About the ECenter
The Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center, known around campus as the ECenter, was funded in early 2015 and officially launched in November 2015, with the hiring of its first director, Ian Grant. In January 2016, the ECenter opened its doors in UNHInnovation at Madbury Commons.
Our Story
The Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter) at the University of New Hampshire is the co-curricular heart of ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship on campus. It’s open to all students from any college or major. Our goal at the ECenter is to foster the next generation of leaders with an entrepreneurial mind-set who can see opportunities and identify creative solutions that others have missed, one idea at a time. Although part of UNH, the ECenter is independent of any one college. The ECenter delivers unique, hands-on, experiential programming that inspires, nurtures, and mentors students from any major, at every step in the process, anywhere from idea growth and development to the fundamentals of company creation.
The ECenter operates as a start-up in an academic environment, and most programs are donor funded. Led by a proven serial entrepreneur, we are demonstrating significant success throughout the UNH student community. Being co-curricular means we are able to complement what all UNH students are learning in every classroom on campus. ECenter programs include the i2 Passport Program, Paid Student Internship at Start-Ups Program, Summer Seed Grant, Maurice Prize for Innovation, Start-Up Speaker Series, bootcamps, and hackathons. We’re also home to the Idea & Innovation Society, the student-run Makerspace, and the UNH Entrepreneurship Club, a student-led organization housed within the ECenter, and our annual UNH Alumni Entrepreneur Hall of Fame launched in 2018.
Schedule Your Visit
Want to learn more about what's happening at the ECenter? Fill out the form below to set up your visit today!
MEET THE ECENTER TEAM
JOSHUA CYR
Director, Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center
joshua.cyr@unh.edu
21 Madbury Road, Suite 101
Durham, NH 03824
Over the last few decades Joshua has devoted himself to the intersection of entrepreneurship, mentorship, startups, and emerging tech. A considerable amount time in the last many years has been focused on early stage startups, crypto, and more recently web3.
Previously Joshua created and ran a startup accelerator for a non-profit (NH Tech Alliance / Alpha Loft) in New Hampshire, helping hundreds of startup founders over the past decade. Joshua created and ran all of the educational programming, helped founders dig into their business fundamentals, polish their fundraising pitches and provide introductions. Millions of dollars has been invested in startups throughout through engagments between startup founders and Joshua's programs and mentorship. Joshua also facilitated hundreds of events alongside the talented teams he worked with. Before that Joshua has been a CTO & software developer, co-founding a company that created commercial content management software used by Fortune 500 companies, universities, banks, municipalities, and small businesses.
Beyond day jobs Joshua have been a former City Councilor for the City of Portsmouth, President of his kids' local elementary Parent Teacher Organization, a previous member of the Portsmouth Economic Development Commission, Recreation Board, Joint Budget Committee, and has been a board member for a number of area non-profits.
BELLE VUKOVICH KENOYER
Asssociate Director
belle.kenoyer@unh.edu
603-862-3545
21 Madbury Road, Suite 101
Durham, NH 03824
Belle Vukovich Kenoyer (she/her) joined us this spring as the new Associate Director of the ECenter bringing with her a wealth of knowledge and experience from her previous positions. Belle has dedicated over 20 years to the field of education, with a background in experiential learning, project and event management, training, recruiting, student development, supervision, and team building. After receiving her BBA in Finance and MA in Student Development in Post-Secondary Education from the University of Iowa, Belle worked for UNH’s Residential Life, as well as several other colleges and universities, as well as living and working abroad for Qatar Foundation, a non-profit NGO in Doha, Qatar.
Belle is an avid learner, constantly collecting knowledge from a variety of areas, making her a skilled conversationalist and a killer trivia player. When she’s not at the ECenter, Belle enjoys spending time with her partner and teenaged triplet boys, volunteering in the community, and outdoor pursuits. We are thrilled to have Belle on board and look forward to her contributions to our team!
NICHOLE JONES
Program Support Assistant
nichole.jones@unh.edu
603-862-3011
21 Madbury Road, Suite 101
Durham, NH 03824
Nichole Jones is the Program Support Assistant at the Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter). She joined UNHI with experience as a small business owner, organization leader, and a background in financial services. At the ECenter, Nichole supports and assists with events, finances, and programs like the Shaw Innovation Explorers Program. She assists the Executive Director, Associate Program Manager, and her organizational skills and attention to detail make her a great asset to the team. Nichole attended Manchester Community College with a focus in Science.
DAIJON "Dj" BEASLEY
Marketing Assistant
daijon.beasley@unh.edu
603-862-1351
21 Madbury Road, Suite 101
Durham, NH 03824
Daijon “DJ” Beasley is the Marketing Assistant of the Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter). He joins UNHI with experience in programming, event support, marketing, and graphic design. DJ has received his Bachelors of Arts degree in Sociology and minored in Business Administration (Marketing). DJ is currently a UNH Graduate student participating in the MBA program here at Paul College where he looks to get more involved in the world of marketing and public relations. In 2019, he had the opportunity to be selected for the Paid Student Internship at Start-ups Program through the UNH ECenter where he spent 9 weeks working as a marketing coordinator for a start-up called Sleepbox. This experience allowed him to open his eyes and further his engagement with the ECenter his senior year becoming a judge for the ECenter’s very own Maurice Prize for Innovation during his senior year in 2021.
ECenter Student Interns
Stay tuned to meet our next interns!
More ECenter Videos
Check out our YouTube page to see videos clips from our Makerspace, Summer Seed Grant presentations, Paid Student Internship at Start-ups Program student video blogs, and the power of entrepreneurship at UNH.
Special Thanks
Peter T. Paul
We are grateful to Peter T. Paul ('67) for providing the initial funding to launch the Entrepreneurship Center at UNH. Paul has a long commitment to education at the University including a $25 million gift in 2008 to build a new business college named the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.
Paul is the CEO of Headlands Asset Management LLC, an investment management company he founded in 2008. In addition, he is the owner of West Biofuels, a research and development venture, and Peter Paul Wines. He is also chairman of The Headlands Foundation, a nonprofit organization he founded in 1995.
In 1986, Paul founded Headlands Mortgage Company. It became one of the premier wholesale lending institutions in the country, specializing in originating, selling, securitizing, and servicing residential mortgage loans. After leading Headlands through a successful IPO in February of 1998, Paul negotiated its merger with GreenPoint Financial in 1999.
Marc Sedam
Former Associate Vice Provost for Innovation & New Ventures and Managing Director of UNHInnovation
Marc Sedam was the vision behind the ECenter, transforming the study and creation of ideas into the practice of bringing those ideas into the world through ideation, creativity, and company formation. By supporting the technology opportunities coming out of UNH Research and providing the hub for students, faculty, and staff to learn and understand about all things entrepreneurial, the ECenter will be a successful part of the culture at UNH - and it would not exist without him!
ECenter Support Network
We are appreciative for the financial support of programs and projects from the ECenter Support Network. The ECenter Support Network is a growing group of alumni, business leaders, and friends of UNH helping to build the entrepreneurial culture and experience at UNH for students, faculty/staff, and alumni through program development at the ECenter with financial support, personal mentoring, network introductions, and engagement.
