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Lindsay Boyajian '13 '14

Lindsay Boyajian, BS ILR ’13 and MILR ’14, was drawn to the ILR student body’s spirit of being involved as leaders on campus and found her place in that dynamic at Cornell’s eLab.

At the student startup accelerator, she worked closely with her mentor, Dan Cohen, an ILR senior lecturer who was also director of the incubator. With the support of eLab, Boyajian launched her company, WeareverYouGo, a website featuring tips on what to wear and how to pack for trips abroad. This effort placed second in a startup pitch competition at Cornell.

Despite the early successes of Wearever, this venture had not gained enough traction to be a full-time job by the time Boyajian graduated in 2013. She decided she needed more managerial experience and training in order to excel as an entrepreneur.

Boyajian decided to enroll in ILR’s dual degree master’s program, obtaining a MILR degree, as well as a management degree from ESCP-EAP European School of Management in Paris. Boyajian, who loves to travel, took advantage of ILR and Cornell’s international opportunities. As an undergraduate, she studied in Rome and as a graduate student, she spent a year in Paris. She describes her experience in Paris as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

In Paris, she connected with Augment, a start-up focused on augmented reality technology. Boyajian, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, developed its marketing department, as the company grew from eight to 30 staffers over the past year. In 2016, she will open Augment’s New York City office.

Boyajian credits her ILR degrees with preparing her to work internationally and with helping her hone her communications skills. She leads an international team and through her ILR degrees she learned how to communicate across cultures. She studied international and comparative labor, where she learned how cultural differences can impact communication and team dynamics.

Boyajian also gained expertise in negotiation, a skill she uses every day. She says that she would not be able to work internationally and grow as a leader had it not been for these courses.

The Boyajian family has a long ILR tradition. Boyajian’s mom, Lynn, graduated from ILR in 1981. Boyajian and her brother, Harrison, who is now a sophomore at ILR, grew up visiting Cornell’s campus. They had a connection to ILR and always knew that it was their first choice for college.