One study, co-authored with Shirley Chen of Wilfrid Laurier University, examined how product size labels may influence perceptions of quality. In the study, consumers tended to rate products as higher quality when they carried distinctive labels such as “Titan” or “Grande” instead of conventional labels such as “Large” or “Double.” The findings suggest that distinctive labels may make products seem more unique, particularly when they come from larger chains.

Another project examined how ironic brand names may shape perceptions of how healthy a product is. Consumers tended to view products with names such as “Death Wish,” “Dirty” or “Brain Freeze” as less healthy, especially when the products were the kinds they generally considered healthy. The findings also suggest that descriptive packaging information, such as a list of key ingredients, may lessen the influence of an ironic name on those perceptions.

A third project, co-authored with Iman Paul of Rutgers University–Camden and Jeffrey Parker of the University of Illinois Chicago, focused on how consumers perceive products and services from employee-owned businesses. Across studies involving products such as car seats and coffee makers, as well as services and actual purchase choices, consumers tended to rate offerings from employee-owned businesses as higher quality and were more willing to choose or pay for them. One possible explanation is that consumers associate employee ownership with greater care and responsibility.

The fourth project, co-authored with Paul, Parker and Anshu Suri of University College Dublin, explored how political ideology relates to the way consumers think about their future selves. Across the studies, more conservative participants tended to report feeling more connected to their future selves and showed a stronger preference for options with future benefits, such as retirement savings and sustainable products. The findings suggest that asking consumers to think about their future selves may narrow differences in choices across political ideologies.

Mohanty joined �鶹��Ƶ in 2021. Her research interests include consumer behavior, brand management and marketing strategies.

�鶹��Ƶ Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics Devon Hawkins provided insight for an Oct. 30 examining a proposed constitutional amendment that would cap North Carolina’s state income tax rate at 3.5%.

The report explores the potential financial implications of the amendment, which voters will decide on Nov. 3. While the state’s current income tax rate is 3.99% and is scheduled to decrease to 3.49% in 2027, the amendment would prevent future lawmakers from raising the rate above 3.5%.

“Essentially, we’re not going to feel much of anything with this decrease in cap,” said Hawkins.

Hawkins explained that lower income tax rates could provide modest increases in take-home pay for residents, but could also reduce revenue available for public services.

“Every action has a reaction,” Hawkins said. “In this case, if we’re lowering tax rates, we’re eliminating tax revenue. There is no way around the fact that with less money, less can be done.”

Azucena Grady, assistant professor of international business, and David Moura, assistant teaching professor of management, guided students through a case study. Students worked in teams focused on finance, talent, operations and supervision, marketing and client experience, or strategy and corporate development.

Each team had about 15 minutes to develop 8 questions for each functional area, then select two to present to Porter.

Porter served as the former chair of �鶹��Ƶ’s Board of Trustees and is the owner and former managing partner of Baystate Financial, one of New England’s largest financial planning firms. During the discussion, he encouraged students to think critically about the values and habits that drive long-term success.

One of the central themes of Porter’s visit was organizational culture and the role leaders play in shaping it.

“Culture is what happens when I’m not there,” said Porter “If your professor doesn’t show up to class and you know you need to work through an activity for an hour and a half, what happens? Do a few students step up and lead the group through the questions, or does everyone just leave?”

Porter explained that the true test of an organization’s culture is what occurs when leaders are absent. Reflecting on his own experience, he recalled feeling confident in the culture he had built after returning from a two-week vacation and finding that the company continued to operate successfully without him.

Porter also challenged students to pursue growth by embracing discomfort and new experiences.

“Life starts at the end of your comfort zone,” he said. “Are you thriving or are you existing?”

Throughout the conversation, Porter emphasized the importance of understanding one’s competitive advantage. Whether interviewing for a job, pursuing a leadership role or entering a new industry, he encouraged students to take time to identify the qualities that set them apart.

“What’s your competitive advantage?” Porter asked. “You need to know that when you walk into an interview.”

Closing the discussion, Porter emphasized humility and servant leadership, encouraging students to put their egos aside and adopt a people-first mindset.

“If you have a people-first strategy, you are going to win every single time,” Porter said.

The summit brought students, faculty and industry professionals together for student sessions, a data challenge, poster presentations and an industry panel.

During a student session on responsible AI, �鶹��Ƶ alumnus Peyton Pesavento ’23, an enterprise AI strategy consultant at Accenture, urged students to understand a problem before asking AI to help solve it.

