A Whitman alumnus and thriving entrepreneur shares his passion for chocolate pizza with the Orange community.
The Chocolate Pizza Company has been owned and operated by Ryan Novak since he was 21 years old and a full-time student majoring in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises at Syracuse University’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management. “My supply chain classes helped tremendously. I received the skills I needed to become a business owner,” Novak says. “My degree from Syracuse has made my business life successful.”
Coming from a military family, Ryan Novak enjoys speaking with veterans about his experience at the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans through the Institute for Veterans and Military Families. When he comes back to campus for this event or to speak with current entrepreneurship students, he offers this advice: “Just believe in yourself. There will be good days, and there will be bad days, but if you really believe in what you’re selling and what you’re doing, you can make it work. Anything’s possible.”
Chocolate Pizza Company has been featured on Food Network, other television channels and in major magazines, and—as of 2021—is one of the dining options on campus at the Schine Student Center.