... as keynote shares lessons of an entrepreneur

This year’s Minds@Work keynote was non-traditional. John Egazrian, a childhood friend of Dr. Marc O’Reilly, spoke to students about his about his two decades of corporate and entrepreneurial experience, including his most recent venture as the chief operating officer of CÜR Media Inc., a streaming music startup.

At CÜR, Egazarian was responsible for all aspects of the company’s internal operations and directed the build and launch of CÜR’s app for both mobile and web users. His overview included the features of the subscriber-based service, including its $1.99 price geared toward the 18- to 24-year-old market segment.

“We were really hoping this would be something that caught fire,” said Egazarian. He and his partners, along with 50 employees, did their homework about the market landscape, competition, target demographics, market strategies and areas for growth. The ultimate goal, he said, was to draw new users to CÜR and away from competitors by changing behaviors, which can be “very, very difficult.”

After several years of thorough planning and securing investments, Legazarian asked the rhetorical question, “So where is CÜR now?”

“The answer is we didn’t succeed. We failed to secure the capital we needed and had to cease operations and release staff.”

As difficult as that was, he hasn’t given up on CÜR. The CEO is continuing to pursue the funding needed to resume. “But until we have that money, we’re not going to be able to succeed.”

The process taught many lessons, Legazarian said. “There’s no such thing as being too big to fail.” He encouraged students to pursue their entrepreneurial passions but cautioned them to be fully prepared going in.

“When I think of my startup experience, it was the best experience of my career. Would I do it all again? Absolutely!”