“Frame the real problem,” Pesavento said. “Don’t just tell the AI, ‘Hey, I’m trying to do this. Help me figure it out.’”

Pesavento presented with Accenture colleague Jared Skinner, a tech strategy senior manager. The speakers encouraged students to check the information they give AI, question its responses and bring examples of their work to job interviews.

In a second student session, Beca Mayr, vice president of talent acquisition at Sedgwick, shared how she combined her human resources experience with technical skills to build AI agents that support recruiting.

Students shared their own work during a networking lunch and poster session judged by members of the Center for Applied Analytics and AI Advisory Board. Takoda Moore ’27 and Sebastian Zucker-Malone ’27 earned first place for their market basket analysis project. Samantha Owens ’28 received second place for a project examining AI in hospitals.

For the Data Challenge, student teams used public data about housing and development in Alamance County. Four finalists presented findings drawn from building permits, tax parcels, municipal boundaries and other sources.

Moore, a financial technology major, and Zucker-Malone, a computer science major, joined Shayne Goldstein ’28, a computer science major, to win first place.

Their team initially tried to predict where development would occur. When their models failed to outperform a simple baseline, they changed their question to examine where development was least likely.

Carmine Familletti ’27, a finance major, and Carter May ’28, a finance and entrepreneurship and innovation major, placed second.

Third place went to Zach Conklin ’28, a finance and entrepreneurship and innovation major; Hodge Burkhardt ’27, a business analytics major; and Christopher Guider ’29, a business analytics and economics major.

The afternoon industry panel featured Elin Walton, vice president of marketing at Franzy; April Frazer ’03, CFO for corporate & investment bank at Wells Fargo; Brandon Richard, senior vice president at The Link Group; Jackie Tynan, data analytics manager for the City of Charlotte; and Steven Chen, head of services supply chain at Lenovo.

Richard discussed how his company is helping newer employees use AI while continuing to develop critical thinking and client relationship skills.

Frazer described how AI could help her team spend less time gathering financial information and more time investigating what the numbers mean. She also recalled challenging an AI tool after it provided incorrect information about Wells Fargo’s earnings.

“And you’ve got to make sure you’re testing it and you start to challenge it,” Frazer said.

Walton emphasized that people create value through how they use the technology.

“I believe it’s the humans using the technology who are creating the value,” Walton said. “But it also puts a different responsibility on the user as well, to provide the right context and the right data and the right information.”

“Talking with people in different roles allowed me to learn about their career paths, experiences, and responsibilities,” Reich said.

As a customer experience program specialist intern in Corning’s Optical Communications division, Reich divided her time between project work and meetings. She wanted to apply her studies at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business while strengthening her communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills.

“Going into the internship, I wanted to gain hands-on experience and develop professional skills that I could not fully learn in a classroom setting,” Reich said.

Corning’s reputation initially drew her to the company. She also saw the internship as an opportunity to understand how business analytics concepts apply to business situations.

Her work week included time in the office Tuesday through Thursday and remote work on Mondays and Fridays, with her routine varying according to the needs of her project.

Alongside her assignments, connections with colleagues gave Reich a closer look at different professional roles and helped her consider possibilities for her own future.

“The internship was a chance to explore different career paths and gain a better understanding of the type of work I may want to pursue in the future,” she said.

When she arrived at �鶹��Ƶ, she planned to pursue international financial law. But as she considered her future, she began looking for a way to bring those two interests together. She reached out to department chairs across campus, asking questions about different majors and where they might lead.

A conversation with Professor of Public Health and Human Service Studies Cindy Fair helped her find that connection in public health. Studying its sociocultural dimensions alongside finance offered a path toward healthcare administration, a career she hadn’t previously considered.

For Gomez, the ability to explore that path began with the support that brought her to �鶹��Ƶ.

An Odyssey Program Scholar and Business Fellow from Sanford, North Carolina, Gomez receives the John L. Georgeo Scholarship. She credits the scholarship and the Odyssey Program with easing the financial pressure on her family and giving her room to make the most of college.

“I think without that, I don’t even know if �鶹��Ƶ could have been an option for me,” she said.

That support shaped more than her decision to attend. It allowed her to consider opportunities based on what she could learn, including an experience abroad supported by an additional Odyssey grant.

“It’s really nice to be able to go to college and just focus on being at college, not to focus about the financials of it,” she said.

Gomez came to �鶹��Ƶ after earning an associate degree from Central Carolina Community College while attending Lee Early College. The experience helped her develop study habits, explore possible careers and learn how to seek out resources. At �鶹��Ƶ, she continued asking questions and building relationships with people who could help her find her direction.

