Grad Hits the Right Notes With Startup

Skip Wilson planned to get a corporate job following his graduation from business school, but after winning this year's NewDay social entrepreneurship competition with his idea for a digital download service for classical musicians, he's playing a different tune.

“I never thought I'd be starting my own business, but it looks like that's the path I'm going to be taking,” says Wilson, who will deliver the student address at the Tulane Unified Commencement Ceremony today (May 12). “I'm pretty excited about that.”

An award-winning classical clarinet player, Wilson earned an undergraduate degree in music, education and communications from Vanderbilt University and went on to work for MTV Networks' Country Music Television, where he produced marketing events at the CMT Music Awards, the Austin City Limits Music Festival, Coachella and CMA Music Festival.

After four years at CMT, Wilson enrolled in the MBA program at the A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane in 2009. Inspired by the business school's emphasis on entrepreneurship and conscious capitalism, he wrote a business plan for Surround Sound Accompaniment, a digital download service that provides classical musicians a recorded accompaniment with which to practice. Wilson plans to use student musicians from New Orleans to record all the selections, providing talented young performers with income and professional experience.

Wilson made it to the finals of the Domain Companies New Orleans Entrepreneur Challenge with his plan, and he won the $10,000 grand prize in the NewDay Social Venture Challenge. Since then, he's also received $30,000 in seed capital from an angel investor.

“There has been extreme interest in actually moving this venture forward,” he says. “This has just been happening to me in the last month, so I think I will remain here to explore the viability of this business for at least the next year.”

Mark Miester is the editor of Freeman magazine for the A. B. Freeman School of Business.