Mentor Profile: Parker Karpinski (C'91)
Vice President, Cryo Associates
Gaithersburg, MD
Hoyapreneur advice: “Measure for growth – your data tells the story. Also I’d recommend partnering with someone who believes in you but can tell you the honest truth.”
Parker has more than 20 years of business consulting & marketing experience. Before joining Cryo Associates, Parker was Director of Corporate Relations at the Center for Women & Business developing women’s advancement & leadership programs with Fortune 500 companies interested in expanding their corporate Diversity & Inclusion programs. Parker’s previous experience includes developing Microsoft’s Corporate Citizenship campaign & five years of strategic online marketing experience at Fleishman Hillard Communications. Before that she served as Director of Strategic Audiences at AOL where her role was to develop strategic partnerships with companies such as Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble & Time, Inc. Parker spent the early part of her career as an entrepreneur & publisher of a national magazine during which time she was chosen as a finalist for the Echoing Green Social Entrepreneurs Fellowship. She is a Governor on the Board of Governors for the Georgetown Alumni Association, and a previous Board Member for the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance (GEA).
What does your business do and how did you get started?
Our family business sells cryogenic equipment to biotech companies, research facilities and hospitals. While we have been in business many years, we are still evolving and reinventing ourselves.
When and how did you know that your business had traction?
When our customer base had consistent growth and were cash flow positive. Another sign was when we had referral business from our customers.
What do you wish you knew before you started your business?
Less is more. I would have benefited by focusing on a few “wildly important goals” instead of everything. I worked long hours and focused on so many things but truly would have made a greater impact if I had more of a laser focus.
How has being a Georgetown alumni impacted your business?
The ongoing connection to Hoya entrepreneurs and their energy keeps me thinking about my own business in vastly different ways. I find that even if we are in different industries or sell uniquely different products we share common challenges.
What type of help can you provide fellow Georgetown founders via the Hoya Gateway? (areas of expertise, availability)
I can provide guidance on marketing, recruiting and business operations.
What advice would you give to a hoyapreneur in 140 characters or less?
Measure for growth – your data tells the story. Also I’d recommend partnering with someone who believes in you but can tell you the honest truth.