Startup programs launched for students

ELab, a 10-week program launched by the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, will allow student entrepreneurs on campus to fine-tune their startup ideas while participating in training sessions and workshops. Each student in the program will be given physical space on campus, summer housing and a $4,000 stipend.

Some of the students will work in teams to develop their projects. Each team will be given a number of resources by the program, including mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs, contacts with potential investors and legal services with specialties in startups, according to Associate Director for External Affairs at the Keller Center Cornelia Huellstrunk.

Huellstrunk said she is unable to comment on the source of the funding for eLab.

The summer program has been publicized on campus in recent weeks with bright green signs featuring “eLab” in big, bold letters. Huellstrunk said that, despite the Keller Center’s perception as a resource for engineers specifically, she was hoping that the signs would signal that the program was created for entrepreneurs more broadly.

“We hope students will clearly associate the ‘e’ with entrepreneurship,” Huellstrunk said, “as eLab is not only for engineers, but also liberal arts students.”

The program will conclude with a “Demo Day,” where students can share their plans with investors, inventors, experts and other members of the entrepreneurial community.

After the summer portion is concluded, the eLab space will be available to students as a place for entrepreneurs to come together and share ideas.

Princeton Entrepreneurship Club co-president Ryan Shea ’12 said that the new program will have an impact that lasts beyond the summer.

“We had been pushing to have a startup space on campus for a while now, and we are excited that the eLab will be able to serve that purpose for students throughout the year,” Shea said.

Shea added that the program signifies an improved environment for entrepreneurship on campus.

“From what I saw when I was a freshman, there was not much interest in entrepreneurship, and definitely not as much of a community. Now, I think that we’ve come a long way as a school, riding the wave of what is happening in universities, cities and organizations around the world,” Shea said.

The Keller Center’s eLab is not the only new local accelerator tailored to students.

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Tigerlabs is a seed fund, “hackspace” and entrepreneurship center located on Nassau Street, across from Mathey College. Like eLab, Tigerlabs is also focused on fostering student entrepreneurship over the summer through its own accelerator program.

Tigerlabs will accept 10 teams of students from the East Coast. Each Tigerlabs team will receive $20,000 and access to a range of advisors, mentors and speakers to pursue its startup.

According to James Smits ’12, the program director and a founding member of Tigerlabs, the money for these seed funds comes from partners, investors participating in the Tigerlabs’ “Demo Day,” as well as companies such as Microsoft BizSpark and Twilio.

Despite the many similarities between eLab and Tigerlabs, Smits said he is not frustrated that these two accelerators are offering simultaneous summer programs in such close proximity.

“I am actually really excited about eLab,” Smits said. “I think we need more entrepreneurship at Princeton and that both are a step in the right direction. I look forward to the interaction between the two because it is not a competition. We are in this together. We both want to build a community centered on entrepreneurship.”

Shea said he believes building this community is a positive move toward encouraging more students to consider entrepreneurship post-graduation.

“That is our goal: to help pump talent into the New York City startups and to form a strong relationship between the booming startup scene there and students here at Princeton,” Shea said.

Shea added that he believes the University could make more changes in order to encourage this trend, including reforming Career Services.

Huellstrunk said the Keller Center has noticed this building interest in entrepreneurship and eLab is the first component of its response.

“We thought that, with the students’ enthusiasm combined with what’s happening globally, we needed to be a part of this focus on entrepreneurship, enabling students who are passionate for an idea and with the drive to make it happen,” Huellstrunk said.