Where creative people can thrive
Our founder and CEO, Steve Rosa, grew up with a unique, creative brain. He really wanted to be an artist. However, coming from a low-income, inner-city neighborhood, his guidance counselors discouraged this path, insisting that “the world doesn’t need another starving artist.” They failed to consider that creative careers can be both fulfilling and financially rewarding, like the ones we have at (add)ventures.
They encouraged Steve to pursue accounting and its promise of steady work. But Steve soon realized that a career in accounting would strangle his creativity and passion. Determined to chase his true calling, he transferred from the Boston College School of Management to the School of Arts and Sciences, where he majored in communications. After some political campaign and in-house agency experience, Steve left the corporate world to found (add)ventures at the age of 25. With just a typewriter and a credit card, his vision was to create a company where creative people could thrive.
Since founding the company, Steve has been committed to developing programs where young students can explore various creative and strategic careers. Today, (add)ventures fosters the next generation through internships, networking events, guest speaking at local schools, and partnerships with local colleges and universities.
(add)prentice summer program
Every summer, (add)ventures welcomes a dynamic group of college students—brimming with curiosity, creativity and the ability to think critically—to our two main offices for paid internships. These interns get exposure to all our disciplines, our executive team and even our client partners. And the learning goes both ways: they provide (add)ventures with a Gen Z perspective on life and marketing trends. We’re proud of the fact that many interns return after graduating to join us as full-time (add)venturists.
Partnership with higher education
We’re lucky enough to call many universities in New England and Miami partners, including Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Johnson and Wales University, Rhode Island College, University of Rhode Island and Bryant College. In fact, several members of (add)ventures’ leadership team teach and guest lecture on marketing, design, and communications at Boston College, Boston University, Colby College, Providence College and RISD.
Tours and guest speaking
We collaborate closely with local schools, as well as Career and Technical Education programs (CTE) near our global offices, to provide students a glimpse into the real world of brand agency life and how to run a successful business. We believe that exposure to vibrant, creative environments will inspire students to pursue the arts, writing and theater—the very talents we seek in our team!
Give us a shout at [email protected] if you’re interested in any of our educational programs.