<![CDATA[IncubateUSC / Blackstone Launchpad General Mailing List Archive Feed]]>
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Mon, 23 Dec 2019 11:35:45 +0000Zend_Feedhttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss<![CDATA[The 8th Annual University Venturing Summit is Today, SQLABLE Application Deadline Today & USC Credit Union Hiring for a Variety of Positions!]]>
https://mailchi.mp/2d7e764d9080/may-14th-blackstone-launchpad-incubate-newsletter-1497289
https://mailchi.mp/2d7e764d9080/may-14th-blackstone-launchpad-incubate-newsletter-1497289The 8th Annual University Venturing Summit is Today, SQLABLE Application Deadline Today & USC Credit Union Hiring for a Variety of Positions!Join this amazing community of entrepreneurship at USC! There are dozens of weekly events & countless opportunities to learn, grow, and get involved.
EVENTS
The 8th Annual University Venturing Summit is Today!
Once again, USC is bringing the LA entrepreneurial scene together to showcase 20 of the best startups from top universities like USC, UCLA, UCI, UCSB, Pepperdine, LMU, Cal Lutheran, CSUN, and CSULA. Each venture will make a 3-minute presentation to see the team in action and then have a tabletop demo time for those interested in supporting to take a deeper dive.
We welcome everyone to attend, get involved, make meaningful connections, and network. Gather at Fertitta Hall to witness the future of Californian innovation.
So far... a portfolio of 100 companies, tens of millions raised, 30 competitions won, eight successful Kickstarters, one company acquired...
We look for coachable teams that demonstrate commitment to their work and that have the capabilities to build. While most companies are tech related, the program is open to businesses of all types that are at prototype stage or later. Note: at least one of the founders must be USC students, alumni or faculty/staff.
Quake Capital is a seed and early-stage venture capital fund and accelerator program. Our investments are about more than just money-- through our accelerator program, teams receive world-class coaching, personalized mentorship targeted at each company's specific needs, and access to our extensive network of investors and strategic partners.
Application Opens: April 22nd
Early Decision Deadline: June 24th
Application Closes: July 22nd
Program Starts: September 17th
Demo Day: December 12th
With Love Cards: Spreading The Message Of Good Times
Our startup for this week is With Love Cards, a business that aims to streamline the greeting card industry. The company was founded and launched in August of 2018 by Kathleen Quinn, a 2nd year master of social entrepreneurship with the mission of enhancing greater human interaction through the written word. “We think having something to hold with a physical presence is getting lost among our generation,” says Quinn “The word is so powerful in making your day when you see it.”
Quinn was inspired by a challenge she presented herself a few years ago for the season of Lent. “I wanted to do something positive for the people in my orbit for a few weeks like my doorman, my gym buddy and the feedback was so inspirational because it put a positive spin on the day.”
The company also ties in mental health by partnering with mental health organization and supplying these partners with cards that address the stigma of suicide and depression. “Right now we're measuring the impact of these cards by market surveys but were looking to increase the impact in the future.” Says Quinn. While people with mental health problems are complex, these cards reach out to people personally and talk them through their journey of struggling.
]]>The 8th Annual University Venturing Summit is Today, SQLABLE Application Deadline Today & USC Credit Union Hiring for a Variety of Positions!Join this amazing community of entrepreneurship at USC! There are dozens of weekly events & countless opportunities to learn, grow, and get involved.
EVENTS
The 8th Annual University Venturing Summit is Today!
Once again, USC is bringing the LA entrepreneurial scene together to showcase 20 of the best startups from top universities like USC, UCLA, UCI, UCSB, Pepperdine, LMU, Cal Lutheran, CSUN, and CSULA. Each venture will make a 3-minute presentation to see the team in action and then have a tabletop demo time for those interested in supporting to take a deeper dive.
We welcome everyone to attend, get involved, make meaningful connections, and network. Gather at Fertitta Hall to witness the future of Californian innovation.
So far... a portfolio of 100 companies, tens of millions raised, 30 competitions won, eight successful Kickstarters, one company acquired...
We look for coachable teams that demonstrate commitment to their work and that have the capabilities to build. While most companies are tech related, the program is open to businesses of all types that are at prototype stage or later. Note: at least one of the founders must be USC students, alumni or faculty/staff.
Quake Capital is a seed and early-stage venture capital fund and accelerator program. Our investments are about more than just money-- through our accelerator program, teams receive world-class coaching, personalized mentorship targeted at each company's specific needs, and access to our extensive network of investors and strategic partners.
Application Opens: April 22nd
Early Decision Deadline: June 24th
Application Closes: July 22nd
Program Starts: September 17th
Demo Day: December 12th
With Love Cards: Spreading The Message Of Good Times
Our startup for this week is With Love Cards, a business that aims to streamline the greeting card industry. The company was founded and launched in August of 2018 by Kathleen Quinn, a 2nd year master of social entrepreneurship with the mission of enhancing greater human interaction through the written word. “We think having something to hold with a physical presence is getting lost among our generation,” says Quinn “The word is so powerful in making your day when you see it.”
Quinn was inspired by a challenge she presented herself a few years ago for the season of Lent. “I wanted to do something positive for the people in my orbit for a few weeks like my doorman, my gym buddy and the feedback was so inspirational because it put a positive spin on the day.”
The company also ties in mental health by partnering with mental health organization and supplying these partners with cards that address the stigma of suicide and depression. “Right now we're measuring the impact of these cards by market surveys but were looking to increase the impact in the future.” Says Quinn. While people with mental health problems are complex, these cards reach out to people personally and talk them through their journey of struggling.
]]>Tue, 14 May 2019 13:00:00 +0000<![CDATA[Patron Spirits FounderJohn Paul DeJoria Visits Wed, Entrepreneur of the Year Award Thurs, RSVP for the University Venturing Summit & Scaling Workshop!]]>
https://mailchi.mp/cb9e1fe8d95c/april-23rd-blackstone-launchpad-incubate-newsletter-1497273
https://mailchi.mp/cb9e1fe8d95c/april-23rd-blackstone-launchpad-incubate-newsletter-1497273Patron Spirits FounderJohn Paul DeJoria Visits Wed, Entrepreneur of the Year Award Thurs, RSVP for the University Venturing Summit & Scaling Workshop!Join this amazing community of entrepreneurship at USC! There are dozens of weekly events & countless opportunities to learn, grow, and get involved.
EVENTS
Invitation to John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of Paul Mitchell and Patrón Tequila
April 24, 2019 | 6:00 - 7:50 pm | SAL101
Please join us for an inspiring conversation with entrepreneur, activist, and philanthropist, John Paul DeJoria. Mr. DeJoria will be sharing his story, advice for entrepreneurs, and his life’s motto, “Success Unshared is Failure.”
In 1981, Mr. DeJoria and his partner launched Paul Mitchell Systems. They started with $700 and a vision to provide tools for hair care professionals to succeed. Today, the company is the largest privately-held salon hair care line, producing more than 100 products across 100+ countries.
In 1989, Mr. DeJoria co-founded Patron Tequila with a mission to create the best tequila in the world. The company established a new category for premium tequila and sells more than three million cases of product. Last year, Bacardi purchased Patrón for $5.1 billion and DeJoria became Chairman Emeritus of the company.
