Scott Martin ’90 stood before students at Hobart and William Smith Colleges this spring not to offer guarantees, but to deliver something more honest: a raw, unfiltered glimpse into what it really takes to survive—and thrive—as an entrepreneur.
Serving as the College’s Entrepreneur in Residence, Martin returned to campus from his home in Ketchum, Idaho, where he leads Rescription, a low-cost pharmacy benefit management company. Over three days, he immersed himself in classes, one-on-one sessions, and pitch competition coaching, urging students to embrace uncertainty and grit over glamour.
“Being an entrepreneur isn’t a career,” Martin told students. “You can share insight and guidance and help them prepare for it. But you need luck, you need timing, you need circumstances, you need hard work—and no one can control those.”
The message resonated. Chloe Odell ’27, who won this year’s Todd Feldman ’89 and Family Pitch competition with her company, Mirabilia Jewelry, called Martin’s drive “inspiring.” “As someone who is new to entrepreneurship, I found that very inspiring,” she said.
For Isabella Renzi ’24, pursuing her master’s in management and interning at the Centennial Center, it was Martin’s early-career story that left a mark. After being told he lacked the pedigree to make it in business, Martin hit Manhattan’s streets and pitched every deli he passed. He walked away with a stack of business cards—and a job. “That taught me a lesson,” Renzi said. “He gave me a lot of insights into how he approaches things.”
Martin’s visit was part of the Colleges’ growing Business Management and Entrepreneurship programs. He met with Centennial Center interns, spoke in four classes, and offered mentorship to Pitch finalists. Kevin Miles, Entrepreneurship Fellow at the Center, said all the finalists “raved about the conversations they had with him.”
Associate Professor Craig Talmage, co-chair of the department, emphasized the power of combining business with the liberal arts. “The liberal arts is the ability to live in ambiguous circumstances,” he said, calling Martin’s experience a model for that mindset.
Martin, who has founded four companies, shared the reality of startup life: “I told the kids: An idea doesn’t come with $20 million to launch it.” The first three ventures were bootstrapped. Rescription, his current company, is the first he’s funded with outside capital.
Quoting Helen Keller, Martin said the illusion of safety is just that. “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing,” he told the students. And to those daring to launch something of their own, he offered a final piece of advice: “If you’re not prepared to get up 10 times a day and dust yourself off, you shouldn’t be an entrepreneur.”
Martin says his time on campus was just the beginning. “I got my feet wet, and I want to continue to participate and help in any way I can.”
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