Introducing the newest internal Founders team: Exploration. Read what initiatives & projects we're building.
This is the first semester for the Exploration team; what was once two different teams (Discovery & Microgrants) was merged into one team on Founders to combine our talent and focus on making an impact in the entrepreneurship community.
Put simply, it's the job of the exploration team to stay connected with the entrepreneurship community, diagnose issues that exist among student-run startups, and identify solutions to those problems.
It's safe to say that after one whole semester of work, the exploration team has a lot of amazing work to show for themselves. Let's take a look at some of the initiatives and projects that were spearheaded by the Exploration team in 2021 so far.
Startup Consolidator
There are dozens upon dozens of student startups at UIUC, but there's no place for students and faculty at UIUC to get a glimpse into the entrepreneurship community. The Startup Consolation project aims to gather a master list of all (or, most) startups at U of I. The R&D team has created a Startup Directory to display all of these startups in one place.
Ecosystem Mapper
The Founders Ecosystem Map project aims to refer struggling entrepreneurs to on-campus resources. Given a students' startup information, we can let you know which resources will be most beneficial for your startup.
VC Connections
This initiative focuses on working with student startups, professors, and industry professionals to coordinate unique workshops and experiences for the entrepreneurship community.
Workshops
The Workshop team aims to create educational workshops, both virtually and in person, to provide year-round value to students interested in creating their own venture.