USC Marshall Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered at the Greif Center’s Annual Marcia Israel Celebration and Founder Showcase on May 1 to celebrate entrepreneurial accomplishments and showcase student and alumni ventures. This year’s celebration also honored Elissa Grossman, who has been director of the Greif Center for the past six years.
Grossman joined USC Marshall as a faculty member in 2005 and has served as director of the center since July 2019. She kicked off the Marcia Israel Celebration with a state of the school, also reflecting on her tenure as director.
“We are here for our students at every point in their entrepreneurial journey. We exist because of our students,” Grossman said. “For me, it’s time to move on. There’s much more that can be done and I look forward to seeing it happen. The center is ready for its next chapter.”
Dean Geoffrey Garrett addressed the audience by video.
“Thank you to Elissa Grossman for her wonderful contributions as director of the Greif Center,” said Garrett in his video address. “Her list of accomplishments is long and glittering … positioning entrepreneurship more centrally to our education. Elissa, your vision, dedication, and leadership are exemplary.”
Lloyd Greif, founder of the center and USC Marshall alumnus, presented Grossman with the Greif Center’s Marching Dot Award.
“The Greif Center has moved sagely forward under her leadership,” Greif said. “Elissa ensured the Greif Center not only responds to the evolving landscape, but it helps shape it. We thank you for your inspired leadership these past six years.”
The event included a Founder Showcase, where 49 USC student and alumni ventures exhibited their products and services. Throughout their entrepreneurial journey, featured founders leveraged Greif Center’s resources including coursework and pipeline programs such as the Marshall/Greif Incubator and New Venture Seed Competition (NVSC).
Products and services on display included AI-run tutoring and news platforms, hard seltzer, coffee drops, oral care, supplement-infused chicken breasts, waste management robots, a PMS-relief patch, personalized climate risk assessment, and even Bollywood dance tutorials.
Two hundred attendees voted for their favorite companies using “gold coins.” This year’s winning undergraduate company was Hired AI, an artificial intelligence platform that boosts hiring potential by tailoring interview feedback and answers to a candidate’s background. The alumni winner, but cute, offering imperfect, limited-edition plushies also won the New Venture Seed Competition’s top prize.
The celebration recognized Greif Center’s 2025 graduates, highlighting students who showed exemplary leadership and grit in pursuing their ideas and education.
“At the end of each academic year, we select a few remarkable students who exemplify the dedication, the initiative, the innovative spirit, and the entrepreneurial mindset that we champion in the Greif Center,” said Monica Dean, managing director of the Greif Center.
