Student-Run Businesses Thrive at the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M) is experiencing a surge in student-run businesses, fueled by a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem and a desire among students to address real-world problems. This article explores the various initiatives, resources, and student ventures that are contributing to this dynamic landscape.
A Fertile Ground for Innovation
The startup scene in Ann Arbor is growing rapidly, partly due to new student-run businesses at the University of Michigan. Several factors contribute to this thriving environment.
Multidisciplinary Collaboration
One of the key drivers of innovation at U-M is the emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration. The Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE), for instance, welcomes students from all schools and colleges within the university. This multidisciplinary approach enriches the learning experience and fosters a diversity of perspectives, leading to better outcomes. MPowered, a student organization housed within the CFE, also encourages entrepreneurship across the University. When students from different majors come together, they bring unique skills and insights to the table, resulting in more innovative and well-rounded ventures.
Resources and Support Systems
U-M provides a wealth of resources to support student entrepreneurs. The CFE offers guidance and mentorship to students looking to start businesses. The Entrepreneurs Leadership Program has been a huge help, pointing students in the right directions for what pitch competitions to go to and what areas to think about. The School of Environment and Sustainability reached out to us to not only make study groups and assignment groups for classes that are optimized, but also for events … like orientation.
UpRound Ventures is a student organization that helps startups founded by current University students and alumni. Engineering junior Kelly Kwan, vice president of UpRound, runs the UpRound Fund, a recently launched venture capital fund. UpRound Ventures provides funding and mentorship to student-led startups, helping them grow their ventures. UpRound Fund started raising our fund in fall 2020, and our goal is to help Michigan-affiliated startups … grow their ventures,” Kwan said. “We currently have 14k (dollars) in our fund and we’re still continuing to raise.
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A Culture of Help and Collaboration
The entrepreneurial atmosphere at U-M is characterized by a strong sense of community and a willingness to help each other. Everyone’s very down to help, as they should be, because that’s typical with how a startup culture is,” Tsao said. “Everyone’s kind of grinding and struggling a little bit and they’re here to help each other out. This collaborative spirit fosters innovation and allows students to learn from each other's experiences.
Student Ventures Addressing Real-World Problems
Student-run businesses at U-M are not just about making a profit; they are often driven by a desire to solve real-world problems and make a positive impact. Here are a few examples:
Slide: Simplifying Contact Information Exchange
Engineering sophomore Jonathan Lin and Engineering junior Matthew Lichtinger often got frustrated when trying to share their contact information with new people. To address this issue, they created Slide, an app that simplifies contact information exchange. Slide allows users to create a profile with their basic contact information and all of their social media accounts.
Trellis: Democratizing Algorithmic Trading
In January, LSA freshman Andy Lebowitz started Trellis, which is currently in the phase of beta testing where the product is being evaluated by intended users. Trellis allows users to create autonomous stock trading bots without advanced coding knowledge.
Addressing Climate Change: The Michigan Climate Venture
The Michigan Climate Venture (MCV) is a multidisciplinary program at the intersection of climate technology and venture capital at U-M. The fund is the centerpiece of the Michigan Climate Venture, a first-of-its-kind, multidisciplinary program at the intersection of climate technology and venture capital at U-M. The MCV seeks to be a signature educational experience at a top public research university: issue- and action-based, rigorous and data driven, multidisciplinary, technology-enhanced, and co-created and managed by students,” said Gautam Kaul, the fund’s faculty director and professor of finance and the Robert G. Housed at SEAS, the MCV fund is the first student-run fund outside of Michigan Ross at U-M, Kaul said. It is open to full-time graduate students from schools across campus to leverage the expertise that can be found at U-M. This year, about 20 students have been accepted into the fund, including Ross’ full-time MBA students as well as those from SEAS and the College of Engineering. The fund’s founding leadership team consists of seven full-time Ross MBA students who are also dual-degree students at the Erb Institute: Sam Buck, Laura Dyer, Janet Genser, Chelsea Parker, John Pontillo, Olivia Rath and Colleen Sain. “We are hoping to be the ‘hub’ for climate on campus, meaning that we are plugged into most of the student groups, climate research labs and climate-focused events on campus,” she said. “We are all facing an uncertain future in which lives around the world will be impacted by increasingly more acute outcomes related to climate change. We need to conceive of a method to confront and combat this challenge in a way that is sustainable and provides hope,” he said. “Having worked in startups at various stages, both before and during graduate school, I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of infusing capital into the bold visions of a passionate founder,” Sain said. “I came to U-M to build a skill set that would allow me to step off the sidelines and become an active contributor working toward creative solutions,” he said. “MCV is equipping students with the tools and experience to dive head first into the climate space and make a real impact today.
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Solving Parking Problems
Information junior Ian Herdegen and Engineering junior Jacob Glick struggled to find places to park on campus during their first two years at the University. “My freshman year, it felt like I was getting a parking ticket every week and going into sophomore year, it was kind of a similar deal,” Herdegen said.
Connecting Classmates During Online Learning
When the University moved all classes online in March 2020 in response to the pandemic, Engineering sophomores Varun Jindal and Sam Forman found it much harder to connect with classmates. “Both me and Sam are in this program called Entrepreneurs Leadership Program, which has been a huge help,” Jindal said.
The Role of University Resources
The University of Michigan provides a range of resources to support student entrepreneurs, fostering a culture of innovation and providing the necessary tools for success.
The Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE)
The CFE is a central hub for entrepreneurship at U-M, offering guidance, mentorship, and resources to students from all disciplines. “We’ve (always) been open to all students in all schools and colleges from the beginning,” Gordon said. “And that was very important to the founders of the CFE … everything that we do is multidisciplinary. That’s the richness of learning and doing, is just to be with everybody. Gordon has taught a class called Entrepreneurship Hour, a one-credit course that features a different guest speaker every Friday. “It’s a speaker series class emulated on the TED Talk, in that the speaker is really invited to share their journey … (centered) around our four themes of try, fail, risk and do,” Gordon said. “The students come out of there hearing what they need to hear, based on where they’re at, and it’s a class that meets them where they’re at.
UpRound Ventures and the UpRound Fund
UpRound Ventures is a student organization that supports student-led startups through funding and mentorship. “One of our missions of our club is to also give the students in our club the chance to be in a venture capital investor’s shoes, because what they’re doing is … they’re the ones conducting the analysis,” Kwan said. “They’re the ones deciding whether we should invest in them.
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MPowered
MPowered is a student organization housed within the CFE that encourages entrepreneurship across the University. “When you have a variety of perspectives of different majors, you’re going to have a better outcome,” Tsao said.
The Law Clinic
The law clinic … helped us develop our pitch.
Lessons Learned and Future Directions
The success of student-run businesses at the University of Michigan provides valuable lessons for other institutions looking to foster entrepreneurship.
Emphasize Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Encouraging students from different disciplines to work together can lead to more innovative and well-rounded ventures.
Provide Ample Resources and Support
Universities should provide a range of resources, including mentorship, funding, and legal assistance, to support student entrepreneurs.
Foster a Culture of Collaboration and Help
Creating a supportive and collaborative environment can encourage students to take risks and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity
Entrepreneurship is not always easy, and students should be encouraged to view failures as learning opportunities.
Connect Research with Real-World Applications
Universities should encourage students to take that research and do something (large-scale) with it, rather than just simply knowing the small world of your dorm room and that’s where your ideas end.
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