DMV 100 Student Meetup | SkyFarm Interactive | #studentfounders

We attended an amazing meetup and student pitch event on Thursday March 30 at the Google offices in DC near Union Station — the 100 student DMV meetup.  There were students from Georgetown, American University, George Washington University, Catholic University, Gallaudet University, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, Johns Hopkins University, Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia.

Our colleagues at AU and GWU did the heavy lifting in organizing this meetup and pitch event, as did our hosts from the Google Policy Office.

Eight student ventures from 8 different schools pitched a range of new ventures — from a convenient, ‘on-the-go’ makeup kit to solar energy in Africa — problems were identified, solutions offered, and market sizes assessed. There was energy and passion in the room and it highlighted how active today’s students are and how responsive our best universities are to the demands of students and the entrepreneurial economy.

David Martell, a finance student at Mason presented his firm,  SkyFarm Interactive, and his vision of a new family friendly digital world — a Disney for today and tomorrow. SkyFarm Interactive, and its main character, Duncan the Silly Duck, can be found in the iTunes sticker store!

More Funding Going to Student Founders | @JFiance @TheHouseVC

News from UC Berkeley and Georgetown University highlight what my research suggests: students are building some of the most innovative, impactful and valuable firms in the world and their experiences on campus matter (see Campus as Frontier)

From Gtown in DC: Ted Leonsis, billionaire owner of the Washington Capitals and active venture investor, made a $1 million donation to the Georgetown Entrepreneurial Initiative earlier this month with the funds dedicated to seed funding for student ventures that are working to “address problems in the world.” The fund will likely give out $100,000 per year according to the Washington Business Journal.

Out West: University of Cal Berkeley has become the target of a small, niche venture investing fund being run by 24 year old Jeremy Fiance, a Berkeley grad. You can read more about the fund directly from Jeremy on his post to medium.com.

Our story is part of a much bigger movement happening on campus right now as student entrepreneurship has evolved into a growing and integral part of the Berkeley experience. To cite just a few Berkeley initiatives, there are eight accelerator programs focused on specific stages and vertical industries, over 40 clubs across engineering, design, and entrepreneurship, two entrepreneurship centers, a design institute, a maker space, the world’s largest ever collegiate hackathon, and much more.

The House Fund is built by and for Berkeley founders. We’re doubling down on our belief in Berkeley by contributing a significant portion of our returns and resources back into the ecosystem. Stay tuned for another big announcement on that front in the coming months.

One more piece on the House Fund and Jeremy from the Business Insider.

 

Black Millennials Missing the Entrepreneurial Revolution? #diversityintech

My research on high growth firms created by students at US colleges and universities uncovered that lack of female participation in high impact entrepreneurship on campus.

Lack of diversity is a big issue in tech and Tech Crunch Contributor Duane Dennis offers a personal look, with some data, at the lack of black participation in high growth/high tech entrepreneurship. From Dennis:

I’ve found that accelerators are especially important in providing a more intensive education, especially when run by experienced entrepreneurs. The Global Founders’ Skills Accelerator (GFSA) program director is Bill Aulet, famed educator, author and entrepreneur; the HAX accelerator is managed by Duncan Turner, entrepreneur and former IDEO designer.

However, in both cohorts, there were very few minorities. In GFSA, there were four blacksout of about 50 founders; in HAX there weren’t any represented among the 15 companies. This happened despite the worldwide diversity efforts that have been put in place by both organizations for general minority and state-specific populations.

The stats seem to back up my anecdotal evidence. Although most accelerator programs do not track the ethnicity or gender of participants, 500 Startups does. A voluntary poll of participants revealed that out of 250 startups and 500 founders, 80 were Asian, 60 were female, 15 were Hispanic and only nine were black.

and later….

For non-entrepreneurial families of first- or even second-generation graduates, the question is all about risk, regardless of color or nationality. Investing in a college fund is a big commitment, and entering the entrepreneurial sphere rather than the job market seems ridiculous when you have student loans, a lucrative job lined up after college and that looming 90 percent knockout rate.

Finding the investments, support and partnerships to do this is the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs. It is getting easier to start your own business — and this time, as we see more entrepreneurs step into the arena, it is important that we don’t leave behind our minority groups that are typically left behind.

Later in the piece Dennis offers specific policy and educational recommendations — which point to creating supportive environments for young entrepreneurs. His limited data offers some similarity to the lack of diversity that I see among the student founders of high growth firms.