Mr. DeJoria is active in philanthropy, empowering others, and protecting the environment. His story is the subject of the movie, “Good Fortune,” which is an enjoyable way to gain an understanding of his life and work.
Open to USC students and no registration is required.
USC Marshall's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies invites you to the Marcia Israel Awards Banquet honoring the Class of 2019 and Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year, Brett Henry, who will share the story of how he harnessed his USC MBA and the Trojan Network to create a $250 million exit in the self-storage industry.
The evening also grants scholarships, student awards, and announces the winners of $85,000 from the New Venture Seed Competition.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
USC Town & Gown
Cocktails 5:15pm
Dinner & Program 6:00pm
We're Closing in on the 8th Annual University Venturing Summit!
The best and brightest ventures from top Southern California universities will demo their ventures to angel investors and other resources in the new venturing community.
May 14, 2019
USC Campus
9:30am: Networking & Registration 10:00am: Program Begins – Overview & Rules of the Road 10:30am: Keynote – Fred Schonenberg – Founder of VentureFuel: Forming corporate partnerships to accelerate early stage ventures 11:00am: University Ventures – 3 minute presentations 12:30pm: Lunch Mixer & table top demos by ventures for resources to take deeper dive 2:00pm: Program Concludes Promptly
Don't Miss The Last Event in The FQ Lounge @ USC This Friday!
Date: Friday, April 26th
12:00PM-1:00PM
Run of Show: 12:00-12:30PM School & The Side Hustle - Growing Your Business Over Summer Break 12:30PM - 1:00PM Women in Business Mixer
Confirmed Panelists:
Heather Logan, Strategic Partnerships Lead, The Female Quotient (Moderator)
Ann Rosenberg, Senior VP & Global Head of SAP Next-Gen
Maxine Marcus, President of The FQ Lounge @ USC and Founder, The Ambassadors Company
Additional panelists TBD, pending confirmation
USC Incubator Workshop Series (Prototype) Tomorrow!
USC Incubator is partnering with strategy/design firm room for magic to host a series of strategy workshops meant to provide a resource to USC’s community of entrepreneur as they ideate, develop and launch their businesses, products and, ventures.
In true prototype fashion, we will introduce the series this semester, covering three topics from a high-level perspective in one workshop. Based on feedback and interest we will follow up next semester with dedicated sessions for each topic.
Key Topics:
Blue Ocean Strategy
A series of strategic frameworks that help you differentiate your product from competitors and carve out your niche.
Value Proposition Development
A workshop to help focus and articulate why your business exists and how to express that to win over customers. Consumers don’t buy what you sell; they buy why you sell it.
Branding 101
Brand can include everything from a logo, color to tone of voice. Your branding speaks for you when you are not there. We will cover the basics of establishing and developing a unique brand that is needed to stand out in a crowded market.
April 24th / 12 PM - 1:30 PM
The FQ Lounge @ Blackstone Launchpad – Basement of Bridges Hall
So far... a portfolio of 100 companies, tens of millions raised, 30 competitions won, eight successful Kickstarters, one company acquired...
We look for coachable teams that demonstrate commitment to their work and that have the capabilities to build. While most companies are tech related, the program is open to businesses of all types that are at prototype stage or later. Note: at least one of the founders must be USC students, alumni or faculty/staff.
Quake Capital is a seed and early-stage venture capital fund and accelerator program. Our investments are about more than just money-- through our accelerator program, teams receive world-class coaching, personalized mentorship targeted at each company's specific needs, and access to our extensive network of investors and strategic partners.
Application Opens: April 22nd
Early Decision Deadline: June 24th
Application Closes: July 22nd
Program Starts: September 17th
Demo Day: December 12th
Venture Deals Online Course – Spring 2019 Registration Is Open
We are pleased to announce that Kauffman Fellows and Techstars are collaborating once again to run the online Venture Deals Course from April 7, 2019 – May 31, 2019.
Together we’ve co-produced the course four times. To date, over 15,000 people have completed the program. Venture Capital luminaries, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, make several guest appearances (online) and respond to emails with questions during the course.
Unless you’ve been living your life under a rock, you’re bound to have heard of Gary Vee. On April 18th, USC had the pleasure of hosting him to speak to us. Needless to say, fans were excited, with several shouting “I love you Gary!” as he sat down on stage with the host of the night, Professor David Belasco, Executive Director of the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Gary reciprocated the love, shouting back “I love you too!”
He explained his excitement revealing that, “I disproportionately enjoy human beings. I actually secretly dislike animals because so many people like animals more than humans.”
Throughout the night, Gary continued to foster excitement and awe as he took selfies with students that eagerly ran up to the stage, tried to extend the talk to answer more questions, and he even kissed a fan on the cheek to spread the message of positivity and love.
Our startup for the week is Overlooked, an online news company dedicated to the fight against fake news.
The company was founded in November 2017 by George Sehremelis, a senior majoring in Business Administration. “In high school, I was suspiciously addicted to watching CNN, Fox, MS-NBC for hours every day,” says Sehremelis every day. “My family’s village in Greece was home to the largest massacre by the Nazis in World War 2 and the sad fact was that it was based on false reports.”
Overlooked is dedicated to the spread of accurate information on current issues, unlike social media sites. The problem with Facebook and Twitter is that the users could get away with lying on the site with the information spreading faster than it could be stopped. “In the US we see fake news as a matter of politics.” says Sehremelis “For the rest of the world, misinformation is a matter of life and death.”
Co-create and execute our social media strategy. Increase our brand awareness, driving traffic to our site, and cultivating new partners and sales. Responsible for developing social media campaigns. Write social copy, draft replies to messages and comments, and stay on top of key trends in social media. Help establish a content calendar. Create, foster, and improve communities built around YEBies. Moderating and facilitating conversations around YEBies products or services on social media will be a key role. Engage with community members through direct messages and comments on social media in line with YEBies voice and values.
Tasked with identifying authentic opportunities, either externally or internally that will drive growth for the YEBies and partner organizations. Help develop new a highly strategic sales process that will focus on large-scale partnerships that align with the long-term strategic goals of the YEBies. Use an existing network to take advantage of millennials who see the need for more civic engagement.
EdFinder is looking for a mobile developer responsible for the development and maintenance of applications aimed at a range of iOS and Android devices including mobile phones and tablet computers. Your primary focus will be the development of iOS applications and their integration with back-end services. You will be working alongside other developers working on different layers of the infrastructure. Therefore, a commitment to collaborative problem solving, sophisticated design, and the creation of quality products are essential.
]]>Patron Spirits FounderJohn Paul DeJoria Visits Wed, Entrepreneur of the Year Award Thurs, RSVP for the University Venturing Summit & Scaling Workshop!Join this amazing community of entrepreneurship at USC! There are dozens of weekly events & countless opportunities to learn, grow, and get involved.
EVENTS
Invitation to John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of Paul Mitchell and Patrón Tequila
April 24, 2019 | 6:00 - 7:50 pm | SAL101
Please join us for an inspiring conversation with entrepreneur, activist, and philanthropist, John Paul DeJoria. Mr. DeJoria will be sharing his story, advice for entrepreneurs, and his life’s motto, “Success Unshared is Failure.”
In 1981, Mr. DeJoria and his partner launched Paul Mitchell Systems. They started with $700 and a vision to provide tools for hair care professionals to succeed. Today, the company is the largest privately-held salon hair care line, producing more than 100 products across 100+ countries.
