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Business Leaders Recommend Their Favorite Business Books of 2021

Winter tea. Winter books. A cup of hot tea, books, Christmas shining garland on a wooden background. Winter holidays.
(istockphoto.com)

The holiday season provides a good opportunity for busy executives and students, alike, to catch up on some of the best books of the year. We asked prominent Connecticut business leaders and members of our UConn faculty what business-focused book they would most highly recommend from 2021. Here are their selections:

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Retired Professor Offers $100K Matching Gift to Save Veterans’ Entrepreneurship Program

UConn Today – United States Marine Corps veteran Tony Audette builds custom motorcycles for celebrities, business titans, and other enthusiasts who want a bike that’s unlike any other. His exclusive motorcycles sell for upwards of $130,000.

After two years in business, Audette Motorcycles, in Canton, is thriving. Audette credits much of his business knowledge and expertise to the School of Business’ Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV). The startup accelerator steered him away from several costly business mistakes, he said.




Startup Strives to Simplify Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Reduce Toxic Waste

UConn Today – Did you know that the prescription you picked up at the pharmacy likely once contained a host of toxic materials that were used as a catalyst for its creation?

Don’t panic. In the development process, the toxins are stripped from the medication, and the FDA has stringent guidelines ensuring its safety.

But UConn chemistry professors Eugene Pinkhassik, Sergey Dergunov, and Ph.D. candidate Kevin Rivera have an innovation that they believe can offer a better, safer, less expensive, and more environmentally sound alternative.



The Next Inning: Student’s Company Prepares to Sell New Iteration of Baseball-Training Invention

UConn Today – Since he was identified as one of the most promising entrepreneurs at UConn this summer, Elijah Taitel ’22 (BUS) hasn’t rested on his achievements.

His company, Extra Base Sports, is preparing to launch a new youth-sized version of its popular baseball/softball training device called the ProVelocity Bat next month, targeting players between 8 and 13.



Startup Offering Lifeline to Families Trying to Access Special Education Services

UConn Today – As a former special education teacher, and a mother of two, Shaleighne “Shay’’ Cantner is well acquainted with the deluge of paperwork required to get supportive, special-education services for children.

“I recognized how difficult it was for parents to move forward and get their children the help that they need,’’ said Cantner, the CEO of a startup called Engagement Solutions and an alumna who earned her Sixth-Year Degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from the Neag School in 2013.