Her interests came together during an internship with Cura Systems in Singapore. There, she worked with nursing homes transitioning from handwritten records to a digital system.

Gomez helped set up tablets, developed instructions and guided staff through unfamiliar technology. Working with employees from different countries also challenged her to communicate across language barriers and build trust as they learned together.

As the company’s first intern, she had a chance to help shape her role. What began as an unfamiliar assignment became an opportunity to see how business processes and technology could support healthcare work.

“I didn’t ever think I’d be in a technology consulting role, but I really enjoyed it,” she said.

Her time abroad also gave her a clearer sense of herself. While studying in Australia, she began waking early to watch the sunrise and noticed how often people made time to be outside before and after work. She brought that routine back to Charlotte for her next internship, taking morning walks and walking to the office.

The experience helped her become more comfortable on her own and more deliberate about the life she wanted to build.

Back in North Carolina, Gomez applied what she was learning through a practicum with the Alamance County Health Department. Its baby closet provides donated clothing, diapers and wipes to local families. Gomez helped move its handwritten tracking process into a digital format, making information about visits and needed supplies easier to organize.

She has also explored food insecurity closer to campus. Through her PACE job as food justice coordinator in the Office of Environmental and Place-Based Education, Gomez works with Professor of Education Scott Morrison to research how universities help students access meals.

Being part of the Odyssey Program made her aware of the difference financial support can make. It also prompted her to think about students outside the program who might face similar needs. She has researched campus food pantries and meal swipe donation programs, hoping that work can contribute to additional resources at �鶹��Ƶ.

Gomez credits mentorship with helping her turn those interests into action. Business Fellows Director Tina Doss has been a consistent source of guidance, while Morrison encouraged her to become more involved in public health.

Those relationships have shaped how she approaches her own roles in admissions and student government. When younger students have questions, she wants to help them find someone who can answer.

“It’s just advocating for yourself and others is the biggest thing that you have to do,” she said.

After two summer internships with EY in Charlotte, Gomez plans to return to the firm full time after graduation. During her most recent internship, she worked with healthcare and life sciences clients, continuing to connect her finance education with her interest in health.

She also found a network of �鶹��Ƶ alumni at EY who made time to meet with interns and share advice. As she begins her career, she hopes to help develop more formal mentorship opportunities for interns in tax and audit.

The scholarship that helped Gomez attend �鶹��Ƶ gave her the freedom to explore an unexpected direction. The people she met along the way helped her pursue it. Now, she wants to offer that same guidance to students following her.

“I want everyone to succeed, honestly, more than I have,” she said.

“Your flights, hotel, plans and reservations end up scattered across a dozen apps, emails and screenshots, and when something goes wrong mid-trip you’re the one scrambling to fix it,” Sanchez said.

His answer was Trip Pilot, an organizer and in-trip companion designed to keep travel information in one place and help travelers handle problems as they happen.

Sanchez was one of 21 participants to pitch an idea on the opening night of Techstars Startup Weekend AI: Ideas in Action, held Oct. 2-4 in Winston-Salem. Trip Pilot was among six concepts selected by participants for development over the weekend.

Martha and Spencer Love School of Business students and alumni had a strong showing across the competition, helping develop the first- and second-place ventures while contributing to several other teams. The Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship served as a facilitator sponsor and helped send �鶹��Ƶ students to Winston-Salem, covering registration and lodging for participants.

Startup Weekend moves quickly. Participants pitch ideas Friday, form teams around selected concepts and spend the weekend testing those ideas with customers and mentors, developing business models and preparing final pitches for judges.

For Sanchez, that process changed Trip Pilot significantly.

“We started out targeting older travelers with a text-and-call AI assistant, then moved away from that and repositioned it as an organizer and companion rather than another planning or booking app,” Sanchez said.

By the end of the weekend, he had narrowed his audience to college students taking their first trips as independent adults. As the weekend progressed, Sanchez took on a larger role in developing and testing the idea.

“Working mostly on my own forced me to learn how to validate an idea, not just pitch it,” Sanchez said. “I built a simple survey to see if strangers cared, and I realized how much I had been guessing about my customer. I also learned I can keep going and lead even when things don’t go to plan.”

Sanchez is continuing to develop the concept through customer interviews, including conversations with �鶹��Ƶ students who have studied abroad.