In 1989, Mr. DeJoria co-founded Patron Tequila with a mission to create the best tequila in the world. The company established a new category for premium tequila and sells more than three million cases of product. Last year, Bacardi purchased Patrón for $5.1 billion and DeJoria became Chairman Emeritus of the company.
Mr. DeJoria is active in philanthropy, empowering others, and protecting the environment. His story is the subject of the movie, “Good Fortune,” which is an enjoyable way to gain an understanding of his life and work.
Open to USC students and no registration is required.
USC Marshall's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies invites you to the Marcia Israel Awards Banquet honoring the Class of 2019 and Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year, Brett Henry, who will share the story of how he harnessed his USC MBA and the Trojan Network to create a $250 million exit in the self-storage industry.
The evening also grants scholarships, student awards, and announces the winners of $85,000 from the New Venture Seed Competition.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
USC Town & Gown
Cocktails 5:15pm
Dinner & Program 6:00pm
We're Closing in on the 8th Annual University Venturing Summit!
The best and brightest ventures from top Southern California universities will demo their ventures to angel investors and other resources in the new venturing community.
May 14, 2019
USC Campus
9:30am: Networking & Registration 10:00am: Program Begins – Overview & Rules of the Road 10:30am: Keynote – Fred Schonenberg – Founder of VentureFuel: Forming corporate partnerships to accelerate early stage ventures 11:00am: University Ventures – 3 minute presentations 12:30pm: Lunch Mixer & table top demos by ventures for resources to take deeper dive 2:00pm: Program Concludes Promptly
Don't Miss The Last Event in The FQ Lounge @ USC This Friday!
Date: Friday, April 26th
12:00PM-1:00PM
Run of Show: 12:00-12:30PM School & The Side Hustle - Growing Your Business Over Summer Break 12:30PM - 1:00PM Women in Business Mixer
Confirmed Panelists:
Heather Logan, Strategic Partnerships Lead, The Female Quotient (Moderator)
Ann Rosenberg, Senior VP & Global Head of SAP Next-Gen
Maxine Marcus, President of The FQ Lounge @ USC and Founder, The Ambassadors Company
Additional panelists TBD, pending confirmation
USC Incubator Workshop Series (Prototype) Tomorrow!
USC Incubator is partnering with strategy/design firm room for magic to host a series of strategy workshops meant to provide a resource to USC’s community of entrepreneur as they ideate, develop and launch their businesses, products and, ventures.
In true prototype fashion, we will introduce the series this semester, covering three topics from a high-level perspective in one workshop. Based on feedback and interest we will follow up next semester with dedicated sessions for each topic.
Key Topics:
Blue Ocean Strategy
A series of strategic frameworks that help you differentiate your product from competitors and carve out your niche.
Value Proposition Development
A workshop to help focus and articulate why your business exists and how to express that to win over customers. Consumers don’t buy what you sell; they buy why you sell it.
Branding 101
Brand can include everything from a logo, color to tone of voice. Your branding speaks for you when you are not there. We will cover the basics of establishing and developing a unique brand that is needed to stand out in a crowded market.
April 24th / 12 PM - 1:30 PM
The FQ Lounge @ Blackstone Launchpad – Basement of Bridges Hall
So far... a portfolio of 100 companies, tens of millions raised, 30 competitions won, eight successful Kickstarters, one company acquired...
We look for coachable teams that demonstrate commitment to their work and that have the capabilities to build. While most companies are tech related, the program is open to businesses of all types that are at prototype stage or later. Note: at least one of the founders must be USC students, alumni or faculty/staff.
Quake Capital is a seed and early-stage venture capital fund and accelerator program. Our investments are about more than just money-- through our accelerator program, teams receive world-class coaching, personalized mentorship targeted at each company's specific needs, and access to our extensive network of investors and strategic partners.
Application Opens: April 22nd
Early Decision Deadline: June 24th
Application Closes: July 22nd
Program Starts: September 17th
Demo Day: December 12th
Venture Deals Online Course – Spring 2019 Registration Is Open
We are pleased to announce that Kauffman Fellows and Techstars are collaborating once again to run the online Venture Deals Course from April 7, 2019 – May 31, 2019.
Together we’ve co-produced the course four times. To date, over 15,000 people have completed the program. Venture Capital luminaries, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, make several guest appearances (online) and respond to emails with questions during the course.
Unless you’ve been living your life under a rock, you’re bound to have heard of Gary Vee. On April 18th, USC had the pleasure of hosting him to speak to us. Needless to say, fans were excited, with several shouting “I love you Gary!” as he sat down on stage with the host of the night, Professor David Belasco, Executive Director of the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Gary reciprocated the love, shouting back “I love you too!”
He explained his excitement revealing that, “I disproportionately enjoy human beings. I actually secretly dislike animals because so many people like animals more than humans.”
Throughout the night, Gary continued to foster excitement and awe as he took selfies with students that eagerly ran up to the stage, tried to extend the talk to answer more questions, and he even kissed a fan on the cheek to spread the message of positivity and love.
Our startup for the week is Overlooked, an online news company dedicated to the fight against fake news.
The company was founded in November 2017 by George Sehremelis, a senior majoring in Business Administration. “In high school, I was suspiciously addicted to watching CNN, Fox, MS-NBC for hours every day,” says Sehremelis every day. “My family’s village in Greece was home to the largest massacre by the Nazis in World War 2 and the sad fact was that it was based on false reports.”
Overlooked is dedicated to the spread of accurate information on current issues, unlike social media sites. The problem with Facebook and Twitter is that the users could get away with lying on the site with the information spreading faster than it could be stopped. “In the US we see fake news as a matter of politics.” says Sehremelis “For the rest of the world, misinformation is a matter of life and death.”
Co-create and execute our social media strategy. Increase our brand awareness, driving traffic to our site, and cultivating new partners and sales. Responsible for developing social media campaigns. Write social copy, draft replies to messages and comments, and stay on top of key trends in social media. Help establish a content calendar. Create, foster, and improve communities built around YEBies. Moderating and facilitating conversations around YEBies products or services on social media will be a key role. Engage with community members through direct messages and comments on social media in line with YEBies voice and values.
Tasked with identifying authentic opportunities, either externally or internally that will drive growth for the YEBies and partner organizations. Help develop new a highly strategic sales process that will focus on large-scale partnerships that align with the long-term strategic goals of the YEBies. Use an existing network to take advantage of millennials who see the need for more civic engagement.
EdFinder is looking for a mobile developer responsible for the development and maintenance of applications aimed at a range of iOS and Android devices including mobile phones and tablet computers. Your primary focus will be the development of iOS applications and their integration with back-end services. You will be working alongside other developers working on different layers of the infrastructure. Therefore, a commitment to collaborative problem solving, sophisticated design, and the creation of quality products are essential.
]]>Tue, 23 Apr 2019 20:57:16 +0000<![CDATA[This Week: Gary Vaynerchuk, Philip Bailey & Ben Hantoot Come to USC, Wrigley Sustainability Prize & New Venture Seed Competition Finals!]]>
https://mailchi.mp/942c97d3c34b/april-3rd-blackstone-launchpad-incubate-newsletter-1497265
https://mailchi.mp/942c97d3c34b/april-3rd-blackstone-launchpad-incubate-newsletter-1497265This Week: Gary Vaynerchuk, Philip Bailey & Ben Hantoot Come to USC, Wrigley Sustainability Prize & New Venture Seed Competition Finals!Join this amazing community of entrepreneurship at USC! There are dozens of weekly events & countless opportunities to learn, grow, and get involved.
