Latest news with #UniversityofNewOrleans
Technical.ly
07-08-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
‘There's no soft landing': This business leader helps fellow immigrant entrepreneurs access resources
Guc Ozenci has immigrated to the US twice, and he likens the experiences to starting a business. 'You start learning by failing, right?' Ozenci told 'It's a startup. Moving to another country, being an immigrant, is a startup.' Ozenci, who originally moved from Ankara, Turkey to Louisiana in the 90s to get his MBA from the University of New Orleans, is an entrepreneur, consultant and accelerator manager now living in Bethesda, Maryland. His main gig is working as the DC division's managing director for the Founder Institute, a network of incubators, accelerators and investors founded in Silicon Valley. Living in a new country and culture takes adjustment, he said — including seemingly small things like grocery shopping and making new friends. He struggled to find career resources when he moved to the US. Now, he wants to help other immigrant entrepreneurs access mentorship and networks to boost their businesses. With that said, being outside a comfort zone means growth. That's why almost half of unicorn startups are founded by immigrants, he said. 'It takes time to adapt,' he said. 'That hardship kind of creates the adversity muscle.' For the latest installment of How I Got Here, caught up with the 30-year tech industry veteran about his career history, what he does now and how being an immigrant shapes his work. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Where did your tech and entrepreneurship career start? I'm an economist by education, but then I did an MBA. After the MBA, I directly started in the IT industry. I worked for Vodafone in Europe, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Cisco Systems. I was always the person at the bridge between the tech people and the client, because they don't speak the same language. But then I realized … Why don't I do my own thing? In 2013, I started a software-as-a-service business [called Peoplise]. It's always very difficult to be an entrepreneur. Being a professional is not easy, either. Life is not easy. Guc Ozenci My expertise was always in enterprise and solutions — selling, creating a solution for a problem — and most of the time, they were not really aware of the problem that they had. It is always a customer discovery process, which I did not know the terminology [for] back then. But this is the core of it. Fast forward into 2020, right before the pandemic: We've been acquired. I exited successfully. Then, actually, not only at that time but before the exit, I started mentoring and investing as an angel to some early-stage startups. Tell me more about what you do now After the exit and throughout the pandemic, because we all were stuck at home, I dedicated more time to mentoring and helping [advise] very early-stage startups. First, mentoring at the Founder Institute (FI), and I was mentoring at Halcyon as well, in DC, for the social entrepreneurs. By the end of the pandemic, we started going out like everybody else, and I started organizing those in-person events. So it started [with] five to 10 people. It has grown since then to 100 people showing up at each event. I organize those in-person events every month. FI asked me to lead the chapter here, which was natural for me. The other thing is, starting with the pandemic, all the FI chapters throughout the world were virtual. Starting with the DC chapter, we started doing hybrid, because the sessions are virtual; but then, every month, we have an in-person meeting, event, panel or workshop to connect them with the ecosystem. People really benefited. I've been running the accelerator, and then I also have a consulting company on the side for those startups or founders. Also, I am on the board of Washington Network Group (WNG). It's a legacy organization with 20,000 members, but the audience is not the same as we have at those in-person events, the tech-y, startup people. I'm chairing the committee on entrepreneurship there to help DMV-area people sharpen their tech skills. With the Founder Institute … I am running two cohorts, spring and fall every year, and we usually have about 20 startups at each cohort. We help mostly pre-seed stage startups, so showing them the way to build, launch and grow their startups. What does a typical day look like? Most of my time goes to the FI. Although I wear multiple hats, they also have the same purpose, which is helping early-stage startups build, launch and grow their startups. It's a startup. Moving to another country, being an immigrant, is a startup. Guc Ozenci My typical day — I am a professional person, but a triathlete. So I do race[s] twice a year, spring and fall. It makes me train all year long. Every morning I do my training, either bike, run or swim. Between 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., my calendar is open to meet all those founders who are registered to the FI program — or maybe they are not registered, but I still can help them through either my consulting company or the nonprofit WNG, doesn't matter. If they need help, I meet them and try to help them, try to connect them to the right resources. After 3 p.m. I'm with the kids. My two sons come home, and I usually drive them to different tennis training. Where does the passion for helping startups come from? The passion should be defined as helping and connecting people, because I'm such an outgoing person. As I meet new people, I learn from them as I try to help them. If I am successful in helping them, either through connecting them to resource[s] or coaching them, or whatever, sharing my experience and expertise in building a successful venture — this makes me happy. I love tech, and I can measure and feel in my veins where it will take us. But combining tech with people, that is my passion. How did moving to the US shape your