Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network

Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network
Name	Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network
Founded	2003
Type	Student organization
Headquarters	Dartmouth College
Location	Hanover, New Hampshire

Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network is a student-founded organization at Dartmouth College dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship, venture creation, and innovation among undergraduates and alumni. It serves as a hub connecting students, faculty, alumni, investors, and regional incubators through programming, mentorship, and access to capital. The Network situates Dartmouth within broader startup and innovation ecosystems including Silicon Valley, Boston, New York City, and regional technology corridors.

History

Founded in the early 21st century, the group emerged amid a wave of student-led entrepreneurial initiatives that paralleled the growth of campus entrepreneurship programs at institutions such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. Early founders drew inspiration from alumni networks like those supporting Apple Inc. founders and venture groups linked to Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. Over time the organization formalized relationships with Dartmouth offices and programs including the Tuck School of Business, the Department of Computer Science at Dartmouth College, and the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact. Milestones include establishing speaker series featuring figures from Google, Facebook, Amazon (company), and regional startups, and coordinating pitch competitions reminiscent of events at TechCrunch Disrupt and Y Combinator demo days.

Mission and Activities

The Network's mission emphasizes experiential learning, venture formation, and career pathways similar to programming at Harvard Business School and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Core activities include hosting panels with entrepreneurs from firms such as Dropbox, Stripe, Airbnb, and Squarespace; organizing workshops on fundraising with representatives from Kleiner Perkins and Benchmark (venture capital firm); and facilitating internships with startups in hubs like Boston, Massachusetts, New York City, and San Francisco, California. It collaborates with alumni entrepreneurs who have founded companies like Zipcar, Patagonia, WeWork, and smaller Dartmouth-affiliated ventures.

Membership and Structure

Membership typically comprises Dartmouth undergraduate and graduate students, alumni mentors, and faculty advisors drawn from the Thayer School of Engineering and the Tuck School of Business. Governance mirrors student organizations at peer institutions, with an executive board (president, vice president, treasurer, directors of programming, marketing, and partnerships) and committees modeled after structures at Columbia University, Brown University, and Cornell University. The Network leverages Dartmouth alumni chapters in cities such as San Francisco, Boston, New York City, Seattle, Washington, and Chicago to scale mentorship and recruiting.

Programs and Events

Signature programs include speaker series, startup bootcamps, ideation workshops, and pitch competitions analogous to MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition and Harvard President's Innovation Challenge. Regular events feature founders from startups like Slack Technologies, Notion Labs, Robinhood Markets, and venture investors from firms such as Bessemer Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The Network runs practicums tied to courses at the Tuck School of Business and collaborates on hackathons reminiscent of competitions at Princeton University and University of California, Berkeley. It also organizes treks to innovation centers including Silicon Valley, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New York City.

Notable Alumni and Ventures

Alumni connected to the organization have founded or scaled ventures in sectors spanning software, biotech, and consumer products. Notable entrepreneurs from Dartmouth-linked startups include founders behind companies that reached funding rounds involving Sequoia Capital, Accel (company), General Catalyst, and NEA (New Enterprise Associates). Some alumni have transitioned into leadership roles at public companies like Oracle Corporation, Microsoft, and Apple Inc.; others have led mission-driven organizations similar to Khan Academy and charity: water.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The Network partners with campus entities including the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science, the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, and the Dartmouth Digital Hub. External collaborations extend to accelerators and incubators such as MassChallenge, Techstars, Y Combinator, and university-affiliated labs at Harvard University and MIT. It maintains outreach with investor networks and angel groups akin to AngelList and regional venture communities in New England and the Northeast United States.

Funding and Resources

Funding sources include Dartmouth student activity fees, alumni donations, sponsorships from venture firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Benchmark (venture capital firm), and grants from foundations with histories of supporting entrepreneurship like the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Resources available to members encompass mentor matching, office hours with entrepreneurs-in-residence, access to co-working spaces similar to WeWork or university incubators, and connections to seed funding channels including angel investors and early-stage venture capital firms.

Category:Student organizations at Dartmouth College Category:Entrepreneurship organizations