Wrigley Sustainability Prize Final Pitch Showcase and Winners Announced Today!
The event highlights innovative start-up ideas from all disciplines and rewards concepts that could result in meaningful environmental change. Winning teams receive prize money to help translate their ideas into action.
Building on the environmental mission of the USC Wrigley Institute, the Prize supports the most compelling ideas that meet the following criteria: Innovation (How creative is the idea? Has it been done before?); Impact (What kind of an environmental or sustainability impact could the idea have?); Feasibility (Can the idea be executed and would it have commercial appeal?)
Teams receive hands-on mentorship from business, science, sustainability, and entrepreneurship experts, as well as networking opportunities throughout the semester. A selection committee of environmental experts, startup investors and business leaders will judge the submissions and work with teams to develop the most promising solutions. Finalists are invited to present their concepts at a final public pitch event in April 2019.
This past weekend the 15 semi-final teams of the New Venture Seed Competition were paired down to six. The teams presented to a group of judges on Saturday and it culminated with announcing the teams that would move on to pitch in the finals. The competition was high and the judges scored most of the teams very closely. The six teams that made it to the finals are:
Atomus – A hardware plugin that allows the IP owners of CAD drawings to be paid every time an item an item is 3D printed. They are working closely with the U.S. Marine Corps and may be able to beta test by this summer at Camp Pendleton (Viterbi undergrad and grad students).
Blend to Mend – This is an all-natural meal replacement for patients who are in cancer treatments. Based a questionnaire available every time the patient orders, a bespoke blend is made for that week for them. (MSEI & MBA)
Burrow – Provider of low-cost, complete services to help homeowners design, permit, build, finance and maintain 3D printed additional dwelling units. (MSSE)
Ecominate – Developed a dashboard that allows marketplace sellers and agencies to manage their inventories across different platforms (Amazon, Jet, etc) simultaneously and in real time. (Marshall Undergrad)
Mi Terro – A socially conscious brand that manufactures all of its products from sustainable sources and recycled products. They currently have a duffle bag in production that is made from cork and recycled plastic bottles (Marshall undergrad)
Third Space – Takes existing retail centers and converts them to cultural hubs specifically targeted for brands that want short-term pop-up shops (Iovine & Young Academy and Marshall undergrad)
If you are interested in attending, the finals will take place at the Salvatori Computer Science building, room 101 (SAL 101) this Wednesday, April 17th, from 6 to 7:50 PM
· Have you ever considered what it would be like to walk away from your day job because you didn’t need the paycheck anymore?
· Have you ever thought it would be nice to never need a day job in the first place?
· Have you ever thought that the conventional advice of saving for retirement might not make sense in today’s economic environment?
· Do you want to have more freedom to do the things you want to do instead of doing the things you have to do?
· Do you want to know the secrets of how the wealthy have built their fortunes?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to come to the last Cashflow game of the semester tomorrow, Tuesday, April 16th from 2 PM - 4 PM in the Blackstone LaunchPad, where you will learn the answers to all of these questions and more.
Alumni Office Hours with John Bogdanov
The first 30 minutes will be a Black Belt Memory session. The last 60 minutes will be open to anything about business and entrepreneurship anyone would like to discuss.
Date: Tuesday, April 16th, 2019 Time: 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM PST Location: In front of Tutor Campus Center at USC
TVP Founder / Investor Fireside Chat This Wednesday!
Want to learn how a Shark Tank entrepreneur negotiates with VC’s? Come see a conversation between Madeline Fraser, Founder of The Ring Co., and Danielle Gorman, Investor at Luma Launch! Fraser has founded multiple venture-backed startups including Zoom Interiors, which was featured on Shark Tank. As an Investor at Luma Launch, Gorman is involved with portfolio companies such as Toga, Tapcart, and Retina AI.
Whether you’re interested in venture capital or entrepreneurship, this is an event you won't want to miss! Please join us this Wednesday in JFF 414 at 7 PM.
Female Founders Fireside Chat with Chelsea LaFerla and Erica Wenger!
Troy Labs is hosting a Female Founders Fireside Chat with USC entrepreneurs Chelsea LaFerla and Erica Wenger. Chelsea and Erica are two fantastic student founders. Erica started Mahkana, a creative fundraising platform for nonprofits, and can speak knowledgeably about starting a socially conscious venture. Chelsea runs Petitas, a petite fashion brand for young professional women, and recently participated in the TechStars program. The event will be a discussion on the journeys of Chelsea and Erica. Students interested in entrepreneurship should stop by Bridge Hall, B5 on this Thursday, April 18th from 7-8pm.
Law 101 for Startup Founders
Shanita Nicholas is a startup lawyer at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP. In this lecturer she will give an overview of the key legal consideration startup founders should be aware off as they launch, raise capital and scale their companies. Topics covered will include company formation, how to structure a cofounder agreement, compensating early employees, key things to look out for in an investor term sheet. She will also discuss her company’s accelerator program the Precelerator that gives a combination of cash and legal support to early-stage companies. https://stubbsalderton.com/tag/precelerator/
Room Location: JFF LL105 Friday, April 19th at 2 PM – 4 PM
USC Incubator Workshop Series (Prototype) Next Wednesday!
USC Incubator is partnering with strategy/design firm room for magic to host a series of strategy workshops meant to provide a resource to USC’s community of entrepreneur as they ideate, develop and launch their businesses, products and, ventures.
In true prototype fashion, we will introduce the series this semester, covering three topics from a high-level perspective in one workshop. Based on feedback and interest we will follow up next semester with dedicated sessions for each topic.
Key Topics:
Blue Ocean Strategy
A series of strategic frameworks that help you differentiate your product from competitors and carve out your niche.
Value Proposition Development
A workshop to help focus and articulate why your business exists and how to express that to win over customers. Consumers don’t buy what you sell; they buy why you sell it.
Branding 101
Brand can include everything from a logo, color to tone of voice. Your branding speaks for you when you are not there. We will cover the basics of establishing and developing a unique brand that is needed to stand out in a crowded market.
April 24th / 12 PM - 1:30 PM
The FQ Lounge @ Blackstone Launchpad – Basement of Bridges Hall
Venture Deals Online Course – Spring 2019 Registration Is Open
We are pleased to announce that Kauffman Fellows and Techstars are collaborating once again to run the online Venture Deals Course from April 7, 2019 – May 31, 2019.
Together we’ve co-produced the course four times. To date, over 15,000 people have completed the program. Venture Capital luminaries, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, make several guest appearances (online) and respond to emails with questions during the course.
Anikiú Co: The Company That Will Carry You to the Future
Our startup for the week is Anikiú Co, a backpack accessory startup with a goal of pushing their message of social justice. The business was founded in 2015 ago by Annika Pašeta, a political economy major with a minor in environmental studies and theatre, who started out by making tie-dyed distressed shorts.