Carmine Familletti ‘27, a finance and entrepreneurship major from Basking Ridge, N.J., took a different path into the weekend’s first-place venture. After listening to the opening-night pitches and talking with several teams, the idea behind Little Helper stood out to him.

is a safety application for children’s Windows PCs and Macs designed to identify potential signs of grooming, bullying or explicit content in online chats and alert parents.

“I spent time talking with other teams and testing their ideas, and this one stood out as the strongest, so I joined the team,” Familletti said.

Familletti served as chief financial officer, building the pricing model, calculating operating costs and developing a three-year financial plan. His financial work also influenced how the product was designed.

“I used that cost data to see which features were cheap and which were expensive to run,” Familletti said. “That helped us redesign the AI engine to be as cost-efficient as possible, cutting our AI cost from about $26 per family per month to about $1.20.”

By the final pitch, Familletti said the team had more than a concept to show the judges.

“We came in with more than an idea,” Familletti said. “By the final pitch, we had a working product, survey data from real parents, and financial numbers we could defend.”

Little Helper earned first place and received Sparq Coworking memberships, app development support from YohDev and a sponsored launch party to help the team continue developing the venture.

Gabi Czerveny ’27, a marketing major from Charlotte, N.C., joined Transfer Ready, a concept pitched by �鶹��Ƶ alumnus Aaron Satko ’25 after his own experience trying to buy a business.

“He was like, ‘I have an idea for putting the value from the CEO’s head back into the business,’” Czerveny said.

The team developed the concept around helping business owners capture knowledge that might otherwise exist primarily in their heads before retiring or selling the company.

For Czerveny, part of the work was helping the team turn a wide range of ideas into a focused concept.

“We had a lot of ideas on the table, so I helped us narrow in on what we could realistically accomplish over the weekend,” Czerveny said.

She also helped refine the team’s presentation, cutting down slides and making sure the final pitch clearly communicated the idea.

Transfer Ready earned second place and the Social Impact Award, recognizing the venture’s potential to support business and wealth transfer, particularly for minority- and women-owned businesses.

“They said that was so important, especially for small towns, because there are so many small businesses and a lot of them shut down when an owner leaves,” Czerveny said. “Our idea was to keep these companies that have been in business, in business.”

The team also received Sparq Coworking memberships and development support from Sigma Software Vertex to continue building the venture.

The Transfer Ready team also included �鶹��Ƶ students Pierson Norris ’27, Aaron Grubman ’29 and Murray Marks Jr. ’28, along with alumni Joshua Mason ’25 and Satko. Kathy Atwiine ’29 participated on another team during the weekend.

Czerveny’s role with Startup Weekend began before the competition. As a Techstars student ambassador, she helped recruit �鶹��Ƶ participants and worked with Ashley Wilcox, director of the Doherty Center, to get students involved.

Wilcox also traveled to Winston-Salem and served as a judge during the weekend.

“The experience exposed us to different people, perspectives and ideas than we might otherwise encounter,” Czerveny said. “I would mainly suggest that people go to push themselves out of their comfort zones. There are always new ideas there that you would never think of. You really leave the weekend feeling refreshed and focused”

Familletti echoed that advice for students considering a future Startup Weekend.

“Just do it,” Familletti said. “Whatever your skill set, and whatever you do or don’t know going in, the competition will push you to learn something new.”

The students who earned the certification are:

• Charlie Billinger
• Maddie Cook
• Noah Goldstein
• Jake Kadnar
• Oliver Keicher
• Raiyan Khalid
• Daire McCarthy
• Madison Oliver
• Ben Patterson
• Jordan Shaf
• Arthur Shea
• Jackson Steiner

The internationally recognized credential demonstrates students’ understanding of the Scrum framework, an Agile approach to managing projects, collaborating across teams and responding to changing priorities. To earn the certification, students must score at least 85% on an 80-question exam.

The students completed the certification as part of Agile Project Management (MGT 3470), taught by Scott Oakes, assistant teaching professor of management. Through projects, simulations, guest speakers and practical exercises, students learn to apply Agile principles and understand the responsibilities of a Scrum Master in guiding teams through complex projects.

�鶹��Ƶ is a recognized university partner of Scrum.org. The PSM I is one of two professional certifications available to students majoring in project management, alongside the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM).

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Those challenges were at the center of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business’s Family Entrepreneurship Forum on Sept. 25, which brought leading scholars and practitioners together with students, alumni and business-owning families during Family Weekend.

Organized by David Jiang, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship, the forum, “How Families Create Opportunity Across Generations,” combined research-informed expert insight with interactive conversations about leadership, governance, succession and entrepreneurship.

