Jonathan Godbout
Deputy Director of the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship
Meet Our Team
Staff
Patty Robinson-Angel
Assistant Director, Operations and Student Engagement
Entrepreneurs in Residence (EiR’s)
Drew McKechnie ’04 is an Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) of the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship. He is the Global Lead for Consulting Services Commercialization at Google Cloud, and has over 20 years of experience in digital transformation, product/service operations, and go-to-market strategy. Drew advocates for underrepresented groups of entrepreneurs as a Google for Startups success mentor via multiple global accelerators — e.g., Black Founders, Women Founders, Startups Africa, Voice AI, and Climate Change. In this role, he has a demonstrated record of achievement leading product innovation, with expertise in customer engagement, rapid prototype development, and the creation of novel cloud-based and digital solutions. Prior to joining Google, Drew led engagements at some of the world’s largest management consulting firms — Booz Allen, KPMG, and Deloitte — supporting large public and private sector organizations. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Customer Experience program at University of Colorado – Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. Drew majored in Economics and International Studies with a minor in Computer Science at Colby and holds an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife and daughter.
Colby students can connect with Drew McKechnie on StartupTree
Elisa Chiniara ’07 was an Advisor in Residence (AiR) of the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship. She is a General Manager with a focus on Marketing within consumer packaged goods (CPG). She developed her consumer-first business mindset at Communispace (now C Space) where she honed her market research skills, consulting with CPG, tech and healthcare clients enabling them to make impactful consumer-driven decisions. She then went on to work at Johnson & Johnson’s consumer products sector (now Kenvue) to manage beloved global brands such as Band-Aid, Neosporin, Aveeno Baby and Desitin. During her time at J&J, she launched TV, digital/social, and influencer-driven ad campaigns, led brand partnerships, launched line extensions and innovations in addition to managing the P&Ls and day-to-day business. She also served as an agile coach for her business units, challenging and guiding teams to think differently to drive meaningful impact through sprints. Excited for a new challenge, Elisa joined Harry’s, famous for its razors, to develop the go-to-market strategy & consumer campaigns for its new deodorant and antiperspirant launch on DTC and across several national retailers, a first for the brand. Simultaneously, she managed the Harry’s Body Care portfolio, the brand’s fastest growing segment. She transitioned from personal care to food when joining Private Equity-backed Whisps, a cheese snack, where she led the repositioning of the company and brand strategy. Elisa is known for her entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to roll up her sleeves, while keeping an eye on the bigger picture to deliver against business objectives. Elisa majored in Environmental Studies with a minor of Environmental Education at Colby College. She earned her MBA at Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. She’s been an active volunteer with her alumni committee and is excited to engage with students through the Halloran Lab this year.
Colby students can connect with Elisa Chiniara on StartupTree
Student Entrepreneurship Program Assistants
Abi, a senior, is double majoring in Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies and English: Creative Writing. Currently from Boston, Abi was born in Belfast, Ireland, grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to America in 2013. Abi played the piano for twelve years, is a talented Hip Hop dancer, and Choreographer who teaches students on campus. Abi enjoys listening to music and building Legos.
Ana Cris, a senior, is an international student from Peru and a UWC alumna who previously studied in Maastricht, Netherlands. She is pursuing a double major in Global Studies and Economics, along with a minor in Latin American Studies. Ana Cris is deeply committed to human rights advocacy and developing initiatives that foster community building.
Carter, a junior, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a double major in Economics and Government, and have been actively involved with the Halloran Lab since his Freshman year. Over the past few months, Carter has been working full-time on his startup, Acent (acentgiving.com), attempting to revolutionize philanthropy and how it is perceived in our society. On top of his startup, he is a Program Assistant for the Halloran Lab, an O’Hanian-Szostak Fellow for Civic Engagement, a Sexual Violence Peer Educator, President of Colby’s Innovation Club, and a member of Colby’s Club Soccer team. Feel free to reach out at: [email protected].
