Startup Academy Launches

Startup Academy, a new collaboration in Silicon Valley between Lehigh@NasdaqCenter and the College of Business and Economics, has celebrated its first graduating class.

For 10 weeks over the summer, 12 Lehigh students were able to hone their entrepreneurial skill sets and mindsets through internships with one of six startups in the San Francisco Bay area: Krome Photos, Wexus Technologies, Topia, StudyBlue, Buzzboard and Homebase.

The students also took a course at the Lehigh@NasdaqCenter taught by Silicon Valley tech executive Tom Gillis ’15P ’17P ’19P and Lehigh Professor of Practice in Management Joshua Ehrig. Mentors provided additional guidance and coaching.

“The goal of this program was to create a pathway for our business students to expand their horizons to the West Coast startup environment,” said Georgette Chapman Phillips, the Kevin L. and Lisa A. Clayton Dean of the College of Business and Economics. The academy provided life-changing experiences and career opportunities, she said.

Lehigh students worked in pairs alongside company founders on market research, data analysis, global market expansion strategies and other projects.

“The Nasdaq Center and Lehigh believe entrepreneurship is best taught by engaging in creative problem-solving that addresses genuine challenges faced by real-world businesses,” said Lehigh President John D. Simon, in his remarks at the graduation ceremony. “And that’s exactly what happened” through the academy.

Nicola Corzine, executive director of Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, said, “For many of these companies, the Lehigh students were the first intern talent integrated into their growing companies. And for most, without this program and the support of Lehigh University, a summer project-based internship would not have been possible.”

In turn, she told the founders, “What you have offered these students is the opportunity to see the real working innards of startups as they’re growing—the velocity of quick pivots, momentum gained from early wins, putting learnings into quick action and at times survival. This experience is not something that shiny media headlines or large-scale organizations are able to teach.” —Mary Ellen Alu