(Jason Chan/The Ram)
By Jason Chan
Coming to Fordham University from Illinois and California, Joe Halpin, GSB ’17 and Nick Makarov, GSB ’17, began their friendship and business partnership in Martyrs’ Court Jogues. These two students, equally interested in business and making the world a better place, joined Compass Fellowship, a social entrepreneurial club, when their freshman year began. The two noticed that many students had a hard time fully comprehending current events and looked to fix the problem. Their goal? To create a comprehensive timeline of all influential events of a specific story that the college reader could understand.
sLess than a year later, the two started SamePage, won the Kenneth Cole Grant for their entrepreneurial spirit and met Kenneth Cole himself. The business idea came from their desire to make the world an easier place.
“I had this vague idea that I could pursue through Compass, and, in fleshing out the idea, I found myself asking Joe for input and help, since he was the top dog in his high school newspaper,” said Nick. “The broad goal was to make comprehension of current events easier for students.”
In addition to coding and doing market research, SamePage applied to various grants like The Kenneth Cole Grant. The Kenneth Cole Grant, won in April, has been the duo’s biggest achievement to date. They had the opportunity to meet Kenneth Cole for his advice, obtained money to fund their project and pitched their idea to various people.
“The entrepreneurial community is full of ‘get stuff done NOW’ people, which is pretty overwhelming,” said Nick. On the other hand, the two still plan on spending the year building the brand, voice and staff. Ultimately, their goal is to win more grants and to slowly grow the business.
Before the awards, the fame and the “grown-up” stuff, Nick and Joe were just two motivated kids who chose to attend Fordham. “I knew two things coming to college: I loved my Jesuit high school education and wanted to study business,” said Nick. “Being at Fordham and in New York was a no-brainer.”
Joe was equally attracted to Fordham. He knew that he wanted to study business and wanted to do so in a fast-paced environment, and he wanted to be at a school that felt like home with a community of driven passionate people. He searched for schools all over and felt drawn to New York City and Fordham.
While Nick does not want to limit himself to any one discipline of business, he is currently looking to pursue management consulting. Joe is very interested in designing. He interned at a theatre company over the summer, and created his own website. Ultimately, he is interested in branding and technology, therefore he chose to study marketing and infosystems.
Outside of work and academia, the two have very peculiar interests. Nick enjoys fantasy football, “Gossip Girl,” salsa dancing, World Star Hip-Hop and turtlenecks.
On the other hand, Joe loves Beyonce, overwhelmingly so. He is interested in the arts, Idina Menzel, club sports and social entrepreneurship.
“I’m just really passionate about entrepreneurship, social innovation, design and technology. I’m very much a ‘get stuff done’ type of person, which is why I love fast-paced hectic environments (i.e., shows and startups). Aside from business-related interests, I really do love reading, running, and seeing new shows (just saw FOUND at the Atlantic—phenomenal!). Between school and work, I don’t have much free time, but that’s how I spend it!”
“When I actually have free time, it’s usually spent researching fantasy football, watching Netflix, playing FIFA, or reading. Big nerd for Lord of the Rings/“Game of Thrones” type stuff,” said Nick.
In addition, Nick wants to become a coffee connoisseur, salsa dancer, savage letter writer and rock climber. “I want to try to have a job in every business discipline before I graduate. Get a little taste of everything. A fruit salad of experience, if you will,” he said.
On the other hand, Joe loves theatre and hopes eventually to produce Broadway shows: “I love collaboration and want to create memorable, life-changing moments in theatre,” he said.
These two passionate and well-rounded students are on their way to becoming very successful, and we can look out for creative ways that they will mix art, business and social responsibility.
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Jason Chan is the Assistant Business Director for The Fordham Ram.