Finn, a freshman, from Indianapolis, Indiana is intending on majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Finn is our production assistant for the Founder’s Forum speaker series. Finn has spent eight years working in various technical and production assistant positions. Finn produces the recorded video, manages the webinar, virtual attendees, virtual aids, and facilitates remote speakers.
Sofia, a senior from Texas, a nationally recognized Posse Scholar. She applies her passion for environmental sustainability and climate finance. Her experience includes interning with the National Geographic Society CEO and participating in Colby’s delegation to the 29th Annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nation Framework Convention.
Past Director & Advisors/Entrepreneurs in Residence
Jeremy Barron ’00 was the inaugural director of the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship. Jeremy has a deep background in entrepreneurship. He served as entrepreneur-in-residence of the Waterville startup incubator Dirigo Labs, taught an experiential Jan Plan course on entrepreneurship, and co-founded the speech technology and video accessibility company 3Play Media in 2007. He and his team wrote the business plan, secured seed capital, and led the company to become the market leader. They organically grew the business until a partial sale of the company in 2019, resulting in a return for investors of 15 to 30 times their initial investment.
Prior to helping develop and run 3Play Media as its chief customer officer, Barron worked in leadership positions in the nonprofit sector as a program director for several foundation-based outreach programs and as a senior financial analyst for a middle-market investment bank. He majored in anthropology and biology at Colby and holds an M.B.A. from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Under Jeremy’s leadership, the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship provided education and training programs, funding for students to start commercial and social enterprises, mentorship, as well as innovation and makerspaces on campus and in downtown Waterville. Jeremy also focused on developing an entrepreneurship ecosystem involving alumni, faculty, staff, and community members, along with partnerships with companies, organizations, and institutions.
Colby students can connect with Jeremy Barron on StartupTree
Jonathan Godbout ’08 is a Colby alum turned entrepreneur and co-founder of Prospector. His career has spanned from globally impactful roles at IBM to pioneering AI in the mining industry, offering a wealth of insights from his journey in technology and entrepreneurship.
Jon’s journey starts in his hometown of Biddeford, Maine. A predominantly French-Canadian and Catholic town, it wasn’t till Jon came to Colby that he was exposed to a diverse array of cultures and religions. Reflecting on his time at Colby, Jon said “I think there are a lot of students at Colby who haven’t had that world experience. There are great opportunities to [expose students to new ideas] through the Halloran Lab and faculty also have cool projects on campus.” During his time at Colby, Jon majored in economics with a focus on international development, majors that provided a strong foundation for his understanding of how to get involved and make an impact on a global scale.
After College Jon started his professional career working for IBM. His first major engagement was working at the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) focused on economic stabilization in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group aimed to encourage foreign direct investment and economic development as means of counter insurgency strategy. This experience was pivotal in broadening his perspective on international development and global entrepreneurship.
After his time at the Pentagon, Jon began continued work at IBM while supporting government and fortune 500 clients. While there he was part of Echoing Green, an organization that supports socially conscious startups. This group gave Jon the opportunity to organize conversations with founders where members of the organization could gather, eat pizza, and problem solve together. Notably, he formed a close friendship with Zubaida Bai, the founder of a company called Ayzh, which sells low-cost birthing kits in developing countries, aiming to improve maternal health and accessibility to birthing resources.
The skills Jon developed in his early career proved useful when he went on to found Prospector with Emily King. The Colby vs. Bowdoin jokes must have been in good spirits, because the two worked well together and were able to leverage AI to create the first searchable digital database for mining technical data from public disclosure documents. Prospector was game-changing as it modernized the way geologists, researchers and investors access mining information.
The key attributes Jon emphasized in the successful navigation of the entrepreneurial landscape are the desire to learn, flexibility, and empathetic intelligence. Jon’s desire to learn diverse perspectives is what led to his work at the Pentagon. His flexibility allowed him to work with a host of different entrepreneurs with novel ideas in Echoing Green.
For students looking to develop their professional toolkit, Jon recommends focusing on flexibility, independent problem-solving, and the ability to handle “messy data,” as these skills are increasingly relevant in a data-driven environment. He emphasizes the importance of keeping an open mind and treating every opportunity as a learning experience. As a mentor, Jon seeks to provide students a space where they can freely explore ideas, test them, and return for discussions that foster development.
