Students Building Startups at Booth

Posted By SWatts on Dec 19, 2013 |


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Students Building Startups at Booth

In the age of rapid technology, entrepreneurship has quickly spread across the nation and around the globe. Business schools are eager to catch hold of and foster this entrepreneurial spirit, hoping to help build the next great entrepreneur and the next big idea.

According to the admissions committee, Booth looks for future students who are “creative, collaborative and willing to take risks” – three qualities  inherently embedded in every entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are chronic risk takers, perpetually testing ideas and experimenting with new goals and dreams. As a result, many Booth alumni have been successful in guiding their startups to success, including well-known examples such as GrubHub, Bump Technologies, and ORIGAMI.

To cultivate more proactive and original businesses such as these, Booth has established the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, as well as several enterprising initiatives to promote innovation. Since the Polsky Center’s establishment in the 1970s, entrepreneurship has steadily risen to the second most popular concentration at Booth. One of the initiatives promoted under the Polsky Center is the New Venture Challenge, a world-renowned startup program that allows students to build and act on their original business ideas. In the final round, students present their ideas to a panel of investors and entrepreneurs, earning the opportunity to win generous cash prizes, legal services, funding, consulting, and business services. In fact, GrubHub, Braintree, and AllTuition were all products and winners of the Booth New Venture Challenge.

There are two main organizations built in collaboration with Booth to foster entrepreneurial spirit: 1871 and Built in Chicago. 1871 speaks specifically to digital startups, offering workspace at an affordable price as well as mentorship, educational resources, a supportive community, and potential investors to Chicago entrepreneurs. Built in Chicago (builtinchicago.org) is a community of entrepreneurs, marketers, engineers, developers and designers similarly working to create the next big technological, digital or mobile creation. Built in Chicago is an active online and in-person community, bringing together individuals and companies and providing a platform for communal blogging, event sharing, and job searching. Additionally, Built in Chicago provides a step-by-step guide for getting funding, gaining advice or mentorship, meeting people, finding an affordable workspace, and entering into entrepreneurial competitions.

An entrepreneurial spirit is a huge plus at Booth – the kind of spirit that fellow students will undoubtedly share an excitement for. To learn more about entrepreneurship at Booth, you can visit the Polsky Center’s Facebook, Twitter or YouTube page.