Elstrott at the 2010 Tulane Council of Entrepreneurs Awards Gala, a program of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute that honors alumni entrepreneurs and local social entrepreneurs.
It’ s a time -honored alumni magazine cliché to talk about how a retiring professor influenced the lives of students, but in Elstrott’s case, one just has to look at the numbers. The Levy-Rosenblum Institute keeps a list of more than 100 former students of Elstrott’s who’ve gone on to start their own businesses or join early-stage companies.
Elstrott with the LRI staff. From left to right, Terry McGuckin, Rosalind Butler, Lina Alfieri Stern, and former LRI intern Nene Glenn Gianfala.
“I think what I’m most proud of—and I have to include Lina, Roz Butler, Louisa Frederickson, Alana Pugh, Terry McGuckin and all of our staff because they’re every bit as much a part of the success we’ve had—is the impact we’ve had with students,” Elstrott says. “I stay in touch with a lot of them, and it’s very gratifying to hear about the difference we’ve made and how we helped them to become successful entrepreneurs.”
And in keeping with that, even in retirement Elstrott plans to continue honoring a pledge he first made more than 20 years ago.
“I’ve always told my students on the last day of class that I have a free lunch program,” Elstrott laughs. “If they buy me lunch, they can come back any time after they graduate and I will meet with them and discuss their entrepreneurial idea and give them some feedback.
“If they want more feedback after that, they have to convince me to invest.”
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