Written by Pava LaPere, President of TCO Labs, Inc. on behalf of the TCO Labs founding team
When building an organization, be it a startup, nonprofit, or small business, you are always going full speed ahead. Your work becomes your life and your life your work, and it often feels like no matter what you do, you haven’t made a dent in the list of what needs to get done. As you continue to power on, it’s easy to lose sight of the things you have created, the lessons you have learned, and the people who have helped you along the way. With January upon us, it’s time for a reflection of the year that has passed.
TCO Labs, Inc. was founded in August 2015 with a simple goal: to make Johns Hopkins a hub for student entrepreneurship. We have worked tirelessly for the past 2.5 years to ensure that students have the resources, support, and guidance they need to bring their ideas to life, and that the innovation infrastructures around them are robust, effective, and accessible. While 2016 was focused on getting TCO off the ground, 2017 was about launching our biggest initiatives and bringing rapid growth to the Homewood entrepreneurial ecosystem.
In April, we hosted our inaugural Hatch Innovation Conference, which brought 6 speakers, 3 workshops, and over 30 startups to the Homewood campus for a day of entrepreneurial education, entertainment, and celebration. Attracting over 200 attendees, Hatch 2017 was the first innovation conference to be hosted on the Homewood Campus, highlighting the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem of our university and our city. With Hatch came many sleepless nights, tireless days, and plenty of lessons for Hatch 2018.
We started off the Fall 2017 semester with our second round of recruitment, bringing on over 30 of the most talented students Hopkins has to offer. From freshmen to grad students, our new members help make the TCO Labs Team 51 strong. The amount of energy that radiates from them is truly remarkable, and I am blessed everyday to get to work with such a skilled and motivated group of students. With them, we have been able to launch a variety of new initiatives and deeply impact the Hopkins entrepreneurial community.
We hosted two of our three core events this fall, bringing in the school year with Square One, an introduction to the Homewood innovation ecosystem, and iCubed, our annual ideation event which focused on creating technologies to help those with disabilities. These events, along with each of our functional teams, were spearheaded by our seven amazing Directors (pictured above).
2017 also brought some surprises. From the start, TCO planned to launch an incubator for student ventures. Initially, the idea was to spend the fall formalizing the program and officially launch it in the spring with a robust curriculum, prepared materials, and a set schedule. We were remiss to think things would go according to plan. By the second day of the semester, we had teams reaching out to us for support, and nary a functional incubator in sight. Six months premature, The Hatchery was born, with no curriculum, no materials, and no plan. (But hey, what is entrepreneurship if not building the plane on the way down the cliff?)
This semester, We had the pleasure of working with 8 cohort teams: GradMe, HairPear, Realist Review, Zoog, Sound Psyche, iServe, PPOC4.me, and Treyetech. From applications reforming barbershop backends to nonprofits integrating leadership training into K-12 curriculums, we worked with some of the brightest young entrepreneurs Hopkins has to offer. Now, we are gearing up to bring on our Spring 2018 cohort, where we will help 10 teams bring their ventures to life. (Learn more here — S2018 Applications close February 10th).
This semester also saw the launch of entrepreneurship.jhu.edu, a one-stop-shop for all things entrepreneurship at Homewood. The website was built from the ground up by our Tech Team, one of three new teams we added this semester. Our Outreach team works to connect TCO Labs with the greater Hopkins and Baltimore entrepreneurial communities, while our Hatchery Team provides mentorship, connections, and resources to our cohort teams.
These are just some of the things that TCO Labs was up to in 2017 — definitely a year to remember. However, we’re not a team to rest on our laurels: there multiple new initiatives ready for 2018 that we can’t wait to bring to life.
I’m thrilled to announce the inaugural Hatchery Pitch Competition, to be held in February 2018. Sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association and co-hosted by Alpha Kappa Psi, the Hatchery Pitch Competition gives student entrepreneurs the chance to win cash prizes for their ventures — whether they are for-profit, non-profit, or small businesses. Judged by local Hopkins alumni, teams will be evaluated based on the validity of their ideas, the traction they have shown, and their plan for use of capital. With all luck, the Hatchery Pitch Competition will become a biannual event, held in both the spring and fall semesters.
Other initiatives we are working on include an Opportunity Database and Job Board that helps connect students to opportunities at local startups. (Students — and community members — can get on the database here) As we build out the job board, we will be actively connecting people to opportunities that match their interests, so if you have ever wanted to get involved in a startup, get on the database now! We are also working with various departments to help integrate entrepreneurship into their academic curriculums, and Baltimore organizations to better connect them with the Homewood innovation community.
Between our small events, Hatch 2018, the Hatchery Pitch Competition, the Hatchery (I promise we are finding a new naming scheme), and all of our technical endeavors, we continue to work with Hopkins faculty and administration, Baltimore organizations, and entrepreneurs, investors, alumni, and other community members to help support student entrepreneurs as best we can. We work hard, but we definitely do not do it alone. With that, I would like to thank all of the people who have helped make TCO Labs what it is today. Everything that we do and all that we are is thanks to your help, guidance, and support.
First off, I would like to thank every single one of our team members, old and new. It has honestly been an honor to work with each and every one of you. You breathe new life into this organization, which drives all of the work that we do. Thank you for your work, but moreover, thank you for your ideas, smiles, and belief in the TCO Labs’ mission. It is safe to say that we would be nothing without you, so to you I am forever indebted and immensely grateful. We could not have a better team — I can’t wait to see the great things we do next.
Next, I would like to highlight the staff and faculty of the Center for Leadership Education, home to TCO Labs’ student-group chapter and some of the greatest proponents of our work. To them I would like to give sincere thanks: to Dr. Bill Smedick, for his guidance and support as our Faculty Advisor; to Professor Aronhime, for his honest advice on all of our endeavors; to Megan Ewing and Carey Arkwright, for helping us with all matters serious and silly; and finally, to Pam Sheff, Bob Graham, Bettina Tharps, and all of the other CLE staff and faculty that have supported us in our journey. We would not be where we are now without you.
TCO Labs would not exist as a nonprofit if not for our wonderful Board of Directors. I’d like to thank Chris Steer, Paul Grossinger, Pat Conklin, Brian Fruchey, Bob Olsen, Bret Schreiber, and Justin Allen for their time, guidance, support, connections, and everything else they generously give to TCO Labs on a daily basis. Additionally, I would like to thank Jacob Byrne of Tydings & Rosenberg for providing us with legal counsel, and Justin Batoff of Batoff Associates for donating his time to help our Hatchery teams. Lastly, thank you to FFU for their support of student entrepreneurship in general.
There are countless other people who have helped us along the way, and I couldn’t hope to list them all. So to all of the alumni, Baltimore business leaders, community members, and the students, faculty, and staff of Johns Hopkins University: thank you. Thank you for everything.
On to 2018.
All the best,
Pava LaPere & the TCO Labs founding team
Anthony Garay, Brooke Stephanian, Mukul Ram
