Three Guides for
Student Founders

by Jamie Jones and Hesam Panahi

Starting a company while you’re in university is hard.

Below are three short reads we’ve written for student founders to help guide them during their entrepreneurial journey.

From getting started to holding yourself accountable to working on your startup in the summer, these short reads are based on our experiences with student founders.

🗺 Charting your entrepreneurial journey through your degree program

While not everyone agrees on the value of a college or professional degree for those interested in starting their own ventures, it could be argued that in fact, the college experience is the best time to test your entrepreneurial chops.

In this guide, we share how you can pursue your entrepreneurial vision alongside your degree program, affording you the ability to try and fail with limited consequences.

🥇 What we've learned from coaching thousands of student entrepreneurs

For over a decade, each of us has served as entrepreneurship faculty and directors at top business schools and entrepreneurship programs in the U.S. After coaching thousands of student entrepreneurs, we took a moment to step back and ask:

What are the characteristics that make some student entrepreneurs successful and not others? What mistakes should student entrepreneurs avoid?

🔥 How to use your summer to spark your startup

Time between your academic terms offers a window to make steady progress on your startup venture. This short primer provides suggestions on how to get started, as well as some tips to ensure you achieve your goals.

About the Authors

Jamie Jones and Hesam Panahi were colleagues at Rice’s Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

When Jamie became Executive Director at Duke’s Fuqua Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, we continued to collaborate on workshops and short essays.

We're not just academics, though. We're former entrepreneurs who have been in the trenches, and are now helping the next generation of entrepreneurs make an impact.

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