8 to Watch

Corey Capasso (BBA ’09)

Corey Capasso figured out that he had what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur at an early age. He became an eBay PowerSeller of Nike shoes when he was just 16 years old.

Capasso graduated from the Wisconsin School of Business in 2009 with a double major in risk management and entrepreneurship—and a keen eye for unmet market needs. He invented flavored plastic during his freshman year and patented the product in 22 countries. Then he leveraged his intellectual property to found the startup MoGo Sport, which sells flavored mouth guards at major retailers across the country, including Costco and Walmart.

A trait of successful entrepreneurs is that they don't give up easily. After graduation, Capasso co-founded Spinback, a social commerce and analytics platform. At one point, despite its promising potential, the company was one week away from bankruptcy due to lack of funding, but Capasso dug in and kept the company moving forward. Five months later, Spinback was acquired by Buddy Media.

His most recent venture is Nomi, a New York City–based retail analytics platform for businesses’ brick-and-mortar presences that he co-founded in 2012.

“With our success in helping online businesses optimize sales and customer experience through analytics and insights, we were frustrated that these types of tools did not exist for offline businesses,” says Capasso. “We launched Nomi to extend these services to brick-andmortar businesses and digitize the physical world.”

In 2014, Nomi completed a merger with Brickstream Corporation, becoming the largest retail analytics company in the world.

“The unconventional entrepreneurship classes and campus community at the WSB really served as a catalyst for learning how to push the limits,” says Capasso. “This mindset helped me disrupt a trillion-dollar industry—retail—twice with technology. That's very rewarding.”

Heather Holtsberg Smith (MBA ’09)

Heather Holtsberg Smith is responsible for some of the innovative new products on your grocery list, including Quaker’s Real Medleys SuperGrains, Warm & Crunchy Granola, and Chewy Yogurt Granola Bars.

In 2010, after graduating with an MBA in brand and product management, Holtsberg Smith accepted a position with PepsiCo, parent company of Quaker Foods North America. She supported several Quaker products before being promoted to the Grains Division of PepsiCo's Global Nutrition Group in Chicago in 2013.

“Each innovation holds a special place in my heart,” she says. “Seeing a project start in consumer research, progress through testing, and then evolve to a live product on the shelves in a grocery store, is a pretty amazing experience!”

Holtsberg Smith, named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’s “40 under 40” in 2013, was recently promoted to senior marketing manager for the Fruit and Vegetable Division, where she is responsible for developing the next generation of functional nutrition juices for global markets.

To others, such a transition might seem daunting, but she was up for the challenge. “The opportunity to continue to grow and expand my learning is incredibly energizing,” she says.

She adds that the School prepared her well. “The brand management-specific courses, as well as the interaction with the superb board members, provided me the best foundation for a long and successful career in brand management,” she says.

Stephanie Tourand (MBA ’06)

Stephanie Tourand has an eye for beauty. Her passion for design and entrepreneurship drew her to the San Francisco area, where she became a founding member of Red Clay, an online platform connecting brands and independent product designers to manage the entire design process from idea generation to manufacturing.

After overseeing the brand management of Procter & Gamble’s Olay Regenerist from concept to shelf, Tourand put her experience to work creating a platform that Red Clay’s independent designers and vendors could use to deliver products with integrity. As the head of client service and design, she shaped the startup’s own brand, platform, and aesthetic.

Launching Red Clay with a team that included fellow WSB alumnus Kurt Kober (MBA ’07), head of business development, has been her most challenging and rewarding experience ever.

“However many hours you think you'll devote to a startup, triple it,” she advises. “Prepare yourself to be copywriter, salesperson, project manager, and mail room personnel. Failures and setbacks are a matter of when, not if. But with persistence, flexibility, humility, and creativity, you can redirect, reinvent, and recommit to your core business idea. The stakes are high, but it is also intensely personal and rewarding.”

The Wisconsin School of Business instilled in Tourand the value of a “nononsense approach”—a commitment to authenticity. “I learned sound business ideation and strategy backed up by a drive for results,” she says. “This Midwestern work ethic is highly valued in the Bay Area, as is a grounded approach to value creation.”

Now Tourand also consults privately with small businesses and service professionals looking for brand positioning, website creation, and customer acquisition. She plans to grow her consulting business, which gives startups a marketing springboard for success. She’s also interested in creating social media or online applications within the design space.

Tourand advises professionals to play to their strengths.

“Many times we devote our energy to improving our weaknesses or filling a blind spot,” she says. “Concentrating that same effort on the areas where you have real skill and expertise can propel you exponentially further.”