The company slogan is Carry the Future, and this is actively seen in the cultural and social messages sewed onto the product. “Everyday as consumers we decide what to buy and what we represent.” says Pašeta “When we wear a product with a social message like a backpack or a pouch, other people will see it just by walking around.” For instance, one of Anikiú’s products, a pouch with the slogan “Protect the Earth” helps remind customers to recycle every day.
The Dairy Revolution: Bringing Camel Milk To The Global World
Our Product of the Week is Desert Farms, a dairy farm founded in 2014 that boasts nature’s most healthy beverage: camel milk. “At Desert Farms, our mission is to promote camel milk as nature’s most wholesome dairy beverage, so you can get over the hump, when you need, naturally.”
The company began when founder Walid visited his family in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There, a friend offered camel milk, a beverage you could only buy from local Bedouin Nomads and merchants. Walid was inspired by this product and knew he could use it to make an impact on the health of people around the world.
Walid moved to California, a place where people valued a healthy lifestyle and were crazy on the latest health trends, to start a camel milk company after selling camel milk at mosques and ethnic food festivals, Walid’s business plan won the Marcia Israel Award from USC.
Dono is looking to bring on an enthusiastic, passionate and creative web designer for the development and maintenance of their responsive platform. If you are versatile, self-motivated and thrive in a fast-paced “learn-by-doing” environment, then you'll find their team very exciting.
Responsibilities:
Plan, wireframe, design and create, and update Dono's new platform with CEO
Ensure the performance, quality, and responsiveness of Dono's platform.
Help maintain code quality, organization, and automatization.
Update and maintain existing websites, including content updates, visual enhancements, landing page creation and performance profiling/optimization.
Dono is looking for a visionary Head of Content to lead a sports and entertainment social impact company and oversee content strategy, innovation, development, production, and post-production. A team player who thrives in environments of collaboration and accountability.
This role requires someone who possesses the creative ability to deliver great scripted and unscripted video, still and written content. You will bring passion, drive, and premium video acumen to optimize content that drives increased viewership and user engagement.
EdFinder is looking for a mobile developer responsible for the development and maintenance of applications aimed at a range of iOS and Android devices including mobile phones and tablet computers. Your primary focus will be the development of iOS applications and their integration with back-end services. You will be working alongside other developers working on different layers of the infrastructure. Therefore, a commitment to collaborative problem solving, sophisticated design, and the creation of quality products are essential.
M2M Bell is an unfunded startup which has yet to form, and therefore, you are coming in as a co-founder which would include founder's equity for your services. Your position will also become a paid compensation position when the company becomes capitalized, for instance with a LA2050 win.
They are independent of the PHY, however, we already have a code base for LoRa with packet sequencing. Therefore, we now need to work out any timing sync bug issues that may arise when running MIMO scenarios between 5000 to 15000 nodes. The Chief Systems Architect and you will work together to add rules for packet interleaving for the migration path with legacy standards coexistence, followed by rules for mobility and adhoc clustering with a "dual MAC" for any to any communications.
Fuloop is looking for a Back-End Web Developer responsible for managing the interchange of data between the server and the users. Your primary focus will be the development of all server-side logic, definition, and maintenance of the central database, and ensuring high performance and responsiveness to requests from the front-end. You will also be responsible for integrating the front-end elements built by your coworkers into the application. A basic understanding of front-end technologies is therefore necessary as well.
Fuloop is looking for an iOS developer responsible for the development and maintenance of applications aimed at a range of iOS devices including mobile phones and tablet computers. Your primary focus will be the development of iOS applications and their integration with back-end services. You will be working alongside other engineers and developers working on different layers of the infrastructure. Therefore, a commitment to collaborative problem solving, sophisticated design, and the creation of quality products are essential.
The Female Quotient:
Co-President of The FQ Lounge
The Female Quotient is committed to advancing equality in the workplace through collaboration, activating solutions for change and creating metrics for accountability. Diversity adds a competitive advantage to build stronger and more successful companies.
The Female Quotient is the home of The FQ Lounge, experiential pop-ups at global conferences, corporations, and college campuses where women connect, collaborate, and activate change together. The destination-turned-movement has become the largest community of business women rising up to transform workplace culture.
They are on a mission to create student-led lounge spaces to prepare college women to thrive in the workplace and cultivate the career they want. They have partnered with SAP Next-Gen and
schools across the globe to implement permanent FQ Lounges, Home of Equality on campus, and they’re growing rapidly -- with your help!
The Female Quotient:
Podcast Personality for Campus Conversations
This podcast is distributed by one of the largest media distributors globally, with an expected reach of 10 Million+ global impressions for this podcast.
This team member will oversee the content coordination, scripting, hosting, and recording of weekly podcasts. You will work closely with the moderators, student contributors, and production partners to ensure high-quality conversations are distributed to a wide audience.
This will prepare you for a career in entertainment and media.
]]>This Week: Gary Vaynerchuk, Philip Bailey & Ben Hantoot Come to USC, Wrigley Sustainability Prize & New Venture Seed Competition Finals!Join this amazing community of entrepreneurship at USC! There are dozens of weekly events & countless opportunities to learn, grow, and get involved.
Wrigley Sustainability Prize Final Pitch Showcase and Winners Announced Today!
The event highlights innovative start-up ideas from all disciplines and rewards concepts that could result in meaningful environmental change. Winning teams receive prize money to help translate their ideas into action.
Building on the environmental mission of the USC Wrigley Institute, the Prize supports the most compelling ideas that meet the following criteria: Innovation (How creative is the idea? Has it been done before?); Impact (What kind of an environmental or sustainability impact could the idea have?); Feasibility (Can the idea be executed and would it have commercial appeal?)
Teams receive hands-on mentorship from business, science, sustainability, and entrepreneurship experts, as well as networking opportunities throughout the semester. A selection committee of environmental experts, startup investors and business leaders will judge the submissions and work with teams to develop the most promising solutions. Finalists are invited to present their concepts at a final public pitch event in April 2019.
This past weekend the 15 semi-final teams of the New Venture Seed Competition were paired down to six. The teams presented to a group of judges on Saturday and it culminated with announcing the teams that would move on to pitch in the finals. The competition was high and the judges scored most of the teams very closely. The six teams that made it to the finals are:
Atomus – A hardware plugin that allows the IP owners of CAD drawings to be paid every time an item an item is 3D printed. They are working closely with the U.S. Marine Corps and may be able to beta test by this summer at Camp Pendleton (Viterbi undergrad and grad students).
Blend to Mend – This is an all-natural meal replacement for patients who are in cancer treatments. Based a questionnaire available every time the patient orders, a bespoke blend is made for that week for them. (MSEI & MBA)
Burrow – Provider of low-cost, complete services to help homeowners design, permit, build, finance and maintain 3D printed additional dwelling units. (MSSE)
Ecominate – Developed a dashboard that allows marketplace sellers and agencies to manage their inventories across different platforms (Amazon, Jet, etc) simultaneously and in real time. (Marshall Undergrad)
Mi Terro – A socially conscious brand that manufactures all of its products from sustainable sources and recycled products. They currently have a duffle bag in production that is made from cork and recycled plastic bottles (Marshall undergrad)
Third Space – Takes existing retail centers and converts them to cultural hubs specifically targeted for brands that want short-term pop-up shops (Iovine & Young Academy and Marshall undergrad)
If you are interested in attending, the finals will take place at the Salvatori Computer Science building, room 101 (SAL 101) this Wednesday, April 17th, from 6 to 7:50 PM
· Have you ever considered what it would be like to walk away from your day job because you didn’t need the paycheck anymore?
