Future Entrepreneurs club makes waves at BBC

Alexandra Mosquera Netzkarsch / BBC Managing Editor

Having a background in hospitality and an entrepreneurial spirit inspired Jonathan Mendez to start a club at FIU for others interested in finance, business and technology, with knowledge straight from the experts.
Mendez, a senior in hospitality management, started the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals club in spring 2015 with the rest of the club’s executive board and became the president of the club.
“I was eager to start a club at FIU and relate it to hospitality, for students with an entrepreneurial mindset,” Mendez said.
HFTP is an organization focusing on the training of financial and technological personnel in hotels, clubs and business related to hospitality, according to HFTP’s official website.
“We want to be future entrepreneurs, and why should we limit ourselves and our club to finance and technology when there are more routes to explore to achieve success?” said Mendez.
Taking classes and working off campus has presented obstacles in terms of managing the club. However, Yassine Belkady, senior in hospitality management and director of finance of the club, said, “Everybody has to pitch in and implement new ideas and it has been working so far.”
The members work together, but have roles to play, such as the vice president, Jordan Hamilton, senior in hospitality management. He put together a presentation explaining step by step about how to invest in the stock market.
Hamilton said the club has given him and his friends chances to meet CEOs like Robert Schwartz, senior vice president for Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management division, who came to BBC to speak about his career at a conference the HFTP Future Entrepreneurs club put together in early September.
“I took an accounting class and after receiving an email about this conference, I decided to come and check it out,” said Lucette Ambroise, senior in hospitality management. “My dream is to own a hotel and I think I can learn a lot in this club and from speakers like Mr. Schwartz because I felt like I could relate to some of his experiences.”
“What we strive to do with this club is to show students that they can fly with their own wings by getting contacts, building a network and developing different capacities in finance and business,” Belkady said.
According to Dale Gomez, director of information technology at the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and one of the club’s advisors, technology is another important aspect and component of this club.
“They really wanted to find a student that fits the technical aspect of the club and Maudson took leadership role in this position and became their director of marketing,” Gomez said.
Maudson Dessalines, senior in information technology and student assistant in the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism, manages all projects involving multimedia and marketing for the club since technology and its developments are significant in the hospitality industry.
“The more knowledge you have, the better and we want to provide that knowledge through conferences and events in this club at FIU and outside,” Belkady said.
The club plans to join other chapters at a conference in New Orleans in June 2016 focused on technology in hospitality.
“In this conference the students can immerse themselves into the technologies of this industry, such as smart technology like the most advances alarms and music… in the hotel room of the future,” Gomez said. “Most hotels are trying to go green and they are trying to use technology to make their hotels as green as possible, room sensors and biometric readers. These are the things the students attending this conference will learn about.”
Another member of the club, Edward Broomfield, senior in business, was introduced to Mendez by Hamilton and shortly after became the director of human resources for the club.
“Edward is a great motivational speaker and very involved in real estate and stock investment, which is an asset to the club,” said Mendez.
For more information about the club contact hftpfuture@gmail.com.

Photo Credit Alexandra Mosquera Netzkarsch / BBC Managing Editor