A packed UVM audience in the Waterman Memorial Lounge heard from Vermont entrepreneur and UVM alum, Adam Hergenrother, `04 as part of the School of Businesses Deans Speaker Series. 

Hergenrother spoke about his early struggles and personal journey, and offered insights into the individual development and entrepreneurial mindset needed to succeed in business, highlighting the pitfalls to expect along the way.

"Business is about surviving your mistakes, but the trick is to learn from them and come back and rebuild faster,” he said. “It’s not about what happens to you in life, it’s how you deal with it.”

Hergenrother encouraged students to dream big: "don’t limit yourself, think big. You have to get uncomfortable to be able to move to a bigger box; and the cool thing is the boxes of life are unlimited.”

Invoking the words of legendary management guru Peter Drucker, that “time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed,” he highlighted that “in 200 years time when people look back at our society now, they will conclude that we are the generation when options became so endless as to become paralyzing. We want to be good at everything, but it’s impossible. So identify your passion, and relentlessly pursue it to succeed.”

“In a very short period of time, Adam Hergenrother has demonstrated his formidable entrepreneurial drive and business acumen.  We are thankful that he is taking the time to from his busy schedule to speak to our students,” said Dean Sanjay Sharma, of the School of Business Administration. “His insights serve as a great example to our students as they prepare to become responsible business leaders and entrepreneurs in today’s complex and dynamic global economy.”

The Dean’s Speaker Series provides UVM students with an unparalleled view of the current issues and trends facing business leaders today.

Hergenrother, a born and raised Vermonter, is CEO and Chairman of the Board of Hergenrother Enterprises, which includes Keller Williams Realty Vermont, The Adam Hergenrother Team, Universal Properties Network, BlackRock Construction, Hergenrother Capital, Mind Spark, and Hergenrother Foundation.