In the latest startup news from Philadelphia, private equity giant Blackstone’s philanthropic arm is expanding its LaunchPad program to the city to teach university students how to start their own businesses.
There has been a push at several universities to encourage a culture of entrepreneurship. This one seeks to help universities grow entrepreneurship beyond business majors.
The University City Science Center will manage the Blackstone Charitable Foundation‘s LaunchPad program at Temple University and Philadelphia University (formerly known as Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science). Among the qualifications for cities chosen for the program are those with a culture of entrepreneurship and economic need. The program has been established at six campuses in Northeast Ohio and Southeast Michigan since 2010. In addition to students, the program will also be open to alumni at the universities.
The Science Center will serve as a hub for the program where mentors from the region’s entrepreneur ecosystem will meet with program participants and where some workshops will be held. The goal is to increase the size of the entrepreneur community in the city and the potential for job creation that goes with it.
Students submit their idea for a startup and mentors will help them cultivate the idea. Organizers say whether the idea fails or succeeds is almost beside the point. The goal is for students to understand what’s required so they don’t wait until they’re in their 40s before trying to start their own business. Steve Tang, the CEO of the Science Center, likened the program’s aims to preparing for parenthood. “The biggest benefit of Launchpad for student entrepreneurs is it prepares them and helps them anticipate what will happen. Like parenthood, it’s a role that everyone is unprepared for. It’s designed to build better awareness and better skills as students not only for their first venture but for all their ventures going forward.”
Philadelphia is the third of five cities in the program, which is linked to Startup America. The three year grant will start in 2013.
Amy Stursburg, the executive director for the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, said it is interested in expanding the LaunchPad program to other cities but it’s important that they have some form of entrepreneur ecosystem. On the other hand it wants to avoid cities and universities that have a strong ecosystem in place. “We don’t want to go to Boston or the Silicon Valley, but we don’t want to go to places where there’s no activity,” Stursburg said.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Philadelphia has been trying to build a reputation not only as a region that encourages entrepreneurs but also one that can retain them. Frequently startups launched in the city leave after a couple of years for New York, Boston or the Silicon Valley where there are strong financing communities interested in backing new businesses. Earlier this year the Mayor of Philadelphia announced a seed fund for startups as one step to show its seriousness in boosting its startup profile. Next year, Canada is opening a health IT accelerator in the Science Center in a move that could lead to partnerships with other budding health IT companies in the region and more jobs.
