Ryan Buonaugurio '18

RPB Marine, owned and operated by Ryan Buonaugurio '18, is a product of Ryan’s determination and knowhow — and a Bryant University education that inspired him to think bigger and develop the tools to succeed.

Buonaugurio built RPB from his love of boating. Today it specializes in a number of areas including marine electronics sales, installation, training, fabrication and captaining. The company earned $225,000 in revenue in their six-month seasonal operating period. RPB operates in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and aims to expand. The success of RPB led Buonaugurio to be named the 2017 Collegiate Entrepreneur of the Year by the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization at their annual Global Conference in Tampa. 

Buonaugurio, who also is the founder of Boative, knew that a Bryant education would help him develop business acumen as well as his small business. “I didn’t want average,” he says. “I wanted to go somewhere where I would get first-rate, business-specific knowledge and have really experienced professors.”

First-year coursework helped him understand how to write a business plan, which he credits as essential in figuring out how to grow RPB. Classes in marketing and managerial accounting provided important grounding and experience.

"I’m getting all this experience that can take you years of management programs to acquire," he says.

Buonaugurio found additional motivation through Bryant’s Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) and guest speakers who shared their stories about how they grew their businesses from humble beginnings. The Bryant Ventures group helped him develop his ideas through working with faculty mentors and fellow students.

With the help he found at Bryant, Buonaugurio knows that his business has reached a new level. “It shows that I’m doing something right,” he says. “There’s a real sense of 'I’m doing it, it’s actually happening.’”

Real World Experience