One of the less widely known features of Georgetown is the volume and intensity of entrepreneurial activities ongoing at the university. The array of resources in the area is getting richer and richer.
The longest standing activities in support of entrepreneurship are located within the McDonough School of Business. The Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative was started in 2009, and, along with StartupHoyas, quickly proved to be a magnet for interests of students throughout the entire university. The initiative linked to alumni pretty quickly, sponsored pitch competitions, and forged networks among interested students and young alumni.
The entrance of the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation onto the campus was an added impetus to thinking about entrepreneurship with common good themes — social impact with sustainable business models, organizations that achieved social benefits supported by ongoing revenue streams, and public-private partnerships of long lasting value. Much of the design thinking workshops and classes were symbiotic with other entrepreneurial activities at the university. The Center brought to Georgetown a whole new perspective on building organizations and activities that innovate for social impact.
The support of the Leonsis Family supported the Georgetown Venture Lab in 2018, a 90-person space devoted to supporting student and young alumni startups, sited within a WeWork space in downtown DC. The space is thriving, with a mix of commercial startups and nonprofit startups, all of them starting from scratch, most with interdisciplinary teams, many with mixes of technology, data, and products or services. The teams are supporting one another and the knowledge-based connection to the Hilltop campus is strong.
As Georgetown’s work in the area evolved, it has been increasingly noted that entrepreneurship is a way of thinking. It is a way of approaching problems. It values deep thinking about a problem or prospect. It rewards new approaches that produce significant improvements over the status quo. It almost always assumes starting with few assets. It is consistently seeking ideas that can expand in volume successfully. Every student could profit learning this way of thinking. Further, some of these ways of thinking can be taught. So, an undergraduate minor in entrepreneurship was launched about the same time as the Venture Lab, with a four-course requirement.
Well, not all of the action in entrepreneurship was solely campus-based. The Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance was formed within the Georgetown Alumni Association. This is a network of entrepreneurs who support one another, sponsor alumni pitch events, and entrepreneurship awards.
A recent development under the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance umbrella is the Georgetown Angel Investment Network (GAIN). GAIN is a membership group that facilitates the introduction of entrepreneurs to potential investors through meetings, presentations and other mechanisms. GAIN members consist of individuals who are Georgetown alumni and are interested in investing in privately held companies or ventures typically in an early stage of development. GAIN seeks to foster camaraderie within the Georgetown alumni community and to give alumni entrepreneurs potential access to capital for their ventures.
Given that entrepreneurship is a way of thinking and approaching problems to be solved, Georgetown’s eco-system is a rich one. It is distinctive in its blend of entrepreneurship for the common good and entrepreneurship for profit, side by side (and even combined in one effort). It’s something to be treasured.
Great post I would like to thank you for the efforts to writing this interesting and knowledgeable article.
What a great Hoya story! Business, creative thought and a great partnership with Oneheckofahoya Ted Leonsis and the Georgetown Alumni Association. Also props to a another great alum Peter Mellon who was also very instrumental in these projects.