Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts
Professor and Founder of the Derby Entrepreneurship Center
Jack is the professor of the practice and founder of Tufts' Derby Entrepreneurship Center (DEC). In July 2021, Jack and his wife, Jan Olmstead, donated $10 million to Tufts. The gift created a $9 million endowment that named the Entrepreneurship Center and provided an additional $1 million for the Joyce Cummings Center atrium, Tufts’ new multidisciplinary academic building which houses the Derby Entrepreneurship Center.
Jack's desire to found an entrepreneurship center is deeply rooted in his family's background of business and innovation. Growing up in a family involved in local entrepreneurship—from his father's jazz band, his grandfather's jewelry stores, and his great-grandfather's dry goods store—he experienced the essence of street-level entrepreneurship firsthand. Despite this, it wasn't until Jack returned from the Peace Corps and after his first "real job" at Becton Dickinson, that he began to study and understand what entrepreneurship really meant.
For more on Jack's background, click here.
Notes From Students
Click here for more comments on Jack's Teaching
"The entrepreneurial marketing class was perhaps the most practical course I’ve ever taken thus far. Being involved as a marketing consultant for a real firm gave me valuable hands-on experience."
"Your counsel and encouragement have been instrumental at some of my big life turning points over the last decade."
"Your unwavering care for your students have made a profound impact on my academic journey. Your willingness to go the extra mile to assist students has been truly invaluable."
Derby Entrepreneurship Center Objectives
Expert-led entrepreneurship education
Providing robust academic instruction in entrepreneurship and innovation taught by highly talented professors and advisors with deep business experience in early-stage companies.
Fostering impactful citizenship
Preparing students for impactful citizenship by developing their entrepreneurial skills to create growth companies and social-impact businesses.
Diverse courses and opportunities.
Offering a wide variety of educational courses, experiential competitions, workshops, accelerators plus opening doors to internships and full-time jobs
Jack's Entrepreneurship
After returning from the Peace Corps with just $200, Jack worked his way up from his first job at Becton Dickinson Medical Systems to EVP during a corporate exit. He took on the CEO role after the acquisition, growing and selling the company 4 years later to Litton Industries Medical Systems, where he became President, and eventually left the medtech industry after 17 years.
As an avid skier and snowboarder, Jack had the pleasure of working for CB Vaughn, the larger-than-life extraordinary founder of CB Sports, the then leading ski apparel brand. This opportunity provided firsthand insight into the workings of a real entrepreneur and working with senior industry leaders. CB Sports was sold and Jack moved back to Boston, and tt was at that he created Derby Management - a management consulting firm specializing in strategy and business planning with deep expertise in Sales and Marketing productivity.
Along the Jack has continued his work as a passionate entrepreneur. Some highlights include:
- Founded/co-founded 9 startups, mostly in tech or in healthcare
- Involved with 54 deals raising $840 million (as an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor)
- Teaching entrepreneurship at Tufts and coaching the University's startups
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Jack's courses
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Jack's board work
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Visit the DEC webpage
For more on the center, visit the official: derbyecenter.tufts.edu
MIT Enterprise Forum
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