Alumni and Pi Kappa Alpha brothers John Delbridge ’91, Jeffrey Stewart ’91, and David Uyttendaele ’91 have been selected as the 2014 William F. Glaser ’53 Rensselaer Entrepreneurs of the Year. Established in 1990, the award brings the world of entrepreneurship into Rensselaer classrooms by recognizing successful entrepreneurs and role models who share their wisdom and experiences with students.
John Delbridge ’91, Jeffrey Stewart ’91, and David Uyttendaele ’91 have been selected as the 2014 William F. Glaser ’53 Rensselaer Entrepreneurs of the Year.
The Entrepreneur of the Year program will take place Friday, Oct. 3, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies auditorium. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Paul J. ’69 and Kathleen M. Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and the Lally School of Management.
While attending Rensselaer, the fraternity brothers first started collaborating on projects, and this continued even after graduation. In early 1993, en route to a ski trip in Vermont, the trio stopped off at Rensselaer to discuss the latest business idea that was keeping Stewart up at night—a business-to-business online printing solution. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in New York City, Mimeo.com now employs more than 850 people globally with operations in North America, Europe, and Asia.
With a global footprint and cloud-based platform, Mimeo provides customers with a simple way to create, manage, and distribute content and materials. As an innovator of online managed content distribution, the private company has provided solutions to over 50,000 organizations in over 140 countries over the past 15 years.
“We are excited to honor Rensselaer alums John Delbridge ’91, Jeffrey Stewart ’91, and David Uyttendaele ’91 as the recipients of this year’s William F. Glaser ’53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year,” said Thomas Begley, dean of the Lally School. “Rensselaer students and graduates are known as creative problem-solvers prepared to tackle 21st-century challenges. This year, we celebrate the Mimeo founders, who like past winners of the award, are business leaders who have a passion for innovation.”
Delbridge is a founding team member and serves as chief executive officer of Mimeo. Prior to becoming CEO, Delbridge had served in various roles, including CFO, and was instrumental in raising more than $80 million in capital from both financial and strategic investors. Outside of Mimeo, Delbridge serves on the board of directors of Venture for America, a fellowship program that places top college graduates in startups in low-cost U.S. cities to generate job growth and train the next generation of entrepreneurs. He received a bachelor’s degree in industrial and management engineering from Rensselaer and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
Stewart is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Mimeo. Over the last 15 years, he has started more than a half-dozen technology companies that span four continents and employ over 1,000 people. Presently, Stewart serves as chief executive officer of Lenddo, “the world’s first online community that empowers the emerging class to use their online social connections to build their creditworthiness and access local financial services.” The company recently received the 2014 Technology Pioneer award from the World Economic Forum. Stewart earned a bachelor’s degree in business management with a concentration in entrepreneurship from Rensselaer.
Rensselaer students and graduates are known as creative problem-solvers prepared to tackle 21st-century challenges. This year, we celebrate the Mimeo founders, who like past winners of the award, are business leaders who have a passion for innovation.”
Uyttendaele is co-founder and chief technology officer at Mimeo. As CTO, he leads product vision, invention, and technology architecture. Prior to Mimeo, Uyttendaele and Stewart co-founded Square Earth, a first-generation Internet consulting firm that was later sold to Proxicom. The merged entity went on to complete an IPO in 1999. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer.
“Mimeo brings extraordinary and relevant business solutions to issues surrounding cost, productivity, and time management, and reflects the intersection of technical, creative, and business approaches,” said Jason Kuruzovich, associate professor and director of the Severino Center. “It’s these skill sets and critical thinking that we try to instill in our student entrepreneurs at Rensselaer, and the reason why many of our alumni and alumnae become successful entrepreneurs.”