career? I came to the US for my master's in 1995, but after the master's and the practical training period … I went back to my country, Turkey, and then started working there. After all those years, I came here again in 2017 — but now with my family, my wife and two kids. It's difficult for everyone who's moving to another country. We were quite lucky, so I cannot complain. My wife is working for the World Bank Group, which means they brought us here. So it was not supposedly 'difficult,' because one of us had a job and everything was smoothly operated. I think, for everyone, the difficult part is adjustment. Doing business is different, maybe not completely different, but that is culturally different. Again, we're lucky, but I still work with so many immigrant founders and volunteer at refugee programs as well. These people are prone to success more, but they do have difficulty reaching out to resources, which includes myself as well. That is why, right now, with all the network that I have, all the people I have known, all the resources that exist in the DMV or East Coast ecosystem, I help those people reach out to those resources. There's no soft landing. It is always a hard landing. But if you realize this and work on utilizing your skills, keep on sharpening them. My skills were people skills. I love bringing people together, and I am very good at it. What advice do you have for startup founders? It's always very difficult to be an entrepreneur. Being a professional is not easy, either. Life is not easy. The most common mistake is that they, entrepreneurs, believe that they know the problem themselves, and they start working immediately on a product. Which is not a big deal — everybody can create a product, right? The big deal is to understand whether that problem is really a problem, and what the solution is. They should be courageous. They are, but they can be successful by creating [a] great team — starting with themselves, of course. But they can't do that alone, and they should not do that alone.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Technology, teamwork and cash play key roles in massive manhunt for New Orleans prison escapees
A team of over 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers and agents is working around the clock to capture the remaining missing inmates who broke out of a New Orleans jail in a stunning overnight escape last week, according to Louisiana State Police. Investigators have declined to comment on the specifics of the manhunt or the believed whereabouts of the fugitives. 'We don't discuss any of the investigative tools we use, that would be like the Eagles showing their Super Bowl playbook before the game,' Deputy US Marshal Brian Fair told CNN. But tips from the public and cash rewards offered by various agencies are key to the investigation, Fair said. As of early Thursday, five of the 10 who escaped were back in custody. Here are some of the known techniques being used to aid in the manhunt: So, far, all recaptured escapees have been found in New Orleans. A key tool at investigators' disposal is Project NOLA, a high definition crime camera program headquartered on the campus of the University of New Orleans. It was used to spot one of escapees in the French Quarter just minutes after the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office notified Louisiana State Police of the mass escape Friday and continues to play a major role in the manhunt. A second escaped inmate was found only one block away from where Project NOLA facial recognition crime cameras lost him hours after the breakout, according to the organization. What sets the nonprofit's model apart is its cameras are positioned on private homes and businesses and can be outfitted with facial recognition, license plate reading and clothing recognition software. In 2016, Project NOLA partnered with the University of New Orleans which now houses the group's National Real-Time Crime Center where cameras are monitored and simulcast to the municipalities and police monitoring stations the project serves, according to Project NOLA's executive director and founder, Bryan Lagarde. Project NOLA itself only has a full-time staff of five, Lagarde said, but they do their best to monitor certain areas and events. Otherwise, the local municipalities can monitor as they deem necessary. The organization maintains a 'hot list' of mug shots and information on fugitives. As its cameras sweep an area, they are constantly comparing the passing faces to that list, Lagarde said. Each one of their cameras, like the ones on Bourbon Street, can scan up to '300-something faces per second,' he said. Hundreds of messages have poured into the Crimestoppers of New Orleans tip line from the community, as the agency says it wants to encourage tipsters to make sure they add more detail to the information they share. So far, two suspects have been caught because of tips into Crimestoppers, the agency told CNN. The reward for information leading to the recapture of the remaining inmates has been increased to a total amount of $20,000 for each fugitive, the Louisiana State Police announced Monday. The sum includes a $5,000 reward from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a $5,000 reward from Crimestoppers and a $10,000 reward from the FBI. 'You put a $20,000 bounty on each of their heads, people are going to call Crime Stoppers. People are going to call the hotline number. They're going to report anonymously,' Marlon Defillo, a former assistant superintendent with the New Orleans Police Department, told CNN. 'They may not give their name, but they'll certainly put the law enforcement in the right direction as to where they may be,' he said. 'There is $20,000 for each escapee, and that's cash, folks, we don't need your name. We just want your information,' Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said Tuesday. While he would not elaborate on investigators' work related to known associates of the escapees, Fair told CNN he 'wouldn't call it surprising' that five of them were caught in New Orleans area, given any resources they might have likely are in the city. 