Email
rgarciaphd@wpi.edu
Phone
+1 (508) 8316116
Education
PhD, Marketing - Michigan State University
MBA, University of Rochester
BS, Chemical Engineering, University of California at Santa Barbara
BA, Business Economics, University of California at Santa Barbara

I love teaching entrepreneurship because of the amazing innovations that students ideate and then create businesses around. I like the quote attributed to both Homer (the philosopher, not the father of Bart) and Steve Jobs, "The journey is the reward." I'm honored to be able to guide the WPI students through their journeys of not only learning about business ownership, but also actually building something - whether it’s a prototype, a minimally viable product (MVP) or a company. Being in a university setting provides students with a safety net to fail fast and pivot their ideas. No idea is too silly or too small to explore while in a learning mode.

I've also been fortunate to bring my love of mentoring students into my research. With a focus on under-represented populations in entrepreneurship, I study how society and educational institutions can foster a sense of curiosity for minority students to encourage ideation and business creation. A recent research focus on Benefit Corporations, companies that take a triple-bottom line approach (people, planet, and profit), provides insights on how these companies create value for society. Not surprisingly, many recent students have taken a 'business for good' perspective in building their companies focusing on social impact as well as making profits (which are necessary!)  This knowledge allows me to guide students through the unique hurdles of the social enterprise. Research on social entrepreneurship in Cuba, a country with high innovativeness but limited resources, provides great lessons of how to be successful even when faced with challenges. 

In addition to working with students, I enjoy mentoring community members of under-represented populations as they launch their own businesses. My experience co-founding a legal-tech company and past participation in a legal-tech accelerator gives me the insights on the challenges of entrepreneurship and how rewarding it is to start a business! My door is open to anyone interested in discussing a business idea, whether you're a student, alum, Worcester community member, staff, or faculty.

Email
rgarciaphd@wpi.edu
Education
PhD, Marketing - Michigan State University
MBA, University of Rochester
BS, Chemical Engineering, University of California at Santa Barbara
BA, Business Economics, University of California at Santa Barbara

I love teaching entrepreneurship because of the amazing innovations that students ideate and then create businesses around. I like the quote attributed to both Homer (the philosopher, not the father of Bart) and Steve Jobs, "The journey is the reward." I'm honored to be able to guide the WPI students through their journeys of not only learning about business ownership, but also actually building something - whether it’s a prototype, a minimally viable product (MVP) or a company. Being in a university setting provides students with a safety net to fail fast and pivot their ideas. No idea is too silly or too small to explore while in a learning mode.

I've also been fortunate to bring my love of mentoring students into my research. With a focus on under-represented populations in entrepreneurship, I study how society and educational institutions can foster a sense of curiosity for minority students to encourage ideation and business creation. A recent research focus on Benefit Corporations, companies that take a triple-bottom line approach (people, planet, and profit), provides insights on how these companies create value for society. Not surprisingly, many recent students have taken a 'business for good' perspective in building their companies focusing on social impact as well as making profits (which are necessary!)  This knowledge allows me to guide students through the unique hurdles of the social enterprise. Research on social entrepreneurship in Cuba, a country with high innovativeness but limited resources, provides great lessons of how to be successful even when faced with challenges. 

In addition to working with students, I enjoy mentoring community members of under-represented populations as they launch their own businesses. My experience co-founding a legal-tech company and past participation in a legal-tech accelerator gives me the insights on the challenges of entrepreneurship and how rewarding it is to start a business! My door is open to anyone interested in discussing a business idea, whether you're a student, alum, Worcester community member, staff, or faculty.

Phone
+1 (508) 8316116

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Boston 25
‘Purpose of helping people’: Mass. college students win national award with wheelchair innovation

Boston 25 News reported on the accomplishments of WPI students Antonio Marzoratti and Ivan Zou whose company developed a device to transform a manual wheelchair into one powered by a portable battery. The report also featured comments from Rosanna Garcia, the Beswick Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, who spoke about how the student innovators received support including mentorship and pitch competition experience from WPI’s i3 Lab. The students' company won the 2024 Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization Global Pitch Competition. 

WHDH-TV
3 local college students take top prize in national competition for young entrepreneurs

WHDH featured student innovation at WPI by highlighting the winners of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization 2024 Global Pitch Competition. Technotonin Industries, a company that includes students from WPI (Antonio Marzoratti and Ivan Zou) and Boston University (Arav Tyagi) won first prize. WHDH also spoke with Rosanna Garcia, Beswick professor of innovation and entrepreneurship, about how WPI supports student entrepreneurs with its i3 Lab, mentorship, networking, business guidance, and pitch competition opportunities.