TEC 2011: Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs

On July 29, we wrapped up the third year of The True Entrepreneur Corps (TEC), our summer program designed to inspire and educate the entrepreneurs of tomorrow who are in college today. Our team believes in the creative power of the entrepreneur and we recognize that our society will be improved and transformed by the efforts and ideas of the next generation of entrepreneurs. We recognize that as a growing venture firm we have tremendous resources: an incredible group of Founders building the awesome portfolio companies that make up True, a network that can access just about anyone in entrepreneurship and technology, and yes, a bunch of experience.

This year’s TEC class included eleven exceptional students from universities and colleges across the United States including Boston College, the University of Michigan, NYU, Wheaton and Yale. Each TECling spent eight weeks in a full time capacity at one of our portfolio companies. The bargain we make with our Founders is that we’ll source, screen, select, deliver and sponsor an exceptional college intern for you for the summer. In exchange, you, the Founder, need to deliver a serious job experience. No coffee and copies here; these kids are doing real work.

That was the bargain, and each of our teams more than delivered. Imagine the excitement and learning possible by being a part of the team at bloomspot, BrightRoll, Fitbit, KISSmetrics, Loggly, Schematic Labs, Socialcast, Sparked or Tello this sumer. We were pleased during 2009 and 2010 to be able to introduce nearly two dozen talented young people to the True family through TEC, and the work they did was great. This year the faces were different but the results similarly outstanding. One proof point: historically, nearly half of the TEC participants have continued working with their companies in some form after the program concludes.

Some people ask why we run TEC. For us, the answer is clear: first, we’re connecting True Founders with smart college students who have the interests and skills to contribute in a meaningful way to the development of a young company. We want to do whatever we can to help our Founders succeed, and matching them up with capable and enthusiastic summer interns (and full time hires) is one of the most significant ways in which we can try to do just that.

Equally importantly, however, is the effect we’ve seen TEC have on the interns who participate in it. This year, eleven students left the Bay area having gained a profound understanding of the challenge but even more so the opportunity that lies in being part of a startup. They worked closely with founders and other team members, gaining valuable experience that might have been difficult to find in other jobs. And, through our Thursday afternoon curriculum and their participation in events like True University, they were able to develop a broader perspective on what creating and sustaining a startup is all about. We thank this summer’s mentors, supervisors and speakers for taking the time to make this such a memorable eight weeks for these students.

But TEC isn’t just about this small group of students and the work they do for these companies: it’s part of a larger effort we’re seeing nationwide that’s planting the seeds of an entrepreneurial life in the minds of some of our brightest and most motivated young people. And, we hope that in the years to come, programs like TEC and HackNY will become even more widespread. If our collective work helps inspire a larger number of students to someday work at or even create their own startups, we’ll be thrilled.