For Cynthia Cohen, entrepreneurship isn’t just about having a great idea — it’s about knowing how to bring it to market.
A strategy consultant and longtime mentor at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s center for innovation and design, Cohen has worked with students through programs like IMPACT (Innovation, Market-Driven Productization, and Commercialization of [deep] Technologies), helping them translate technical ideas into viable companies.
Cohen works with startup and emerging growth business entrepreneurs, and brings a depth of expertise in business strategy, marketing positioning, target marketing and operational planning to all her clients. She was a Partner in Management Consulting at Deloitte and after that built her own successful retail and consumer product consulting firm, Strategic Mindshare, before focusing on early-stage companies.
With such a background, Cohen brings what she calls a “real-world perspective” to students exploring commercialization. Many engineering, computer science and data science students have strong technical foundations — but not always formal business training. Mentorship helps bridge that gap.
In the IMPACT program, Cohen works with students particularly in the area of sustainability, with a focus on ecosystem dynamics, systems-level sustainability, and industry engagement.
Her approach is rooted in what one Vanderbilt student once described as “radical candor.”
“I don’t believe in giving people false positives,” Cohen said. “I tell them that it’s really hard out in the world. I want to make them their competitive best, because the business world and the product world is competitive.”
Cohen challenges students to ask better questions, conduct stronger research and build more compelling cases — whether they’re raising funding, entering competitions or preparing to launch a product. She said students often return to say her guidance helped them pivot, clarify direction or strengthen their strategy.
“It’s not about giving them the answers,” Cohen said. “It’s about pointing them in the right direction and helping them make their case.”
As for being an IMPACT mentor, Cohen said it’s fulfilling, and she encourages other industry leaders to consider participating in the program.
“It’s my way of giving back,” she said. “And I get the pleasure of hearing bright young people talk about their passions, their ideas; which I find fascinating.”
To learn more about IMPACT or become a mentor, contact Cecilio Ponce at: cecilio.ponce@vanderbilt.edu.