As the wife of a serial entrepreneur, alumna Antonietta “Toni” Boucher ’02 MBA had a front-row seat to the passion, determination, and business challenges her husband experienced.
Henry “Bud” Boucher, a successful management consultant, had invented personal care items, worked with a team to develop an inflatable bed, partnered on novel medical devices, and more. Like many entrepreneurs, he was driven by the allure of building something of his own.
“Through multiple ventures, countless setbacks, and persistent innovation, Bud’s entrepreneurial journey exemplified both the promise and perils of building businesses without formal training or support systems,’’ Boucher says.
‘The Husky Effect’ Examines UConn’s Role in Developing Entrepreneurs
Boucher has written about entrepreneurship from a personal and academic perspective in her new book titled “The Husky Effect: How UConn Is Creating the Entrepreneurs of the Future.”
Her purpose in writing the book is to provide an insider’s look at entrepreneurship and to share the story of entrepreneurship education at UConn.
“I hope this book is inspiring for people who want to start a business, pursue education in entrepreneurship, and for those who want to understand more about it,’’ she says, noting that the interest in entrepreneurship as a career path has skyrocketed in recent years.
After decades of trial and error, Bud did eventually find financial success. But Boucher recalls nights when she would wake up and see him sitting on the edge of the bed, head in hands, worrying about his family’s future.
“It’s really hard to succeed as an entrepreneur. If you believe in what you’re doing, have persistence and the determination to stick with it, and believe in yourself, it can be done,’’ Boucher says. “If you’re learning by trial and error, you may end up knocking your head against the wall time and time again. If you can learn some of the techniques early on, you’d be so much farther ahead.’’
At UConn she discovered a community of experts that nurture and guide entrepreneurs, something that she wishes her husband had been able to access.
The School of Business, as well as other programs within UConn, has assembled a community of experts that nurture innovation, encourage risk-taking, and support those who dare to dream big, she says. Today, she is supporting those efforts in honor of her husband.
Toni Boucher Returns Legacy of Caring
Toni Boucher is the First Selectman of Wilton, and previously served 22 years in the Connecticut General Assembly. She is also the former director of a top asset-management firm.
She developed a fondness for UConn as an MBA student here, completing her degree in 2002. Balancing a career, legislative work, graduate studies, and raising three children was a big undertaking. UConn leadership was very gracious when she had difficulty completing her MBA courses in the allotted timeframe and granted her two extensions to complete her degree. That sense that the university really cared about her, not only as a student but as a person, has stayed with her for years.
In 2023, she gifted $8 million to the School of Business in support of entrepreneurship programs, eager to expand startup opportunities to students from every discipline, not just business majors. In appreciation for her gift, the university named the Boucher Management & Entrepreneurship Department after Toni and Bud.
Financial Risk Plagues Entrepreneurs
While Toni Boucher always supported her husband and helped finance his dreams, the financial risk was a constant presence. Boucher, who grew up in Italy and emigrated to the U.S. as a child, says she knew hardship.
“Growing up the way I did, always on the edge of not knowing where our next meal would come from, made me very, very risk-averse. I felt that every dollar we saved for the future should be saved for the future, not invested in some harebrained scheme,’’ she says.
“This tension between security and risk-taking would define our marriage. However, even when I thought his ideas were crazy, and told him so, deep down I secretly believed in him and wanted to support him,’’ she says.
“If you have the right partners, a strong team with moral character, financial-, legal- and marketing- advice, and can attract funding, then you’re much more likely to succeed,’’ she says. “You can’t have the founding person lose focus because then everything fails.’’
How UConn Trains Innovators
In “The Husky Effect,” co-authored by Josh Young, Boucher credits President Radenka Maric, School of Business Interim Dean Greg Reilly, the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Werth Institute, and a host of faculty members for offering students the advice, guidance, and encouragement to become successful entrepreneurs.
Boucher describes meeting talented student-entrepreneurs who developed successful businesses while still in college, including a sustainable surfboard, underwear free of toxic chemicals, and a healthier, more affordable fish food for farmers.
“I’ve been able to see an incredible trajectory of success,’’ Boucher says. “When you sit with these students, you’d think you’re speaking with a top Wall Street executive because of the vocabulary they use and the knowledge they have.’’
She also praises the School of Business’ Hillside Ventures program, that allows students to run a venture-capital fund and make real-world investment decisions.
“Students are learning to interview founders, to do their research, to make sure there is a solid financial plan, to assess the competition, to make sure the company is in compliance,’’ she says. When real money is on the line, interest and engagement skyrockets, she says.
Bud’s Strategies Eventually Paid Off
Watching her husband’s journey, Boucher recognized that a good idea wasn’t enough. Successful entrepreneurs needed good partners, capital, and perfect timing. Many of those things can be coached.
Although there were days that seemed extremely bleak, Bud wasn’t a quitter.
“His enthusiasm for new ventures never dimmed. If anything, each setback seemed to fueled his determination for the next opportunity,’’ she says.
Shortly after the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary, Bud was diagnosed with leukemia, and died soon afterward.
At the time of his death, he knew that a wise business decision had paid off. A fintech company, called Xchange, was looking for a short and easy way to go public. They ended up purchasing Terra Enterprises, a non-reporting public company that Bud had created. The stock, originally valued at a fraction of a penny, eventually reached an astounding 84,000 percent increase.
UConn Business Education Empowers New Generation
In her book, Boucher notes that the rise of UConn basketball has become a catalyst for broader transformation. The teams—which have earned three championship trophies in the last three years—have created a culture of excellence that extends to all areas of the university, including the School of Business.
“I think the future of the School of Business is bright. I’m looking forward to the school being in the Top 20 and then Top 10 of public university business schools,’’ Boucher says.
She is excited for more cross-disciplinary collaboration and for students to delve deeper into artificial intelligence. The talent and enthusiasm of the faculty is equally notable, she says.
“We have our students compete with Harvard undergrads and they come back and say, ‘We are just as good!,’” she says. “We want them to contribute to society in a big way by creating jobs for others. We want to empower them to make a great living, be excellent leaders or employees, and create a robust economy.’’