'They're going to go back into the neighborhoods that they know best, their own neighborhoods where they grew up and where they were reared. They're not familiar with anything or any other type of location or locale outside of the city of New Orleans, because they were born and raised here their entire lives. 'Without money, without food, without clothing, without resources. That's going to make it very difficult for them to seek refuge anywhere outside of the city,' Defillo said. 'You're just unlikely to go somewhere where you have zero support or help. And most of these, if not all of these individuals, grew up in New Orleans,' Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told FOX News on Wednesday. 'They were young, young children, really, around the time of Hurricane Katrina, their resources are here.' Hutson on Tuesday sent a message to those who may be harboring the fugitives, saying 'It's not too late to change course. If you will work with us, we will work with you.' 'You can change course. You can let us know, and we can help you,' she said. 'But I will tell you, if they participate willfully and knowingly, they are going to be charged with serious felonies. They're going to spend time,' the sheriff warned. 'We just want your information, and so you have one of two choices. You can either choose prison because we are going to catch you and charge you, or you can cooperate. Even if you're scared, we can help you.' The breakout has left New Orleans on high alert – with members of the district attorney's staff fleeing for their safety – and local and state officials investigating how an escape could have happened. The escapees face an array of charges including aggravated assault with a firearm, false imprisonment with a weapon and murder. The five inmates who have been recaptured are being held at Louisiana State Penitentiary, a maximum-security facility. The latest to be caught, Corey Boyd, 19, was arrested Tuesday, about five days after he and nine other men broke out of the Orleans Justice Center through a hole behind a metal toilet just after midnight Friday. The captured inmates will be held without bond, Murrill said in a social media post Wednesday. A maintenance worker with the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, Sterling Williams, 33, was arrested Tuesday. Williams is accused of 'willfully and maliciously' assisting with the jailbreak, according to an affidavit. He faces one count of malfeasance in office and 10 counts of being a principal to simple escape. Williams' attorney, Michael Kennedy, said the worker was turning off water to an overflowing toilet after being told to do so and the is 'fully convinced' of his client's innocence. Two other people, Cortnie Harris, 32, and Corvanntay Baptiste, 38, were arrested on suspicion of assisting some of the inmates after they escaped, Louisiana State Police said in an update Wednesday. Hutson, who oversees the jail, announced Tuesday she is suspending her reelection campaign, just hours after fielding tough questions from local leaders at a tense city council meeting.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers advances plan to transfer struggling UNO back to LSU System
Flowers grow Dec. 15, 2022, in front of the University of New Orleans sign on Lakeshore Drive. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator) Louisiana legislators are advancing legislation to move the University of New Orleans, which has struggled with enrollment and finances, back into the LSU System. Senate Bill 202 by Sen. Jimmy Harris, D-New Orleans, unanimously cleared the Senate Education committee Thursday. The bill would reverse the action legislators took 14 years ago to move UNO to the University of Louisiana System from the LSU System, where it had operated since the university was founded in 1958. The university's possible return to LSU's control is in response to UNO's acute budget crisis. The school faces a $10 million budget shortfall and has implemented a spending freeze, layoffs and staff furloughs in an attempt to make ends meet. UNO administrators have kept open the possibility of further layoffs and furloughs. Its budget crisis is largely tied to enrollment. The school had a student body of around 17,000 before Hurricane Katrina, with an immediate drop to around 6,000 after the storm. For the fall 2024 semester, its total enrollment was 6,488. Unlike UNO, every school in the LSU System has reported enrollment increases over the past few years, in contrast to nationwide trends of declining student numbers on college campuses. One notable opponent of the UNO transfer is Julie Stokes, a University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors member and former Republican state representative from Kenner. She also earned an accounting degree from UNO. Stokes raised concerns that there is no transition plan yet for the system switch. Harris' bill requires one, but not until April 1, 2026. That would be after an Aug. 1, 2025, deadline UNO President Kathy Johnson is required to meet to notify the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges of its intent to transfer systems. The association is the accrediting body for UNO and other schools in the region, providing assurance that its educational offerings meet high standards. Stokes also objected to the composition of the transition team in Harris' legislation. It calls for a committee made up of 'stakeholders from the Greater New Orleans region' and members of the legislature's two education committees. Stokes said she believed the committee should include members of the LSU and University of Louisiana system boards. The Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees all higher education in the state, has already approved the transfer. Shortly