· Have you ever thought it would be nice to never need a day job in the first place?
· Have you ever thought that the conventional advice of saving for retirement might not make sense in today’s economic environment?
· Do you want to have more freedom to do the things you want to do instead of doing the things you have to do?
· Do you want to know the secrets of how the wealthy have built their fortunes?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to come to the last Cashflow game of the semester tomorrow, Tuesday, April 16th from 2 PM - 4 PM in the Blackstone LaunchPad, where you will learn the answers to all of these questions and more.
Alumni Office Hours with John Bogdanov
The first 30 minutes will be a Black Belt Memory session. The last 60 minutes will be open to anything about business and entrepreneurship anyone would like to discuss.
Date: Tuesday, April 16th, 2019 Time: 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM PST Location: In front of Tutor Campus Center at USC
TVP Founder / Investor Fireside Chat This Wednesday!
Want to learn how a Shark Tank entrepreneur negotiates with VC’s? Come see a conversation between Madeline Fraser, Founder of The Ring Co., and Danielle Gorman, Investor at Luma Launch! Fraser has founded multiple venture-backed startups including Zoom Interiors, which was featured on Shark Tank. As an Investor at Luma Launch, Gorman is involved with portfolio companies such as Toga, Tapcart, and Retina AI.
Whether you’re interested in venture capital or entrepreneurship, this is an event you won't want to miss! Please join us this Wednesday in JFF 414 at 7 PM.
Female Founders Fireside Chat with Chelsea LaFerla and Erica Wenger!
Troy Labs is hosting a Female Founders Fireside Chat with USC entrepreneurs Chelsea LaFerla and Erica Wenger. Chelsea and Erica are two fantastic student founders. Erica started Mahkana, a creative fundraising platform for nonprofits, and can speak knowledgeably about starting a socially conscious venture. Chelsea runs Petitas, a petite fashion brand for young professional women, and recently participated in the TechStars program. The event will be a discussion on the journeys of Chelsea and Erica. Students interested in entrepreneurship should stop by Bridge Hall, B5 on this Thursday, April 18th from 7-8pm.
Law 101 for Startup Founders
Shanita Nicholas is a startup lawyer at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP. In this lecturer she will give an overview of the key legal consideration startup founders should be aware off as they launch, raise capital and scale their companies. Topics covered will include company formation, how to structure a cofounder agreement, compensating early employees, key things to look out for in an investor term sheet. She will also discuss her company’s accelerator program the Precelerator that gives a combination of cash and legal support to early-stage companies. https://stubbsalderton.com/tag/precelerator/
Room Location: JFF LL105 Friday, April 19th at 2 PM – 4 PM
USC Incubator Workshop Series (Prototype) Next Wednesday!
USC Incubator is partnering with strategy/design firm room for magic to host a series of strategy workshops meant to provide a resource to USC’s community of entrepreneur as they ideate, develop and launch their businesses, products and, ventures.
In true prototype fashion, we will introduce the series this semester, covering three topics from a high-level perspective in one workshop. Based on feedback and interest we will follow up next semester with dedicated sessions for each topic.
Key Topics:
Blue Ocean Strategy
A series of strategic frameworks that help you differentiate your product from competitors and carve out your niche.
Value Proposition Development
A workshop to help focus and articulate why your business exists and how to express that to win over customers. Consumers don’t buy what you sell; they buy why you sell it.
Branding 101
Brand can include everything from a logo, color to tone of voice. Your branding speaks for you when you are not there. We will cover the basics of establishing and developing a unique brand that is needed to stand out in a crowded market.
April 24th / 12 PM - 1:30 PM
The FQ Lounge @ Blackstone Launchpad – Basement of Bridges Hall
Venture Deals Online Course – Spring 2019 Registration Is Open
We are pleased to announce that Kauffman Fellows and Techstars are collaborating once again to run the online Venture Deals Course from April 7, 2019 – May 31, 2019.
Together we’ve co-produced the course four times. To date, over 15,000 people have completed the program. Venture Capital luminaries, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, make several guest appearances (online) and respond to emails with questions during the course.
Anikiú Co: The Company That Will Carry You to the Future
Our startup for the week is Anikiú Co, a backpack accessory startup with a goal of pushing their message of social justice. The business was founded in 2015 ago by Annika Pašeta, a political economy major with a minor in environmental studies and theatre, who started out by making tie-dyed distressed shorts.
The company slogan is Carry the Future, and this is actively seen in the cultural and social messages sewed onto the product. “Everyday as consumers we decide what to buy and what we represent.” says Pašeta “When we wear a product with a social message like a backpack or a pouch, other people will see it just by walking around.” For instance, one of Anikiú’s products, a pouch with the slogan “Protect the Earth” helps remind customers to recycle every day.
The Dairy Revolution: Bringing Camel Milk To The Global World
Our Product of the Week is Desert Farms, a dairy farm founded in 2014 that boasts nature’s most healthy beverage: camel milk. “At Desert Farms, our mission is to promote camel milk as nature’s most wholesome dairy beverage, so you can get over the hump, when you need, naturally.”
The company began when founder Walid visited his family in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There, a friend offered camel milk, a beverage you could only buy from local Bedouin Nomads and merchants. Walid was inspired by this product and knew he could use it to make an impact on the health of people around the world.
Walid moved to California, a place where people valued a healthy lifestyle and were crazy on the latest health trends, to start a camel milk company after selling camel milk at mosques and ethnic food festivals, Walid’s business plan won the Marcia Israel Award from USC.
Dono is looking to bring on an enthusiastic, passionate and creative web designer for the development and maintenance of their responsive platform. If you are versatile, self-motivated and thrive in a fast-paced “learn-by-doing” environment, then you'll find their team very exciting.
Responsibilities:
Plan, wireframe, design and create, and update Dono's new platform with CEO
Ensure the performance, quality, and responsiveness of Dono's platform.
Help maintain code quality, organization, and automatization.
Update and maintain existing websites, including content updates, visual enhancements, landing page creation and performance profiling/optimization.
Dono is looking for a visionary Head of Content to lead a sports and entertainment social impact company and oversee content strategy, innovation, development, production, and post-production. A team player who thrives in environments of collaboration and accountability.
This role requires someone who possesses the creative ability to deliver great scripted and unscripted video, still and written content. You will bring passion, drive, and premium video acumen to optimize content that drives increased viewership and user engagement.
EdFinder is looking for a mobile developer responsible for the development and maintenance of applications aimed at a range of iOS and Android devices including mobile phones and tablet computers. Your primary focus will be the development of iOS applications and their integration with back-end services. You will be working alongside other developers working on different layers of the infrastructure. Therefore, a commitment to collaborative problem solving, sophisticated design, and the creation of quality products are essential.
M2M Bell is an unfunded startup which has yet to form, and therefore, you are coming in as a co-founder which would include founder's equity for your services. Your position will also become a paid compensation position when the company becomes capitalized, for instance with a LA2050 win.