Colby students can connect with Jonathan Godbout on StartupTree
Bob Martin was an Advisor in Residence (AiR) of the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship. He is the Managing Partner of Strategic Equity Partners LLC, a consultancy focused on helping companies develop effective growth strategies. He has helped scores of early-stage and startup ventures, and worked with later stage and large enterprises. A recognized leader and speaker in the world of innovation and entrepreneurship, Bob became widely known as the former President of the Maine Technology Institute. He serves on a number of boards, including ClimateWorkMaine, and works as a mentor with the Maine Center of Entrepreneurs, Dirigo Labs, and Colby College where he is also the Advisor-in-Residence to the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship and a visiting instructor. Bob’s experience includes senior leadership roles at The Washington Post, The Hartford Courant, and Dai Nippon Ink & Chemicals where he was president of two subsidiaries. He has created and launched several ventures, and led a number of mergers and acquisitions. He did his undergraduate studies at The George Washington University and earned his MBA at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a US Army veteran. Bob lives in Waterville with his wife Barbara, and Georgie, their Maine Coon cat, and is a Trustee for the Waterville Public Library.
Jen Millard ’90 P ’20 was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) of the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship. She is the Managing Director and Digital and Technology Practice Lead for Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. She has over 25 years of experience in retail operations, strategy, and business development helping enterprises and startups in the fintech and commerce tech sectors achieve their growth potential. Prior to joining Manatt, Millard founded Sanctum Insights, a boutique strategy consulting firm serving some of the world’s most recognized technology, retail, and financial services brands. She has held interim CEO and CRO positions at several tech companies, accelerating revenue, optimizing value, and leading multiple exits, acquisitions, and partnerships. She also completed courses in Innovation for Large Organizations at Stanford University’s d.school Innovation Program, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and attended the Wisconsin School of Business. Millard is an active Colby volunteer, having served on the Alumni Council as Chair of the Davis Connects Committee in addition to her Class Gift and Reunion Committees and most recently with the Halloran Center for Entrepreneurship. Millard has two children, Matthew and Megan ’20.
Graham Powis ’90 P’23 was an Advisor in Residence (AiR) of the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship. He is a Managing Partner at Brookline Capital Markets, a life sciences boutique investment bank, and focuses on the firm’s public financing and capital markets advisory business lines. Prior to joining Brookline, he served as Head of BTIG’s Investment Banking Group. Mr. Powis spent seven years at Lazard as Head of U.S. Equity Capital Markets and nine years at Cowen where he served most recently as Head of Equity Capital Markets. In all three cases, Mr. Powis focused on emerging growth companies and, in particular, healthcare enterprises. He began his career approximately 30 years ago at Credit Suisse First Boston in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group. Over the course of his career, he has completed several hundred financings and capital markets advisory assignments. Mr. Powis is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer on business strategy; the equity capital markets, including IPOs; entrepreneurship; and other healthcare, consumer and technology investment banking topics. He currently serves as Co-Head of the Board of Visitors at Colby College, where he also teaches a course called “From Idea to IPO: Business Strategy Basics for Next Gen Titans.” Mr. Powis received his B.A. in Economics from Colby College and his M.B.A. in Finance from New York University.
Josh Kim ’24
Josh was a Entrepreneur in Residence of the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship for the spring semester. A recent graduate from Colby, Josh studied Anthropology and Computer Science. During his time at Colby, he founded and sold his startup The Cubby, the first art marketplace exclusively for college student artists. He and his team won pitch competitions such as Maine’s Big Gig and Top Gun Program, while also securing funding from the Maine Technology Institute. By the time of the sale, The Cubby was on 200 college campuses with over 150,000 users. Since The Cubby, Josh has advised many startups, with a special focus on customer interviews, user experience, and product strategy. This past year he worked as the program manager for Maine Angels, an investing group in Portland.
As the Entrepreneur in Residence, Josh‘s goal was to build the student community around entrepreneurship, share his journey as a student-founder, and be a bridge between students and alumni.