YouthHack Philadelphia - The Next Chapter
We’ve all had the moment.
It’s a moment of frustration, when you’ve been sitting in a library all day, and you realize that what you’ve been learning is irrelevant to your future. If you glance outside the library window, you’ll realize that not all people are stagnant. Some are actively changing the world around them.
I wanted to do something real, so I joined YouthHack Philadelphia.
Throughout the second semester, I worked with the Ventures Accelerator, a 10-week program for early-stage startups at Penn. The team was wonderful: Sanjula brought his previous experience, Cameron his practical advice, Sherry her wide network, Jimmy his forward thinking, Freddie his wise team advice, and Amit his relentless but essential questioning. As a team we pulled together a solid ten week program with over twelve mentors, a wide range of startups, and a successful Demo Day. The learning curve has been steep, and we are ready to up the game.
We are rebuilding, and next year’s accelerator program will be on an entirely different level.
Ventures will be a three-tier program, focused on bringing early-stage ventures all the way to their seed rounds. As each startup passes a tier, they will unlock resources that will give them an edge, such as expedited approval from the Wharton and M&T funds in the second tier, and personal access to industry-specific VCs in the third tier.
YouthHack will also offer its new Startup School next year, a flexible opportunity for student entrepreneurs to learn and brush up on all the skills integral to running and starting a business. We promise that everything you will learn will be useful for your entrepreneurial life. It won’t be textbook based either, but rather completely interactive.
I’m honored to have been selected as YouthHack Philly’s co-president next year. Together with Jeff and our diverse core team, we will be working all summer to bring you the best programs that we can. Look out for a pitch competition and a club information session during the beginning of the year!
Want to use your skills? Want to be your own boss? Want to bring that idea a step further? Come down to a YouthHack Philadelphia event at the beginning of next year, like our Facebook page for updates, and please feel free to reach out to katherine@youthhack.net.
