Kevin Colleran '99 returns to Hopkins

Today, alumnus Kevin Colleran '99 returned to Hopkins to share his story of making it as a young entrepreneur and as one of the core members of the team that built Facebook into the success it is today.

Until very recently Kevin had been an executive at Facebook, where he worked for the last six and a half years in advertising sales and corporate partnerships. Kevin was hired by Sean Parker as one of the original 10 employees at Facebook (having started their East Coast headquarters in his New York City apartment in 2005) and was the longest-tenured employee, after Mark Zuckerberg, when he left the company in July to take time off and travel. A spokesperson for Facebook said, “Kevin played an instrumental role in building Facebook’s advertising business from the ground up.” Kevin’s tenacity as a salesperson was detailed in David Kirkpatrick’s book The Facebook Effect, which described him as “a gung-ho cold-caller who could get in almost any door.”

Kevin recalled believing in the future of the internet back when he was attending Hopkins. When he was here, he introduced the "Cyber News" when the internet was a new phenomenon. He told his fellow students that the internet wasn't a fad, it was the future. And his prediction was certainly true. He also told the students to have the confidence to approach the people that inspire them and ask them for advice or mentorship. While a student at Hopkins, he earned a summer internship with John Malone in Colorado by sending a fax and showing initiative. He suggested that the students consider starting their own businesses out of college if there are no job opportunities that seem right for them. With smart decisions, it could just be the start of something huge like Facebook. He spoke a lot about the history of Facebook, his involvement with it, and the truth/falsehoods presented about the company in the movie, The Social Network.

(See the full video of Kevin's assembly address above)

After assembly, Kevin visited the café to speak and meet with students. Throughout the morning, students approached him with questions and to take his picture to post to their Facebook walls. Kevin visited Gerard Casanova's history class where they were deeply involved with reenacting the Battle of Normandy on a scale model. Kevin also visited Mike Calderone's public speaking class and offered the students advice on how to speak confidently in front of large crowds, something that he travels the world to do.

After a morning of interacting with the students, Kevin was welcomed to the Alumni/ae House for a luncheon amongst family and friends. Barbara Riley thanked him for sharing his experiences with the School and inspiring the students to consider entrepreneurship.