mason faculty and staff at the event were donors, mentors, community partners, and LSSNCA staff and volunteers.

Hasib Satary speaks at the SOAR launch event.

Becky Howick, CIE director of operations and engagement, welcomed attendees and thanked SOAR’s partners and contributors. She spoke about the first cohort of the initiative—the Shrivastava Family Refugee and Immigrant Success through Entrepreneurship (RISE) program participants. Recognizing that many of them were already successful entrepreneurs in their countries of origin, she said, “The courageous people participating in this program have been referred to us through their LSSNCA employment coordinators. They have been identified as ready to take on this next chapter in life and realize their vision for the future.” Howick then introduced Hasib Satary, director of employment services for LSSNCA, which is a strategic partner in this initiative. He spoke about the history and functions of his organization, including their vision to create a more inclusive community of well-being where people thrive. LSSNCA accompanies those in need along their journey to foster resiliency, self-sufficiency, and access to opportunities by creating, connecting with, and engaging welcoming communities. 

Dean Ajay Vinzé and Pranav Shrivastava

Following Satary’s remarks, Howick introduced Dean Ajay Vinzé to the podium. Dean Vinzé outlined why the initiative is so important and why the school’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is the best place to house it. He also spoke of its intended impact on the region and participating communities. “Communities reap the benefit of entrepreneurship because it fosters innovation, promotes economic development, and creates jobs,” he said. Pranav Shrivastava, an economics student at Mason and son of Sumeet Shrivastava, MBA ‘94, also attended the event. Dean Vinzé shared a statement from Sumeet about the family’s history of immigration and entrepreneurism, emphasizing that the SOAR Initiative aligns with their own values and vision of giving back to the community. Dean Vinzé then presented Pranav Shrivastava with an award to recognize the transformative gift from the Shrivastava Family Foundation, which has made the RISE program possible.

Crystal Fickers, CIE associate director and instructor for the RISE Program, shared her story of running multiple businesses, many of them overseas, and working directly with refugees and asylum seekers. “The SOAR Initiative is a different type of program,” she said. “We will not be teaching academic theory. This program will be a unique and inclusive business incubator where we walk hand in hand with participants to start their businesses and ensure that it is profitable enough to positively impact their personal or family income.” She spoke about a refugee from Afghanistan that participated in an entrepreneurship training program she ran through her business in Australia. As a shy teenager, Jamshid fled violence in his home country and arrived in Australia unsure of how to overcome the challenges he faced. Through mentorship and hard work, he excelled and became an entrepreneur running a barista certification business. “His story is a testament to the incredible impact that such a training program can have on an individual,” said Fickers.

Mohammad Rafiq Katawazai speaks at the SOAR launch event.

Mohammad Rafiq Katawazai concluded the scheduled remarks by speaking from the heart on how excited he is that the RISE Program will empower him to continue developing his business ideas. All of the morning’s speakers shared the excitement in what this inclusive SOAR Initiative will mean for community members, ��ɫ��Ƶ, and the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Also in attendance was JK Aier, senior associate dean for academic affairs and global engagement at the School of Business, who has played a vital role in developing this new initiative and has been a key contributor to the strategic vision and formation of partnerships to power its success. “The SOAR Initiative provides a holistic model for launching and managing a business, including a Startup approach to developing an entrepreneurial mindset, Opportunities for community building and business engagement, Access to mentoring, and a Roadmap to successful outcomes,” said Aier. “What distinguishes this entrepreneurial program from others is its focus on diversity and inclusivity, which are both pillars of the Mason brand.”

The grand launch of the SOAR Initiative is a monumental step forward for the School of Business and its focus on advancing social mobility. The initiative’s innovative format facilitates the transformation of aspiring entrepreneurs and their families who face longstanding structural inequities in accessing training and support resources. The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is truly living up to its name, making a difference in empowering entrepreneurs and driving growth of the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is currently recruiting additional volunteer mentors for these aspiring entrepreneurs. Visit the SOAR Initiative webpage to learn how you can get engaged or donate to the program.

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In This Story

Student entrepreneurs do their 'homework' before starting company

ckearney — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 18:12:58 +0000

Student entrepreneurs do their 'homework' before starting company ckearney Mon, 12/05/2022 - 13:12

Learn more about the MIX's incubator

In late 2021, just after moving to Northern Virginia from Dallas, Texas, to attend ��ɫ��Ƶ, Arastalis B. Choudhury’s car was stolen. The difficulties he encountered as a result of that crime gave him an idea.

Student entrepreneurs Arastalis B. Choudhury and Fariha Askar. Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

He called the police and reported it, got a case number, and the process began. But Choudhury, a communication major, figured there had to be a better way.

“The system is, respectfully, ‘old school,’ and things just weren't really up to date with how technology is today,” he said.

He wrote down all his thoughts on how the system could be better and shared them with his friend and fellow Mason student Fariha Askar, who is majoring in computational and data sciences. She then took his ideas and constructed a flow chart of how the system could work.

That’s when the real work began. They started their research with attorney to have a patentability search done. “After around three or four days, the lawyer got back to us, and it was great news,” said Choudhury. “He told us that our idea was novel, that there was nothing like it out there.”

But they were at a loss for what to do next, so they turned to their resources at Mason, reaching out to professors in computer science and data sciences for informational interviews. “We got a lot of responses from the professors, and we started sitting down with them,” said Askar.

It was James Baldo, director of the graduate Data Analytics Engineering Program in the College of Engineering and Computing, who connected them to the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX) and its incubator program. The MIX is also where they met computer science major Rediet Tadesse, who loved their idea and wanted to work them.

And that’s how their company NECX, which stands for Non-Emergency Communication Exchange, was born.

“The reason we have non-emergency our name is to clarify that we're not here to replace 911 at all,” said Choudhury.

Tadesse immediately began working on a prototype while Choudhury and Askar continued their research, which include interviewing members of the Mason and Fairfax County police departments about day-to-day operations and taking a deep dive into victim services.

“We knew the problem isn't that [the police] don't do anything—it’s more the flood of information,” said Askar.

Their solution is a multi-platform service, which includes a free mobile app for the victims of crime and a computer web app, which is accessible by a computer for the police and detectives to do all their work. There is also a platform dedicated to victim services.

“We've connected these three platforms together into central database, which allows information and data to transfer and all of them to communicate with each other,” said Choudhury.

They also took their idea to the national pitch competition TiE, coming in eighth out of 68 teams from around the country.

As a part of the MIX’s incubator, the team was able to take part in the mini Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP), which is an abbreviated version of the program offered to entrepreneurs through Virginia’s Small Business Development Centers, and were mentored by Senior Business Counselor David Powell.

Askar found the ICAP “homework,” documents that asked in-depth questions about their business, really valuable. And both found being with other entrepreneurs—and their critiques—very helpful.

“There were a few teams that were a bit ahead of us,” said Askar. “It provided a lot of insight because we could learn from their problems and also see problems to come.”

One of their biggest takeaways from the training is what they learned about customer segmentation.

“We had a very hard time figuring out who our customer was,” said Choudhury. “We knew how it could help this problem that was out in the world, but we didn't know who exactly would pay for it. ICAP really helped us with that.”

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