They are independent of the PHY, however, we already have a code base for LoRa with packet sequencing. Therefore, we now need to work out any timing sync bug issues that may arise when running MIMO scenarios between 5000 to 15000 nodes. The Chief Systems Architect and you will work together to add rules for packet interleaving for the migration path with legacy standards coexistence, followed by rules for mobility and adhoc clustering with a "dual MAC" for any to any communications.
Fuloop is looking for a Back-End Web Developer responsible for managing the interchange of data between the server and the users. Your primary focus will be the development of all server-side logic, definition, and maintenance of the central database, and ensuring high performance and responsiveness to requests from the front-end. You will also be responsible for integrating the front-end elements built by your coworkers into the application. A basic understanding of front-end technologies is therefore necessary as well.
Fuloop is looking for an iOS developer responsible for the development and maintenance of applications aimed at a range of iOS devices including mobile phones and tablet computers. Your primary focus will be the development of iOS applications and their integration with back-end services. You will be working alongside other engineers and developers working on different layers of the infrastructure. Therefore, a commitment to collaborative problem solving, sophisticated design, and the creation of quality products are essential.
The Female Quotient:
Co-President of The FQ Lounge
The Female Quotient is committed to advancing equality in the workplace through collaboration, activating solutions for change and creating metrics for accountability. Diversity adds a competitive advantage to build stronger and more successful companies.
The Female Quotient is the home of The FQ Lounge, experiential pop-ups at global conferences, corporations, and college campuses where women connect, collaborate, and activate change together. The destination-turned-movement has become the largest community of business women rising up to transform workplace culture.
They are on a mission to create student-led lounge spaces to prepare college women to thrive in the workplace and cultivate the career they want. They have partnered with SAP Next-Gen and
schools across the globe to implement permanent FQ Lounges, Home of Equality on campus, and they’re growing rapidly -- with your help!
The Female Quotient:
Podcast Personality for Campus Conversations
This podcast is distributed by one of the largest media distributors globally, with an expected reach of 10 Million+ global impressions for this podcast.
This team member will oversee the content coordination, scripting, hosting, and recording of weekly podcasts. You will work closely with the moderators, student contributors, and production partners to ensure high-quality conversations are distributed to a wide audience.
This will prepare you for a career in entertainment and media.
]]>Tue, 16 Apr 2019 13:00:00 +0000<![CDATA[Fjord Design Workshop Tomorrow, Graduate Student Speed Networking Today & Immigration Options for International Student Entrepreneurs on Friday!]]>
https://mailchi.mp/348bc96f0a32/april-3rd-blackstone-launchpad-incubate-newsletter-1497253
https://mailchi.mp/348bc96f0a32/april-3rd-blackstone-launchpad-incubate-newsletter-1497253Fjord Design Workshop Tomorrow, Graduate Student Speed Networking Today & Immigration Options for International Student Entrepreneurs on Friday!Join this amazing community of entrepreneurship at USC! There are dozens of weekly events & countless opportunities to learn, grow, and get involved.
EVENTS
Fjord Design Thinking Workshop & Internship Discussion This Thursday!
Join Troy Labs this week as Fjord, the design and innovation consultancy from Accenture Interactive, is looking for their next set of summer interns. Fjord has over 30+ design studios worldwide and is a global thought leader within the design thinking space.
Learn about design-led strategy and be mentored by senior designers.
Fjord will share what they do as a design consultancy and will conduct a live Q&A.
Immigration Options for International Student Entrepreneurs
TL, is an immigration attorney and principal of Loke Walsh Immigration Law. In this lecture, she will give an overview of the different immigration options for international students and discuss different topics like launching a startup during OPT, how to secure an H1b visa as an entrepreneur, faster pathways to get a green card including National Interest Waiver and O-1 visa for people with extraordinary abilities. She will also be available for Q&A.
Room Location: HOH Edison Friday, April 5th at 2 PM – 4 PM
Carmen Palafox is a Partner a Make in LA ("MiLA") an early stage venture fund and accelerator created to advance next-generation hardware startups (IoT, robotics, wearables, VR/AR/MR, frontier tech, mobility, etc.). In her talk, she will talk about how founders at every stage should prepare for fundraising, what traction investors are looking for and how to get into a top accelerator. In addition, she will share how she’s empowering hardware startups to scale through her fund and accelerator MiLA capital. You can follow her on Twitter @PalafoxCarmen
Room Location: JFF 414 Friday, April 12th at 1 PM – 3 PM
Shanita Nicholas is a startup lawyer at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP. In this lecturer she will give an overview of the key legal consideration startup founders should be aware off as they launch, raise capital and scale their companies. Topics covered will include company formation, how to structure a cofounder agreement, compensating early employees, key things to look out for in an investor term sheet. She will also discuss her company’s accelerator program the Precelerator that gives a combination of cash and legal support to early-stage companies. https://stubbsalderton.com/tag/precelerator/
Room Location: JFF LL105 Friday, April 19th at 2 PM – 4 PM
Join us for Techstars Music Demo Day on May 2 at Neuehouse, Los Angeles!
After three months of #DoMoreFaster in a Techstars mentorship-driven accelerator program, our newest alumni founders are taking the stage to pitch their companies. We want you to be the first to meet them!
Agenda:
3:00pm Doors open and networking
4:00pm Demo Day begins
5:30pm - 7:30pm Demo Day Reception
Venture Deals Online Course – Spring 2019 Registration Is Open
We are pleased to announce that Kauffman Fellows and Techstars are collaborating once again to run the online Venture Deals Course from April 7, 2019 – May 31, 2019.
Together we’ve co-produced the course four times. To date, over 15,000 people have completed the program. Venture Capital luminaries, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, make several guest appearances (online) and respond to emails with questions during the course.=
Unshackled Ventures is focused on doing good with doing well. Based in Silicon Valley, they invest in and help immigrant founders succeed faster. They have backed phenomenal founders solving hard problems and are supported by some of the most iconic names in technology & business.
The university system is their generation’s Ellis Island - in fact, 80% of their portfolio companies have an immigrant founder that completed their higher education in the U.S. By combining Unshackled Ventures’ funding, resources and experience with a students’ ability to scout entrepreneurial talent at their university, they aim to find and invest in the best immigrant entrepreneurs in campuses around the country.
They are looking for outstanding students in each of their target campuses (if you are reading this, you are at one of them) to work with them throughout the school year. The program will begin as soon as students are selected and ready. Since they know students are busy, they will work with each selected student to figure out their schedule and availability throughout the school year.
This position is on a voluntary basis throughout the academic year.
Our USC Startup Ecosystem is Getting a Platform Upgrade
As a newsletter subscriber, we realize that you have been active within the USC startup ecosystem for the last several years and we are excited to show you our next platform upgrade. Depending on how long you have been working with our programs, you may have created a previous profile with the Blackstone LaunchPad, Spark SC, Troy Labs, Venture Board, Ideator, or any of the other program/school partners that we work with.
We are very excited to present our newest platform that builds upon the lessons learned after running various iterations for the last 5 years. Startup Tree is an amalgamation of all of the functionalities that needed to be integrated together to create a seamless startup platform experience. You will be able to create profiles for your projects/ventures, recruit talent from a variety of backgrounds/disciplines, find mentors/investors, join discussions, see all startup events at USC, view over 100 pitch competitions where you can win equity free prize money and find other valuable resources.
