Maggie Dunne ’13 at Colgate’s 2013 Entrepreneur Weekend. Photo by Erica Hasenjager
Maggie Dunne ’13 and Ryan Smith ’13
Two alumni from one class are among the nation’s “brightest young stars and future leaders of everything” on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 lists: Maggie Dunne ’13 for education and Ryan Smith ’13 for enterprise tech.
Dunne, a Native American studies and religion double major, founded Lakota Children’s Enrichment, Inc. (LCE) while still in high school. As a Colgate sophomore, she joined the university’s Thought Into Action (TIA), working with alumni mentors to expand her venture and further LCE’s mission to “empower Lakota youth and amplify their voices by providing opportunities in the arts, education, sports, leadership, and mentorship.”
In 2012, Glamour magazine named Dunne one of its Top 10 College Women, and awarded her the $20,000 grand prize. Before investing the award in LCE, she tripled the amount when Sir Richard Branson offered to match it while on campus during Entrepreneur Weekend and then challenged an anonymous alumnus to do the same.
Ryan Smith ’13 during his days leading EcoCampus, LLC. Photo by Andrew Daddio
Smith, who majored in international relations, also joined TIA sophomore year. He co-founded the environmentally friendly paper supplier EcoCampus, LLC, with Brendan Karson ’13, and then sold it his senior year to four juniors — TIA classmates.
Senior year, Smith also started Trupoly, a crowdfunded real estate investment platform, which he sold to RCS Capital Corporation in 2014.
Smith’s newest venture is called LeafLink. It provides a wholesale management platform for the newly legalized cannabis industry, integrating software that allows users to track inventory and orders and get better pricing.
— Mark Walden and Emma Loftus ’16
