ESU Success Stories – Brian Pedone

Posted by: admin on June 5, 2009, No Comments

Brian Pedone ’05 has done more since graduation than some people do over entire careers. After he and partner Michael Moynihan ’06, M’08 won the Great Valley Technology Alliance Business Plan Competition in 2006, Pedone made his business dreams come true.

“There was a lot I wanted to get done,” he says. “I was working full-time at Aetna Healthcare, though, and I just couldn’t do everything at a 9-to-5 pace.”

With encouragement from his parents and support from the ESU Center for Research and Economic Development (CFRED), Pedone decided the time was right to launch his own venture.

“It was Mary Frances [Postupack] and CFRED that got me thinking entrepreneurship was a viable path,” he says. The result was his development firm, ABP Software, and a spot among the 2008 finalists on BusinessWeek’s list of “America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs.”

Ask Pedone about the future, and it’s clear that the economy isn’t slowing him down one bit. ABP’s latest product, MobilePassword.com, is in operation at ESU, and there are plans to push the application into wider use. He also has his eye on development gigs for the food- and healthcare industries. Then there is the non-profit boxing gym, Pedone’s Heavy Hitters. PHH opened in July, is growing toward 150 members, and aims to turn two boxers pro in the next few years. And did we mention the line of boxing gloves?

With prolific entrepreneurs like Pedone coming up through the ESU ranks, it’s obvious that RED and ESU efforts to cultivate new business leaders are right on target.