Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship

The latest news from the entrepreneurial hub of the Nolan School.

Participants gather around National Harbor architectural model to learn more about project developments
Nolan BusinessFeed

Restaurant Entrepreneurship & Development Roundtable

Hospitality entrepreneurs discuss how to sustain, create, and innovate the food and beverage industry.

Image of Rob Karp ’19 speaking to Air & Sea Club students
Nolan BusinessFeed

A Fireside Chat with Rob Karp ’19

Rob Karp ’19, the CEO and Founder of MilesAhead, joined a Fireside Chat to share personal experiences and successes in entrepreneurship.

Two men dressed in suits standing side by side.
Nolan BusinessFeed

Private Jet Startup Wins Hospitality Pitch Deck Competition

Nolan School MMH students Harry Han and Benjamin Lin delivered a winning pitch for a startup enabling travelers to book private jets online in China.

Four students dressed in business casual, two seated and two standing, around a table and talking while looking at a laptop screen.
Nolan BusinessFeed

Hospitality Hackathon Embraces AI to Improve the Guest Experience

Students from across campus spent two days creating proposals designed to help hotels deliver an exceptional experience for the guest of the future.

Photo of an elegant restaurant with a high ceiling and a huge chandelier hanging high above all. The room is filled with people sitting at tables and images of the evening’s honorees are projected onto the stone walls above the room’s columns.
Nolan BusinessFeed

Icons and Innovators: Cornell Awards Shine Light on Hospitality’s Finest

The 2024 Icon is former IHG CEO Keith Barr ’92 and Innovators are José Andrés and Rob Wilder, founders of José Andrés Group and World Central Kitchen.

A young man standing on a stage, gesturing with both hands, and addressing the audience.
Nolan BusinessFeed

Hotelie’s Brown Butter Startup Wins Hospitality Business Plan Competition

Jonah Gershon ’24 won the $50,000 first-place prize for spekld, his startup to produce brown butter, at the Hospitality Business Plan Competition.

Picture featuring Jason Spillerman '92, P '25, Manging Partner and Founder of Vibrant Development Group, Bryan Siegel, Director of Guest Relations and Experience for LDV Hospitality, and Alex Sambvani, Co-Founder and CEO of Slang.ai
Nolan BusinessFeed

The Future of Restaurants

Thirty restaurant industry professionals and Cornell University academics gather to discuss the future of technology in restaurants.

photo of Keith Barr
Nolan BusinessFeed

Hospitality Executive Keith Barr to Receive 2024 Cornell Hospitality Icon Award

Hotelie Keith Barr ’92 is scheduled to receive the Cornell Icon Award June 4 at the awards ceremony in New York City.

a young man holds out a tray with samples of brown butter to a woman and two men seated in a lecture hall.
Nolan BusinessFeed

Brown Butter Rises to the Top at Hospitality Pitch Deck Competition

Jonah Gershon ’24 won the eighth annual Hospitality Pitch Deck Competition for his pitch to develop spekld, brown butter in a stick.