Entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This summer I am interning in New York City at General Catalyst Venture Partners. Being in a thriving tech city and working at a great VC firm, I’ve been able to meet with many entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. One of the things I’m constantly surprised by is how many of the people I meet have never heard of my university, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I).

I’ve gotten questions like “Have any famous entrepreneurs attended the school?” or “Do any students on campus like working on startups?” These questions always baffle me given the rich history of innovators, entrepreneurs, and company executives who have attended the U of I. The people I talk to are often surprised when I mention many of the alumni who attended the school.

After seeing how little people seem to know about the school’s rich entrepreneurial past and its current ecosystem, I decided to write a few posts highlighting entrepreneurship at the U of I, with a specific focus on tech entrepreneurship.

I’m starting off this series of posts with a look at some of the most famous companies started by our alumni. I’ll be publishing several more posts on U of I’s entrepreneurial history and ecosystem which I’ll link to below. You can subscribe to my publication (hack.vc) to be notified when I publish new posts. I’ll also be publishing several more general posts on technology, startups and venture capital over the upcoming months.

Posts on Entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

• Some of the most famous companies started by U of I alumni
• U of I’s current startup ecosystem (coming soon)
• A data driven look at companies started by U of I alum (coming soon)