Before graduating from Drexel University, Mason Cohen, BA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation ’23 was already laying the groundwork to build and manage long-term assets. Today, as president of The Cohen Company Limited, he leads a family office focused on real estate development, solar energy, self-storage, logistics and hedge fund capital management. He also serves as president of Tower Logistic Warehousing and managing partner at Sunwise USA.
We caught up with Mason to discuss how his time at the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship prepared him to navigate complex industries, scale multiple ventures and turn classroom theory into real-world execution.
Q: Looking back at your journey to Drexel, what initially drew you to the university, and how did you find your place at the Close School?
Mason: I was torn between a few universities, but I chose Drexel because I wanted to actually learn and have a productive experience where I could build real-world skills. I hate to say it, but I didn’t even know the Close School existed until Welcome Week! I showed up and wondered why the business environment felt so tight-knit and personal. As the onboarding days went by, I realized, this is a different school – and it ended up being a perfect fit. I always knew I wanted to build my own things, control my schedule and work at my own pace, so being able to apply the Close School curriculum directly to my external passions was incredible!
Q: Was there anything specific at the Close School that shaped how you approach business today?
Mason: Professor Barrie Litzky was my favorite professor. I always respected how honest and genuine she was, and when she taught, you really trusted what she was sharing. Her class, Ready, Set, Fail, was a complete game-changer for me. It taught me to fail fast and understand that failing is okay – it’s just another stepping stone on your path to success. The only time you genuinely fail is if you give up. Beyond the classroom, participating in Close School pitch competitions, like Startup Fest, gave me the public speaking acumen and confidence I use every day in negotiations and presentations.
Q: How did taking advantage of Drexel’s Co-op program and active experiences influence your career path?
Mason: I did two real estate-focused co-ops. My first was in residential real estate at VeryApt Brokerage, where I learned every single residential building and condo layout in Philadelphia. My second was a corporate real estate Co-op at Marcus & Millichap on Market Street, where I got high-level white-collar corporate experience. I also studied abroad in Rome, Italy, which was the highlight of my college experience by far. It broadened my horizons culturally and taught me how to communicate with people from completely different lifestyles.
Q: By your senior year, you were balancing full-time work while finishing your degree. How did you manage it?
Mason: My senior year was intense – I was balancing a full-time work schedule while being a full-time student. The Close School gave me the flexibility and opportunity to balance both and apply what I was learning in class directly to my real-life work, projects and companies. My biggest skill professionally today is organization, and I learned how to prioritize and maintain a schedule through Drexel’s intense workload.
Q: You also spent time building your startup, VyB Technologies, out of the Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship. Tell us more about your experience at Drexel’s incubator.
Mason: The Baiada Institute (at Close School) is one of the coolest things ever at the university. It’s a co-working space where you have all these super productive, like-minded people side by side, all trying to build something new. Today, I work out of a co-working space in Miami called Industrious, and it’s the exact same concept. Baiada gave me the opportunity to learn how to operate in a real-world ecosystem like that before getting released into real life. It was an incredible space to start, grow and win pitch competitions along the way.
Q: Today, you manage a family office spanning real estate, solar energy and logistics. What is the key to managing multiple companies successfully alongside family?
Mason: The key to my success has been having trustworthy partners, and I’m so blessed to have that in my brother and my father. A lot of families experience tension or fall apart when working together, especially when they find success. We’ve been able to expand by prioritizing what truly matters: honesty, respect, togetherness and key objectives. My favorite part of what I do today is hands-on problem-solving figuring out how to get a development project past the finish line, bringing a piece of real estate back to life and seeing that progress with my own eyes.
Q: What advice would you give to current Close School students who want to follow a similar path?
Mason: Start something outside of class! It could be a company, a development project or a job, anything that gives you the opportunity to learn and apply it immediately in real life. Take advantage of the real-world experience that Drexel and the Close School offer, because that’s what makes your resume stand out from the crowd. Most importantly, find something you genuinely love to do, do it with people you like and respect and enjoy the process.
