The Innovate State Speaker Series brings both emerging and accomplished Spartans back to campus for a fireside chat-style interview. These 60-minute sessions offer the chance for guests to share their perspectives on a wide array of topics like innovation, startup life, investments, and career paths. Students get the opportunity to hear firsthand about the hard knocks of the entrepreneurship & innovation hustle to maintaining work/life balance. These are stories of success, stories of failures, and stories of uncommon will—and you do not want to miss them.

About OurSpeakers

• Olivia Simone is a soon to be graduate from Michigan State University studying Marketing with minors in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Arabic. In addition to being the Co Editor in Chief of VIM Magazine and on the E-Board of MSU’s Entrepreneur Association, Olivia is also the owner of two small businesses. In 2018 Olivia founded LIV in Style LCC, a fashion and lifestyle blog and persona she has built throughout the years through social media, selling handmade garments, and creative writing. Her newest venture Soup N’ Sip was born at the start of 2022 and aims to provide people with a healthier alternative to fast food. Soup N’ Sip is spoonless soup for people on-the-go. Served in a to-go cup, Soup N’ Sip is delicious, nutritious, fast, and portable making it easily disguised in any classroom and distraction free while driving.

• Hemkesh Agrawal is currently a senior computer science student at Michigan State University. He is the Co-Founder/CTO at UniServices. He works as a Developer intern at the Hatch where he makes apps/websites for select startups in the launch phase. He also works as a peer leader at the college of engineering and served as the Vice President of Spartan Hackers for over two years.

• Shreesha Maddur is a senior studying Computer Science and minoring in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. He is one of the founders of TalleyJobs, a job board for students looking for internships/full-time jobs that are paid, have few applicants, and offer good benefits. As well as the Co-President of the Entrepreneurship Association, a student-led organization open to all majors who are passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation.

• Anna Reaume isa soon-to-be graduate from Michigan State University studying Marketing and minoring in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Anna is the first Venture Kitchen intern for the Burgess Institute. In her position, she trains students to utilize the new kitchen, equips and maintains the space, and oversees student pop-ups in our Union store. She is also the co-founder and president of the International Samaritan Chapter of MSU, an RSO working to inform and educate MSU students about the communities IS serves.