Meet Apprentice Founders Dave & Rob
Our Story
Dave Kerpen
Over the first 12 years of his business career, serial entrepreneur and NYT Best Selling Author Dave Kerpen benefitted enormously from working closely with college students. He hired them to work as his assistants while they were in school, molded them into rockstars, and then hired them as full-time employees after they graduated. Dave’s apprentices ended up co-authoring books with him, helping him raise millions of dollars in venture capital, and accomplished countless other high level tasks through the years.
Rob Berk was Dave’s assistant for 2 years while in school at Hamilton College. Rob realized he had gained valuable knowledge from his professional work experience with Dave. He worked on key projects including co-authoring Likeable Social Media, 3rd Edition with Dave and directing a million dollar real estate client. He approached Dave with the idea to turn what he had been doing with college students through the years into a business model and within a few weeks Apprentice was born.
Rob and Dave, with the help of hundreds of brilliant college students are now changing the way people do business. For the first time ever, small business owners and startup entrepreneurs can have access to the top college talent in the world. Talent that was usually reserved for investment banks and consulting firms can now be working on your business, helping you in Marketing, Business Development, Operations, and Logistics. Our vision is to create one million mentors over the next 20 years.
Sam Nesbitt
Sam had many side hustles while studying at The University of Bristol, including running the most popular student events at many of the UK’s largest nightclubs. In the summer of 2019, while working as a camp counselor at Surprise Lake, met Dave Kerpen, who was giving a leadership talk during staff training. After learning of his new venture, Apprentice – Sam joined alongside the first cohort of students, assisting Dave with sales and business development.
After making the error of booking two sales meetings back to back for Dave, Sam was given no choice but to take his first sales call. This inadvertently led to him becoming the first non-founder to generate a new client for the company, and unlock Sam’s enthusiasm for sales. As time passed and Sam advanced in sales and leadership, he rose to the position of VP of sales, and then eventually partner.
By the age of 22, Sam had co-founded two additional ventures, including Remembering.Live, the largest provider of virtual memorial services, and Celebrating.Live, a virtual event company that hosted events for Amazon, DraftKings, Unilever, Viacom, and other major brands.
Sam’s mission is to unlock entrepreneurship in rising stars, and grow Apprentice into becoming one of the largest consulting firms for start-ups.
ROB BERK
Rob Berk is the co-Founder & co-CEO of Apprentice, President of Solvit, author and host of Why Wait?.
Rob began working for Dave Kerpen as his executive assistant while still a first-year student at Hamilton College. Two years later, he had co-authored a book with Dave, run independent projects for million dollar+ clients, and learned as much working for Dave as he did in entire college experience. Together they launched Apprentice to create a platform to change the lives of entrepreneurs and college students.
Rob is the President of Solvit, a social media and digital branding company aimed at bringing creative solutions and new perspectives to small business owners.
Rob shares his journey through college from starting working with Dave Kerpen to launching two companies in his book, Why Wait?, which was published the same day as he graduated from Hamilton College in the Spring of 2020.
Rob hosts his own podcast, Why Wait?, which features conversations with leading entrepreneurs, creative innovators, and thought leaders that focus on the leap from initial idea to successful execution.
Rob’s mission is to support the work of young entrepreneurs by creating new opportunities.
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What Clients Are Saying
about our Apprentices
Meet the entrepreneurs and business leaders who stand behind Apprentice.
Cari Gatto
CEO Swell Marketing Partners LLC
"Upbeat and Motivated"
“We couldn’t be happier to have Halle on our team. She is upbeat and always taking up new responsibilities! ”
Karl Kaufman
CEO of American Dream Investing
"Grateful to be Connected"
“The entire experience with Apprentice (onboarding, Rob’s generosity with his time and experience) has been wonderful. We’re grateful to have been connected and look forward to continuing our relationship!”
Harvey Ginsburg
President of Corporate Graphic Solutions Inc.
"Great Team Addition"
“Hillary has been a great addition to our team for too many reasons to explain. She will go far and we hope to be part of the future.”
Alessandro Bogliari
CEO of the Influencer Marketing Factor
"Smart and Committed"
“[Our] Apprentice helped executing several outreach campaigns that brought great results in terms of getting feature on major publications, both for our brand awareness and lead flows. Our Apprentice also freed up my time helping with specific digital marketing tasks.”
Jenn Burgess
Director of Sales & Marketing at Likeable Media
"Skilled students"
“I wish there was a program like Apprentice when I was in college! The exposure that these students have to the inner workings of companies is amazing, and truly can teach skills not always on college curriculums.”
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