2009 Showcase Featured Alumni Bio

Robert Macauley

SEA Graduate (class of 2008) Robert Macauley will be our Showcase 2009 emcee! And, he’s the perfect guy to keep the event moving along and to help our guests get the most out of SHOWCASE. Although a graduate now, Robert continues to actively contribute to and participate in just about everything related to SEA. For example, Robert was the ‘voice’ (the interviewer) in the recent production of our SEA Recruitment Video.

Robert is 24-years old. He's a graduate of Granite Bay High School and a graduate of California State University, Sacramento. Robert is putting his degree in business administration to good use as an employee of Infiniti Consulting Group , a proud Contributor to Showcase 2009. Infiniti partner, Charlene Angelo, is also an SEA Board Member. Additionally and in ‘all his free time,’ Robert (along with fellow SEA 2008 graduate, John Whitfield) are busy applying all their entrepreneurial verve and skills to creating their new company, Pastworks.

In an interview last year, Robert talked about SEA and its effect on achieving his goals. "It helped on every level," he said, "technical, theoretical, strategic planning, how to act and conduct yourself in business, everything."

He got involved with the entrepreneurship academy as he was finishing up a year as an exchange student in Tokyo. He was preparing to come home and had, he said, an idea for a business. But he didn't really know how to go about starting a business up from scratch, so like any self-respecting 23-year-old Californian, he sat down at his computer and Googled. SEA popped up at the top of the list for entrepreneurship courses. And it was based in Sacramento, where Robert was coming home to. He got in touch with the organization and applied for a spot in the 2007-08 class.

"You have to show that you're serious," he said of the application process. "There's no GPA required, nothing like that. But the application process itself gives them an idea of what sort of student you're going to be."

"To start a business, you need a lot of passion, a lot of drive," he said. "It takes an adventurous spirit - you can't be afraid of risk-taking. But you need a good network of support." SEA, he said, focuses on that. "A lot of people are terrified of taking that first big step."

"Through SEA, you get the flavor of what the business world is really like," said Robert. "They teach the essence of acting professionally. The difference between this, and between school and friends, is maturity. SEA helps you use your intelligence, learn perseverance and develop good skills that people respect."

"There is just nothing else like SEA," said Robert. "I just can't emphasize enough how giving these people are. It's ten-fold worth the money."

Come to Showcase 2009  and experience the vitality and creativity of Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy’s Students, Board Members and Alumni.