Future Founders is a non-profit organization that believes every youth can become an entrepreneur.
We offer age-appropriate and stage-appropriate programs to connect youth with mentors and help them build a toolkit of entrepreneurial skills. We believe this leads to a generation of more determined entrepreneurial thinkers and doers…youth who will build their own businesses, work for startups, or bring an entrepreneurial perspective to whatever they do. Through our work, we can empower youth to create their own opportunity.
Our programs change the conversation.
We were created to foster inclusion in the entrepreneurial community and to seed more diverse founders into the ecosystem. We focus on inspiring youth to create employment opportunities for themselves. Our work changes the conversation and instills confidence in our students that they do, in fact, have control of their own future.
We’ve served over 34,000 students from elementary school to college and beyond. Our students are highly motivated and passionate about entrepreneurship or are open to exploring entrepreneurship and developing new skills. From Chicago Public Schools to universities across the country, we immerse youth in experiences to empower them to become entrepreneurs. During the 2018-19 school year, we will serve 2,000+ students locally and nationally.
We’re entrepreneurs, too.
Future Founders was created in 2011 through the merger of two programs: one created by the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (which now runs 1871, the number 1 tech incubator in the world) in 2005 and another created by Uptake Technologies Co-Founder & CEO Brad Keywell in 2006. We are led by an all-star team who has launched everything from international companies to local nonprofits to an annual celebration of ideas. We operate like a startup, work out of the world’s number one business incubator space, and love to pilot new ways of doing things. We are actively involved in the entrepreneurial community to stay on the pulse of what’s new and how we can better prepare our students for success.
And, it works.
We’ve engaged industry leaders in the program evaluation space to build our tools and crafted an outcomes-focused philosophy that grounds our work with students in the latest research. We use data to drive our decision-making and to quickly iterate and meet the needs of youth.
For example, in 2016 and 2017, the 39 millennial founders who graduated our intensive Fellowship accelerator generated significant economic impact:
* Created 234 jobs
* Generated $9.1 million in gross revenue
* Raised $3.3 million in outside capital
* 3 company acquisitions
We’re looking for aspiring or current millennial founders from across the country!
Click Here > > U.Pitch Application Link
Applications are open for the 5th Annual U.Pitch National Elevator Pitch Competition & Showcase. This 90 second elevator pitch competition will award $10,000 to the top collegiate pitches across the country on November 15, 2018, at 1871 in Chicago. Applications are open until October 17 at 5:00pm CST.
Click Here > > Fellowship Application Link
Applications are open for our national 2019 Fellowship Cohort, which will launch in January 2019. The Fellowship is a selective year-long program designed to accelerate the development of top student entrepreneurs across the United States. Fellows have priority access to all Future Founders services plus benefit from mentoring, entrepreneurship retreats, a peer community, and volunteer opportunities through other Future Founders programs. The program includes virtual and in-person components. Applications will remain open until November 21 at 5:00pm CST.
**Anyone can apply for the both U.Pitch AND the Fellowship at the same time HERE! **
For more information on Future Founders, contact Scott Issen at scott@futurefounders.com
