Grainge, an entrepreneur and record executive, encouraged graduates to bet on themselves and learn from failure. Students Luke Brothers, Jizelle Dorego and Daunte Pean recounted their proudest Northeastern moments.
After sharing a surprise video of well-wishes to the class of 2025 from pop superstars Cardi B, Ed Sheeran and Rose, Elliot Grainge — a successful entrepreneur, record executive and Northeastern graduate — zeroed in on one tiny, powerful word during his keynote address at the university’s undergraduate commencement ceremony: No.
“I’m here to tell you the two greatest things people have said to me,” Grainge told a crowd of more than 6,000 undergraduates at Fenway Park. “‘That’s impossible,’ and ‘No.’
Despite his success at a young age — just 31 — Grainge has been hearing the word since college. A 2016 graduate, he recounted his early setbacks as a student entrepreneur on the Boston campus as vital training for the rest of his professional life.
In his own remarks, Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun echoed that idea of university experiences shaping graduates’ future contributions to the world.
“While each of you has a unique Northeastern journey, all of them have been shaped by your experiences here,” Aoun said. “The experience of turning numbers on a spreadsheet into a startup… The experience of going on co-op to discover a career you never imagined. … The experience of realizing what a community needs to flourish, and launching your own initiative to serve and uplift society.
These are powerful learning experiences. In today’s roller-coaster world, they are priceless.”
At Northeastern, Grainge founded two companies — a club promotion business and a live music series — that ended “disastrously,” thickening his skin for his early years in the music industry. “Those companies made a total of negative 3.5 thousand dollars,” he said
About a year after graduation, tired of trying to explain the value of SoundCloud and streaming data to established record executives, Grainge struck out on his own.
“Eventually I thought, screw it. I’ll try and raise some money, sign one or two artists … and launch my own label,” Grainge recalled. “It was hearing ‘no’ that drove me to follow my gut and build something.”
His label, 10K Projects, went on to sign more than 50 artists (Ice Spice, Trippie Redd) who have amassed “tens of billions of streams,” worldwide. Its success led to a majority acquisition by Warner Music Group in 2023; in 2024, Grainge became CEO of Warner-owned Atlantic Music Group.
Grainge extolled the values of quiet, hard work during that trajectory, advising the Class of 2025 to keep “grinding” in the face of adversity and learning from setbacks — even though that can be unpredictable and rarely straightforward.
“Success isn’t one massive leap,” he said. “It’s little wins, a thousand setbacks, some detours, and eventually a door opens. Every time someone says ‘No,’ think about what they said. Then take it with a pound of salt. If your gut says you’re right, ignore them completely. If they are right? Cool, good for them. Learn from it. Pivot. And try again.”
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He noted that the crowd of young people before him probably knew more than most about unplanned setbacks; most graduated high school during a global pandemic.
“In truth, there’s very little in life we do control,” he advised them. “But we can choose how we show up.”
He continued: “You represent …a future we haven’t seen, a future we can’t fully imagine, and won’t truly understand, until you build it. Each and every one of you were raised on speed, technology, and constant evolution. You’ll shape culture, technology, business and politics in ways we can’t yet fathom.”
In a joint presentation preceding Grainge’s remarks, a trio of students touched on similar themes of courage and resilience. Daunte Pean, Jizelle Dorego and Luke Brothers looked back on their decorated undergraduate careers, homing in on the ways their academic journeys manifested in core Northeastern principles spelled out by the university’s motto: Light, Truth and Courage.
Pean, a mechanical engineering major, singled out moments of service and mentorship as highlights of his time at the university. “To me, light means the fire within: the motivation to try new things, push past my comfort zone, and be my best self,” he said. “My proudest achievement was mentoring a gamer with a heart of gold named Jeremiah who doubted college was possible — now he’s studying computer science. It proved to me that our light has to be shared.”
Dorego and Brothers, a health sciences and business major, echoed Pean on the importance of helping others during their respective Northeastern journeys.
Working as a health care researcher in Australia helped Brothers understand that “behind every recommendation I made was a real person facing a real challenge — and that my work could help ease their path, just a little,” he said.
Dorego credited her service with WISE, the Women’s Interdisciplinary Society of Entrepreneurship, for helping her find “her home and her voice” at Northeastern.
“I came to Northeastern expecting to master strategy, finance and marketing,” said Dorego. “I didn’t expect to be challenged to think about what really makes life meaningful.”
“I’ve guided more than 45 students across three campuses on their entrepreneurial journeys,” she continued. “WISE gave me belonging and purpose, and a place to build a community. To lift others. To share light.”
Like Grainge, all three students highlighted the courage — in big and small moments — required in charting a course through their undergraduate journeys, from leaving their small hometowns for a major urban campus to jostling for a study spot in Snell Library.
“Northeastern showed me that growth doesn’t happen in comfort. It happens when you chase the uncomfortable,” Pean said.