The program featured several nationally recognized scholars in family business and entrepreneurship from UNC Charlotte, N.C. State University, and UNC Greensboro, along with Steve Miller, former executive vice president and the most senior non-family executive in the history of the Biltmore Estate and co-founder of UNC Chapel Hill’s Family Enterprise Center.

Miller opened the forum by drawing on nearly four decades of experience with the Vanderbilt/Cecil family-owned Biltmore Estate and focused on three priorities for family enterprises: ownership, leadership development and “working on the family as hard as you work on the business.”

“That sometimes gets neglected,” Miller said. “So it’s really important.”

He emphasized the need for families to have a shared vision for the future of the enterprise.

“It was amazing when we talked to, particularly when many family members were involved, about what your vision was for the family firm,” Miller said. “They may have different opinions about that and never really talked about it.”

Miller also stressed the importance of preparing future leaders through meaningful responsibility and challenging work.

“In terms of training the next-generation leader, provide them with work assignments that really are challenging,” he said.

Biltmore’s own history, he said, shows how differences in vision can shape a family enterprise and how clearer communication and shared stewardship can help guide it forward.

Following the keynote, participants joined two rounds of small-group discussions facilitated by:

• Franz Kellermanns, Addison H. & Gertrude C. Reese Endowed Chair in International Business and Distinguished Professor of Management at UNC Charlotte, on family succession conflicts.
• Torsten Pieper, professor of management at UNC Charlotte and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Family Business Strategy, on family offices, entrepreneurship and philanthropy.
• Jon Carr, Jenkins Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at NC State University, on families as catalysts for entrepreneurship.
• Esra Memili, professor of entrepreneurship and Margaret Van Hoy Hill Dean’s Notable Scholar at UNC Greensboro, on family and wealth governance.
• David Jiang and Steve Miller, on preparing the next generation for success.

“Since every family and family business is different, there is no one-size-fits-all model or approach,” said Esra Memili, professor of entrepreneurship at UNC Greensboro.

The small-group format gave families space to ask questions, share experiences and talk through issues they may be facing in their own businesses.

“Family Weekend gave us a unique opportunity to bring students and their families into the same conversation,” Jiang said. “And these conversations aren’t just for established business owners. Any family can work together to pool resources, bear risks, and support one another in ways that can open new opportunities.”

The annual experience uses Charlotte as a classroom, helping students connect business education with the economic and social forces shaping the city.

Thomas Flaherty ’27, an entrepreneurship and innovation major, said the tour challenged some of his assumptions about affordable housing.

“The bus tour really changed my perception because the housing was actually really nice, clean and friendly-looking,” Flaherty said. “There were lots of trees and people walking around, so it showed how the housing met people’s living needs.”

Ian Knarr ’30, an economics major, came away with a different perspective on the city itself.

“Usually, when you see a city, you only see one part of it, but we got to see so many parts and how every part is different from each other,” Knarr said.

Trapani encouraged students to think about how understanding a place can shape the way they engage with its challenges.

“Things don’t just change. You have to change them,” Trapani told students. “It is important in order for you to become a full member of society to understand what you deeply care about and fight for it.”

Hanchett discussed how federal and local policies shaped Charlotte’s neighborhoods and development patterns and why understanding that history matters for future business and community leaders.

“The stories that I’m telling are stories that you will find everywhere in the U.S.,” Hanchett said. “It is hard sometimes to see them, but it shapes who we are.”

Dodson introduced students to DreamKey Partners’ work in affordable and mixed-income housing, including the Brightwalk development near uptown Charlotte. Students learned about the financing, partnerships and long-term planning involved in developing mixed-income communities and how those projects can affect surrounding neighborhoods.

“It is not just about housing,” Dodson said. “By building this community, we became an economic catalyst.”

Amarina Beard-Galati ’28, an entrepreneurship and innovation major, said traveling along Central Avenue highlighted another dimension of the city.

“Seeing all these shops and all these cultures that people have created is a sign that people want to come together and create a community that embraces us all,” Beard-Galati said.

For students in the Center for Humanity in Business program, Charlotte will become an even larger part of their �鶹��Ƶ experience when they spend their fourth year living in the city and completing a co-op experience tied to responsible management practices and their career interests.

Meira Flavin ’30, a marketing major, said the visit shifted her understanding of Charlotte.

“Coming into this experience, I had a preconceived notion of what Charlotte was,” Flavin said. “That changed today.”