after the Regents gave their approval, Johnson said in an interview with the Illuminator that she was 'agnostic' on the plan. She declined to answer questions Thursday as she left the Senate Committee on Education meeting with Stokes. At the time of the system switch in 2011, UNO alumni and boosters applauded the plan, as many felt the university was overshadowed in the LSU System. UNO would be the only institution in the LSU System classified as an R2 university, meaning it has high levels of research activity, second only to LSU's main campus, which is a R1 school with the highest research activity rating. In the University of Louisiana System, there are two other schools with research-level rankings: the University of Louisiana Lafayette, an R1, and Louisiana Tech, an R2. UNO would also be the only other school in the LSU System with an NCAA Division I athletics program. Harris' bill will next be discussed by the Senate. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Board of Regents recommends moving beleaguered University of New Orleans back to LSU System
The sun shines brightly on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, above the University of New Orleans entrance sign on Lakeshore Drive. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator) The state's higher education oversight board unanimously voted Wednesday to recommend moving the University of New Orleans, which has struggled with enrollment and finances, back into the LSU System. Legislation is required to finalize the move, which would reverse action taken 14 years ago to place UNO into the University of Louisiana System. The Louisiana Board of Regents' recommendation comes after Louisiana's top two state lawmakers asked members in February to study the feasibility of the move. 'I look forward to reviewing the findings and having further discussions with my colleagues on the board on how the LSU enterprise can welcome UNO back into the family,' LSU Board Chairman Scott Ballard said in a statement to the Illuminator. The Board of Regents recommended forming a transition team to steer the move and hiring a third-party firm for an in-depth audit. In addition to legislative approval, the move would require approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the accrediting body for both UNO and LSU. The university's possible return to LSU's control is in response to UNO's acute budget crisis. The school faces a $10 million budget shortfall and has implemented a spending freeze, layoffs and staff furloughs in an attempt to make ends meet. UNO administrators have kept open the possibility of further layoffs and furloughs. The university's budget crisis is largely tied to enrollment. The school had an enrollment of around 17,000 before Katrina, with an immediate drop to around 6,000. For the fall 2024 semester, its total student body was 6,488. At the time of the system switch in 2011, UNO alumni and boosters applauded the plan, as many felt the university was overshadowed in the LSU System. This is a developing story. Check back for more details. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Louisiana lawmakers to consider moving University of New Orleans back to LSU System
The University of New Orleans sign sits in front of the University Center on Dec. 15, 2022. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator) Louisiana's top two state lawmakers have asked the Board of Regents to study the possibility of moving the financially-embattled University of New Orleans back into the LSU System. UNO, the only public research institution in New Orleans, was moved from the LSU System to the University of Louisiana System in 2011. The campus was founded as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, with classes starting in 1958. House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, and Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, jointly signed the letter to Regents Chairwoman Misti Cordell, asking the state education oversight board to present its findings on the possibility. State law gives Regents one year to conduct the study. Read the full letter below. In an interview, DeVillier said the study is being done to see if moving the university to another system could help its budget and enrollment problems. Henry has not yet responded to a request for comment. University of Louisiana System President Rick Gallot, reached by telephone Friday afternoon, said he was not consulted before lawmakers sent the request. UNO was moved to the UL System 14 years ago. Gallot said his system would provide whatever information is necessary for the Regents report. 'I certainly respect the president of the Senate and the speaker of the house to do what they think is appropriate,' Gallot said. LSU spokesman Todd Woodward and LSU Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott Ballard have not yet responded to requests for comment for this report. The proposal comes as UNO experiences an acute budget crisis. The school faces a $10 million budget shortfall and has implemented a spending freeze, layoffs and staff furloughs in an attempt to make ends meet. University officials have kept open the possibility of further layoffs and furloughs. UNO's budget crisis is largely tied to enrollment. The school had an enrollment of around 17,000 before Katrina, with an immediate drop to around 6,000. For the fall 2024 semester, its total student body was 6,488. At the time of the system switch in 2011, UNO alumni and boosters applauded the plan, as many felt the university was overshadowed in the LSU System. Moving UNO to the UL System came after lawmakers failed to pass legislation to merge the school with Southern University New Orleans, a historically Black university. Fears of a similar proposal being put forward again have popped back up again amid UNO's contemporary crisis, though no official plan or legislation has been put forward. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
