Anthony Magaraci, CEO and Founder of Trinity Packaging, came back to his alma mater to educate and speak to students about the ups and downs of starting a new venture on Monday, Nov. 6. The event was hosted by the Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship as a part of the Spotlight Speaker Series.
Trinity Packaging is an online platform that standardizes data about packaging goods. The website provides wholesalers with information about the cheapest and closest supplies, such as tape, boxes, and envelopes, and a platform to buy them. He started it in 2010 and works with over 400 suppliers.
Before starting his own company, he worked for a packaging supply company in North Philadelphia, where he learned the ins and outs of the industry. He took this knowledge to create an opportunity using drop shipping, which is when manufacturers send the product to the customer rather than going through a distributor.
He noted that one of the most difficult parts of entrepreneurship is just making the choice to begin. An anonymous email one of his coworkers sent to his previous boss was the spark that pushed him to quit his day job and start his own business.
“The hardest part is taking that leap of faith, going from a guaranteed paycheck and a steady income and then not knowing what the future is going to look like. And I think that’s where people get caught up,” said Magaraci.
In the beginning, he was making a lot of cold calls, getting rejected, and had to persevere through some failures. When he was first starting out, he had to focus on three things, “concentration, consistency, and cooperation.” By using these principles to guide himself during the process, he was able to build something substantial and successful.
He explained that being part of the entrepreneurship program at Rowan really changed his mindset, compared to how things are taught in a typical classroom.
“That’s what I love about the entrepreneurship program here. Our entire lives we’re trained to take in and comprehend the information that’s in front of us, and then repeat it back… the entrepreneur mindset is ‘Okay, you might understand what’s in front of you. But you don’t need to repeat it back because you’re creating your own path,’” said Magaraci.
The audience was full of students who were there to learn from Magaraci’s experience and use his advice and story to guide them through their own careers.
“I think Anthony had a really good insight, not only on how to start a business, but how to run a business and I learned a lot about believing in myself and marketing myself as a beginner in entrepreneurship,” said Lucas Jimenez, a sophomore majoring in entrepreneurship.
Danielle McManus, a junior entrepreneurship major also attended the event and enjoyed hearing about Magaraci’s journey, she found it comforting to know that success doesn’t come overnight.
“It was reassuring to me knowing that, you know, it doesn’t have to be something you’re doing right after college or right after high school and that it’s okay to take your time,” said McManus.
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