This piece was written in collaboration with Rita Ferrandino, President of Education Design Studio, Inc.
How do we inspire and support the next generation of social impact entrepreneurs? What can our higher education institutions do to prepare students for entrepreneurial success? We are all familiar with companies born out of dorm rooms that have revolutionized our world. Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Reddit, Snapchat, Airbnb, Warby Parker, Bombas Socks and many other game-changers were created by college students to address a societal need or problem with limited capital investment. Would these students have done better or moved faster if they would have had access to hands-on entrepreneurial learning to augment their theoretically-oriented academic paths? (Businesses Started in College)
What can colleges do to support aspiring entrepreneurs on their campuses or to encourage greater numbers of students to consider entrepreneurship? What role can colleges have to inspire these entrepreneurs to build social impact into their entrepreneurial ideas? Is there a way to tap into today’s college students and weave into their sustainable business models a way to “do well while doing good”? One way that higher education institutions can foster and support committed entrepreneurs--as well as the merely curious--is by holding Startup Weekends. These weekend-long experiences of building a bare-bones business can expand academic experiences for college students and also spawn our next generation of social impact entrepreneurs.
We recently hosted a Startup Weekend with three liberal arts colleges in the Philadelphia area. The administrators wanted to provide their students with an interdisciplinary event with an emphasis on impact and entrepreneurship. They knew their students were hungry for a snapshot on how to grow their ideas into a company with social impact. They also knew their classic liberal arts offerings were ill-suited for taking a business concept or early-stage ideation to execution. We crafted a weekend-long curriculum to engage students in a dynamic, interactive exploration of the concepts and processes of innovation, entrepreneurship and impact.
We began by putting students into teams where they collaborated through interactive experiences to develop their group’s idea. This approach was modeled after traditional Startup Weekend programs and curriculum. Some students came with their own ideas or fledgling businesses and others came to be inspired. We filled the room with materials that encouraged hands-on engagement, such as post-it notes, poster boards and lots of colored markers. We also provided curriculum support in needs assessment, value proposition creation and design thinking principles. Pizza, socialization and ideation are a great combination for inspiring college students.
The second day, while the students worked with their teams, we provided curriculum on identifying the target market, competition, financial models and selling strategies. We gave them exemplars on creating a pitch deck. Mentors, who were alumni and local business professionals, also worked with the teams. Local entrepreneurs came to work with the students and shared entrepreneurship best practices and tips on social responsibility and leadership.
Speakers and mentors at the event included entrepreneurs Paul Santolla and Evan Magill, founders of TriviaNote, an artificial intelligence platform designed to aid student study. They started TriviaNote while Paul studied engineering at Villanova and Evan studied business at St. Joseph’s University. Immediately after graduation, they participated in the Education Design Studio, Inc., accelerator (located now at Catalyst@PennGSE) where they gained the hands-on experience to grow their business. As Paul explained:
TriviaNote would have benefitted from participating in a Startup Weekend while we were in college. Having access to the design thinking process and creating a working pitch deck would have jump started our business and we would have been better positioned upon graduation. We wanted to be mentors to support the next class of student developers.”
Our Startup Weekend culminated with each team creating a pitch deck presentation and competing for prizes. Our Pitch Competition judges were local dignitaries. A celebration followed the awards ceremony. The students left inspired, and they were armed with tools to move forward with their business ideas. Many of these students have reached out to us as they seek their first customers and financing.
Rebecca Fisher, a senior at Haverford college who founded Beyond the Bell Walking Tour, attended our Startup Weekend. Rebecca is now providing tourists with a two-hour walking tour of Philadelphia who want to learn about the people, controversies and secret histories that have formed the city. The tours are given in multiple languages and are an eco-friendly way to offer a personalized Philadelphia experience.
Seeing the need for colleges to provide weekend entrepreneurial programming, Henrik Scheel founded The Startup Experience. Henrik works with universities to boost the entrepreneurial spirit on campuses and to help students start their first ventures during the two day program. Henrik told us:
Students are noticing how all industries are being disrupted by exponential technologies, and they are keen to learn about the entrepreneurial mindset and gain skills that will prepare them to navigate in a future that's rapidly changing. It's also amazing to experience how socially conscious the students are today. Millennials don't just want to make money they also want to have a positive impact on the world, and entrepreneurship is often times the most powerful vehicle to create sustainable change.”
Our call to action for colleges and universities is to host interdisciplinary Startup Weekends. If you ignite the interest of aspiring and inspiring entrepreneurs while enrolled in college, the students win, the academic institution wins and society wins. Universities have a vast array of resources at the ready: market research, faculty and alumni with their connections, student talent, technology resources, media relationships and many others. Startup Weekend programing can add practicality and real-world depth and relevance to theoretical studies. For participants, it provides the training to think and consume in a socially responsible manner, even if they do not become entrepreneurs themselves. The interdisciplinary cross-pollination and connections across a campus have enormous benefits for all involved. The positive public relations and general goodwill these events generate can be used to drive recruitment of new students and fundraising.
For a small investment in Startup Weekends, the benefits are vast. The next revolutionary social impact solutions may be lurking in college halls right now. An innovative and organized Startup Weekend can make all the difference.
