Rider University's Stephen Johnston of White House Station Places in Entrepreneur of the Year Competition

Related Media

Stephen Johnston ’13 (right) earned third place in the 2012 New Jersey Collegiate Entrepreneur of the Year Competition.

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ (05/14/2012)(readMedia)-- Rider University student Stephen Johnston '13 of White House Station, N.J., earned third place in the 2012 New Jersey Collegiate Entrepreneur of the Year Competition.

Johnston founded Tabhair Records & Music Publishing, LLC, in June 2011 as a student in Rider University's Entrepreneurial Studies program. The record label is involved in the production, distribution, and marketing of records of independent music acts. The publishing division handles copyrighting of songs, promotion and licensing of songs to other users. Tabhair (Tabhair means "give" in Irish Gaelic) represents the acoustic duo Beannacht, a two-time Jersey Acoustic Music award winner and 11-time nominee, which was named one of the Top Music Makers of 2011 by the Irish Voice newspaper in New York City. This summer, Johnston will be working to add one or two new acts to the label. Another goal for 2012 is to launch the Tabhair Foundation, a charitable organization.

Rider's Center for Entrepreneurial Studies was selected to host this year's competition and held an awards banquet on May 4 to announce and recognize the first-, second- and third-place winners, which were selected by an independent set of judges. Johnston competed against student entrepreneurs from universities and colleges across New Jersey. Evaluation criteria included entrepreneurial spirit, obstacles overcome, success of business, concern for quality and customer service and estimated potential for future success.