Today the team at Upstart
announced what we’ve been up to over the past three months.
The Upstart mission
is inspiring (see Founder/CEO Dave Girouard's blog post here), the team is world-class, and the culture of the company is…well…a
ton of fun. I’m especially thrilled to
be joined as a “Backer” by two close friends and trusted colleagues in Boston, Frank Moss and Jim Dougherty.
Their leadership in supporting young people who want to turn their
passions into careers as entrepreneurs is exemplary. I’m also thrilled to be working yet again
with the fantastic partners at Kleiner Perkins, NEA and Google Ventures.
Briefly, Upstart is
a new approach to funding and mentorship. Using a crowdfunding model, it allows
college grads/would-be entrepreneurs in virtually any field to raise
capital in exchange for a small share of their income over a 10-year
period. Upstart aims to provide a
modest amount of risk capital, paired with guidance and support from
experienced backers, to help grads pursue less-traditional and more-inspiring
careers.
I believe
that Upstart has the potential to supercharge the US Innovation Economy - as Dave says "When politicians say we need more entrepreneurs, what they mean is that we need more people creating jobs, rather than taking them." I couldn't agree more - it's time to do the heavy lifting required to create more entrepreneurs so that they can do the heavy lifting required to drive job growth over the next two decades. Upstart believes that one of the key factors in creating more entrepreneurs is early intervention in their career development. Some of the key principles that are driving us include:
● Innovative and ambitious young people should
be empowered to pursue their passions when they are young. If we don’t empower them when they are young,
they risk being numbed by the bureaucracy of the larger organizations that they
often join for lack of a viable alternative path as entrepreneurs. It’s not
that big companies are bad. It’s just that young people who have a high
risk/return profile can quickly lose their edge and passion as they succumb to
the broader interests of a large organization vs. pursuing something that they
care about deeply. 65% of our job growth over the past 2 decades has come from companies with less than 500 people - over the next 2 decades it's the Millennials/Generation Y that will create those companies and create the bulk of jobs that our country needs so desperately - we need to empower them as much as possible. It's time to bet on Generation Y.
●
It’s fundamentally valuable for our economy
to balance the recruiting machines of large organizations with a social
networking-based system that facilitates young people who want to follow more
independent, highly individual paths. This generation just wants to connect with
people who could be their mentors in pursuing their interests and passions.
Mentors just want to connect with inspiring young people. Upstart makes those
connections easy and automatic.
●
Not every young person has a high risk/return
profile, but many more young people will pursue entrepreneurial interests if
they have a little bit of financial
flexibility at the right time. Modest
amounts of financial support as young people graduate from school, along with
some strong support and encouragement from great mentors, can go a long way. I know because I've had fantastic support from many great mentors during my career.
●
Mentorship is just as rewarding for the
mentor as for the mentee – if only we can make the right connections. What’s
been missing is a system to connect potential mentors and mentees around shared
interests and affinities. I’m a software
guy who is interested in the life sciences, so I’m naturally prone to want to
mentor smart, young, enthusiastic people who share those interests. But I’m also passionate about rugby, so
anyone who is involved in rugby always gets more of my time than those who
don’t ;) When young people who share my interests ask for my help - I'm compelled to help them - because I get way more back than I give.
●
Most mentors who have the financial resources
– when provided with the opportunity to earn a return similar to bonds – would
be thrilled to invest their own money in promising young people with similar
passions and interests. Upstart matches mentors with the young talent who
will power the growth of our economy over the next 20+ years – and does this at
scale. I can't think of a better investment - definitely better than T-Bills.
●
To scale entrepreneurship in the US, we need
to scale our ability to empower and coach young people who are capable of
taking risks and executing on their passions. I’ve spent a lot of time starting companies
from scratch. In my experience, the older and more successful people get, the
more they are prone to take for granted the value of a small amount of coaching
and financial resources early in the career of a budding entrepreneur. Small amounts of time and money directed strategically and without friction at
scale, can have a huge positive effect on our economy.
●
Most entrepreneurs need help, coaching and
advice in order to achieve their missions. Most people are not the kind of
superstar entrepreneurs that the media popularizes every day: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and so on. At the same time, these young people contribute the bulk of the job creation through the number of companies they start and the never ending flow of their ideas, energy, passion. A big part of what Upstart provides to
young entrepreneurs is a network that can fill the gaps in their experience, knowledge
and contacts so they can reach their full
potential.
I’m honored to be partnering with my great friend and trusted colleague Dave Girouard as the Founding BOD Member
at Upstart and thrilled to be the #1 Backer.
Let’s take the
“post-industrial reins” off our brightest, ambitious young people and empower them to
leverage the Information Economy to change the world for the better.
Our country was founded on a core principle of rugged individualism. Let’s coach our young
people to take control of their own careers, professional lives and interests and pursue their passions. We will benefit
as an economy and a society in ways that we can't begin to imagine.
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