USC's startup economy is extremely vibrant and growing rapidly. We want to ensure that you can quickly find just about everything related to startups and connect with like-minded individuals. We hope you will reengage with our growing community and enjoy accessing everything that the innovation & entrepreneurship ecosystem has to offer at USC!
Make in LA is currently selecting their next class and are now investing up to $600,000 per startup. Make in LA works with founders who are eager to build a business that will change the world and they're particularly excited about the sectors above. If you have a prototype and passion, don't miss your chance to take your hardware startup to the next level. Join them in Los Angeles this summer.
My LA2050 Grants Challenge – Chance to win $100,000!
The My LA2050 Grants Challenge is open to nonprofits, government agencies, and for-profit entities.
Applications for the 2019 My LA2050 Grants Challenge are open now, which provides the opportunity for 10 organizations to win a collective $1 million. LA2050 is an initiative driving and tracking progress toward a shared vision for the future of Los Angeles across five goal categories: Learn, Create, Play, Connect, Live. You can apply here.
You can view all pertinent dates and deadlines on their website, as well as gather more information on each of the goal categories and relevant metrics (see here). The best place to get info / updates as they roll-out the challenge is probably their newsletter (which you can subscribe to here.)
The My LA2050 Archive houses all past My LA2050 submissions. This is a great place to look at past entries to get ideas/inspiration for writing proposals.
The West Coast Consortium for Technology & Innovation in Pediatrics (CTIP - the FDA-funded pediatric device consortium centered at CHLA) is offering the 2019 Catalyzing Pediatric Innovation (CPI) Grant to support the advancement of innovations in pediatric technology and devices. Up to six grants of $25,000 - $50,000 will be awarded to projects developing pediatric innovation from ideation through commercialization.
Applicants are encouraged to submit a letter of intent by end of day April 15, 2019.
The Dairy Revolution: Bringing Camel Milk To The Global World
Our Product of the Week is Desert Farms, a dairy farm founded in 2014 that boasts nature’s most healthy beverage: camel milk. “At Desert Farms, our mission is to promote camel milk as nature’s most wholesome dairy beverage, so you can get over the hump, when you need, naturally.”
The company began when founder Walid visited his family in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There, a friend offered camel milk, a beverage you could only buy from local Bedouin Nomads and merchants. Walid was inspired by this product and knew he could use it to make an impact on the health of people around the world.
Walid moved to California, a place where people valued a healthy lifestyle and were crazy on the latest health trends, to start a camel milk company after selling camel milk at mosques and ethnic food festivals, Walid’s business plan won the Marcia Israel Award from USC.
Our startup of the week is Studioso, an online app that aims to bring the field of music education into the 21st century. Founder of the company, Ocean Salazar, explains how he developed the idea for the app: “For 14 years I have always had a passion for playing the violin. The problem is that when you start very young you don’t have maturity and discipline to be methodical and do research. I was slow in progress because most of my time in practice is outside the classroom without instruction.”
Studioso solves the info-gap by helping students practice more efficiently through a streamlined guided practice, progress tracking and connections with teachers. “As soon as you leave practice, you can go back into notes and be guided from home.” Says Salazar
Studioso’s has been beta trialed by over 300 teachers and has over 160 institutions interested in purchasing. Studioso recently won the 1st place of the Minnesota Cup youth division and is part of the USC Rossier Entrepreneur accelerator.
Our featured startup for the week is Nuleep, an online job search company designed for millennials. The company was founded by Grace Park, who began the company with a group of friends.
“Companies like LinkedIn are like Blockbuster, they’re very static,” says Park. “We are more like Netflix, we keep building on.” The app considers salary, life-style commute and travel, what you do in your weekends, company culture, apartment locations, and other features of a good work-life balance. These are all highlighted in a visually appealing way to help customers make the best decisions.
Fuloop is looking for a Back-End Web Developer responsible for managing the interchange of data between the server and the users. Your primary focus will be the development of all server-side logic, definition, and maintenance of the central database, and ensuring high performance and responsiveness to requests from the front-end. You will also be responsible for integrating the front-end elements built by your coworkers into the application. A basic understanding of front-end technologies is therefore necessary as well.
Fuloop is looking for an iOS developer responsible for the development and maintenance of applications aimed at a range of iOS devices including mobile phones and tablet computers. Your primary focus will be the development of iOS applications and their integration with back-end services. You will be working alongside other engineers and developers working on different layers of the infrastructure. Therefore, a commitment to collaborative problem solving, sophisticated design, and the creation of quality products are essential.
The Female Quotient:
Co-President of The FQ Lounge
The Female Quotient is committed to advancing equality in the workplace through collaboration, activating solutions for change and creating metrics for accountability. Diversity adds a competitive advantage to build stronger and more successful companies.
The Female Quotient is the home of The FQ Lounge, experiential pop-ups at global conferences, corporations, and college campuses where women connect, collaborate, and activate change together. The destination-turned-movement has become the largest community of business women rising up to transform workplace culture.
They are on a mission to create student-led lounge spaces to prepare college women to thrive in the workplace and cultivate the career they want. They have partnered with SAP Next-Gen and
schools across the globe to implement permanent FQ Lounges, Home of Equality on campus, and they’re growing rapidly -- with your help!
The Female Quotient:
Podcast Personality for Campus Conversations
This podcast is distributed by one of the largest media distributors globally, with an expected reach of 10 Million+ global impressions for this podcast.
This team member will oversee the content coordination, scripting, hosting, and recording of weekly podcasts. You will work closely with the moderators, student contributors, and production partners to ensure high-quality conversations are distributed to a wide audience.
This will prepare you for a career in entertainment and media.
]]>Fjord Design Workshop Tomorrow, Graduate Student Speed Networking Today & Immigration Options for International Student Entrepreneurs on Friday!Join this amazing community of entrepreneurship at USC! There are dozens of weekly events & countless opportunities to learn, grow, and get involved.
EVENTS
Fjord Design Thinking Workshop & Internship Discussion This Thursday!
Join Troy Labs this week as Fjord, the design and innovation consultancy from Accenture Interactive, is looking for their next set of summer interns. Fjord has over 30+ design studios worldwide and is a global thought leader within the design thinking space.
Learn about design-led strategy and be mentored by senior designers.
Fjord will share what they do as a design consultancy and will conduct a live Q&A.
Immigration Options for International Student Entrepreneurs
TL, is an immigration attorney and principal of Loke Walsh Immigration Law. In this lecture, she will give an overview of the different immigration options for international students and discuss different topics like launching a startup during OPT, how to secure an H1b visa as an entrepreneur, faster pathways to get a green card including National Interest Waiver and O-1 visa for people with extraordinary abilities. She will also be available for Q&A.
Room Location: HOH Edison Friday, April 5th at 2 PM – 4 PM
Carmen Palafox is a Partner a Make in LA ("MiLA") an early stage venture fund and accelerator created to advance next-generation hardware startups (IoT, robotics, wearables, VR/AR/MR, frontier tech, mobility, etc.). In her talk, she will talk about how founders at every stage should prepare for fundraising, what traction investors are looking for and how to get into a top accelerator. In addition, she will share how she’s empowering hardware startups to scale through her fund and accelerator MiLA capital. You can follow her on Twitter @PalafoxCarmen
Room Location: JFF 414 Friday, April 12th at 1 PM – 3 PM
