Innovate State is a collaboration between the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the MSU Innovation Center.
Hosted in the Gaynor Entrepreneurship Lab, Innovate State welcomes successful Spartan alumni back to campus for a fireside chat. Guests share their perspectives on everything from launching start-ups to experiencing success and failure to building dynamic and nurturing work cultures.
About The Speaker
Receiving his degree from Michigan State University’s School of Hospitality Business, Bob Fish has been Chairman of the Board of the Michigan Restaurant Association, Chair of the Small Business Association of Michigan, and was a Founding Board member of MiQuest, a Michigan entrepreneurial incubator. With all of this under his belt, on March 15, 1995, Bob Fish and Michael McFall founded BIGGBY® COFFEE with a single store in East Lansing, Michigan. One year later, and on the cusp of opening a second location, the two entrepreneurs, on a handshake and $4,000, decided to franchise the concept. BIGGBY® COFFEE’s cultural values of Make Friends, Have Fun, Be Yourself, and Share Great Coffee help coffee-lovers and the coffee-curious alike benefit from a less pretentious and fun approach to the standard gourmet cafe paradigm. Today, there are 239 locations in nine states. Bob enjoys walking, mainly around Saugatuck, MI.
About Innovate State
Every year, Innovate State features Spartan entrepreneur, innovators, and disruptors to join our community for a fireside chat. In these 60-minute interviews, guests share their perspectives on everything from business to family life; the hard knocks of the hustle to maintaining work/life balance. These are stories of success, stories of failure, and stories of uncommon will.
Innovate State is proudly brought to you by the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in collaboration with the MSU Innovation Center and MSU Alumni Office. Innovate State kicks-off at 6 p.m. and are free to the community. Events will be held via Zoom. Early registration is highly encouraged.
Please join us, virtually, for Innovate State, with Bob Fish, on Wed., March 31st at 6 p.m. (Eastern Time).