The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
IMPACT REPORT
2022 –2023
2020–2021 IMPACT REPORT | 1
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
As the team at The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship looks to the future, we want to expand our reach and impact by building upon our pillars of new venture incubation, acceleration, and thought leadership. While there is no way to know what the future will hold, we can promise that we will meet each moment in true entrepreneurial fashion. We will build and scale. We will innovate and iterate. And we will create value for the Babson ecosystem and beyond, with a dedication to excellence and an unwavering commitment to Entrepreneurial Thought & Action®. Babson’s continued #1 ranking in entrepreneurship is due, in part, to the engine that fuels critical components of that accolade. Our center is an action tank, encouraging our undergraduate and graduate students and alumni to take important steps in creating new ventures using ET&A™ as their road map. Our signature events, programs, resources, and large network of mentors support this effort. We are proud to share this report as a glimpse into the amazing things we were able to achieve as a team, all with the goal of elevating entrepreneurs everywhere. Thank you for your continued support; we couldn't do it without you! Warm regards,
Smaiyra M. Million P’21 Executive Director The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
2 | 2022-2023 Impact Report
OUR MISSION We accelerate new ventures of all kinds by providing Babson’s emerging entrepreneurs with access to the opportunities, community, and critical resources that they need. We ignite the exchange of innovative ideas that will shape the future of entrepreneurship through our research and thought leadership.
THE ARTHUR M. BLANK CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 3
OUR IMPACT AT A GLANCE We engaged over
Worked with
201
472
Babson alumni and friends who contributed their time and expertise to our community
entrepreneurs representing
390
businesses and business concepts Held over
Awarded over
124
$1M+
events serving student and alumni entrepreneurs
in funding and in-kind services
The Butler Launch Pad BUSINESSES BY
STAGE BUSINESSES BY
54%
25%
21%
46%
39%
18%
Early Pursue
THE ARTHUR M. BLANK CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
PROGRAM
Undergraduate
Advanced Pursue
Graduate
Launch & Grow
Alumni
INCUBATION Big dreams begin with an idea that needs developing, which is why we meet our founders at all points along the entrepreneurial path, including the very beginning. Whether they’re meeting with Launch Pad faculty advisors, connecting with peers to brainstorm new ideas, or joining the Fast Track Cohort to increase their momentum, The Blank Center offers a wide range of support, advising, and networking to get them where they need to go.
JOHN E. AND ALICE L. BUTLER LAUNCH PAD BY THE NUMBERS In the John E. and Alice L. Butler Launch Pad startup incubator program, Babson students and alumni develop their entrepreneurial skills and work to turn their ideas into reality. Bringing together faculty advising, office hours with industry experts and seasoned entrepreneurs, community, events, and resources, the Butler Launch Pad supports students and alumni at all stages of new venture creation. The Babson Seed Fund is a critical source of support for Butler Launch Pad ventures. We award over $36K to fund ventures after a detailed review of each venture’s plans, milestones, and the capital needed to accomplish their goals. We evolved our investment criteria to diversify our portfolio and continued our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Of the 36 ventures awarded in spring 2023, 42% were led by women and 77% represented at least one traditionally underrepresented or underserved facet of diversity, including gender identity, veteran status, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+.
Program Highlight: Peer to Peer Connect Created to build and connect an online community, Peer to Peer Connect was developed by the Butler Launch Pad team to give Babson stakeholders the opportunity to meet, share ideas, and get feedback in a virtual environment. This enables our entrepreneurs to better connect across time zones and geographies. Attracting alumni, graduate, and undergraduate students, and even incoming first-years, the beauty of Peer to Peer Connect is the diverse array of expertise and insights that each participant brings to the conversation. 6 | 2022-2023 IMPACT REPORT
50
Total Volunteers
35+
Alumni Volunteers
45+
Mentors & Advisors
FAST TRACK COHORT The Fast Track Cohort is a weekly coaching program that provides customized support during the academic year to Babson student and alumni entrepreneurs.
BY THE NUMBERS
Built to provide accountability, community, and resources to those who have an existing business concept and are interested in a more intense structure with greater support, the Fast Track groups similar staged entrepreneurs with an experienced facilitator to create a community of motivated participants interested in helping each other succeed. These semester-long groups are designed to broaden a team’s entrepreneurial network, give them access to Butler Launch Pad’s long list of resources, and hold them accountable so they can move their ventures forward. An inaugural Fast Track Fashion Cohort was launched in 2022 with seven student and alumni teams. These businesses are making their mark in the apparel and jewelry industries.
30
Student Teams
18
Fast Track Sessions
690
Contact Hours
FASHION ENTREPRENEURIAL INITIATIVE (FEI) The Babson Fashion Entrepreneurial Initiative provides a forum for entrepreneurial innovators to shape the fashion industry through cocurricular programs, community events, cross-disciplinary projects, and thought leadership. Innovating in the global fashion industry requires an entrepreneurial mindset. Babson College has a unique approach to solving complex problems and building entrepreneurial opportunities to meet changing world needs. We believe there are changes to the way decisions can be made at every stage of the fashion value chain that can benefit the fashion industry and the world.
Program Highlights: The Fashion Entrepreneurial Initiative welcomed Jonathan Zrihen, President and CEO of Clarins Group, to campus in February 2023. The FEI and the Weissman Foundry presented the Fashion Show in April 2023, featuring the work of Babson, Olin, and Wellesley (BOW) student and alumni fashion entrepreneurs. This annual event gives the BOW community an opportunity to showcase the products and designs that they have brought to life. THE ARTHUR M. BLANK CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 7
ACCELERATION Once the idea is launched, it’s time to grow, and Babson entrepreneurs have a wide range of opportunities to make that happen. Between Rocket Pitch, B.E.T.A. Challenge, and the Summer Venture Program, the 2022-2023 academic year offered Babson, Olin, and Wellesley College students the opportunity to develop their skills, networks, and ventures.
ROCKET PITCH Each fall, the Blank Center presents Rocket Pitch, a fast-paced event during which Babson student and alumni entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas and ventures in only three minutes with three slides. One of the signature Babson events during the course of the year, Rocket Pitch allows teams to present their business endeavors to a large audience primed to give valuable feedback. In 2022, 46 teams joined the Blank Center to do just that.
BY THE NUMBERS
46
Student Teams
55
Entrepreneurs
33%
Female founders
THE ARTHUR M. BLANK CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 9
B.E.T.A. CHALLENGE Our annual B.E.T.A. (Babson Entrepreneurial Thought & Action®) Challenge competition recognizes the progress and potential of Babson ventures as they seek to solve problems and create impact. The 2023 competition was no exception. Notable in the finale pitches from all nine B.E.T.A. Challenge finalists was the focus on taking action to solve pressing problems while scaling their impact. The three winning ventures each took home a grand prize of $28,000, in addition to prizes donated by corporate sponsors, to help them do just that. The 2023 B.E.T.A. Challenge winners were Amelia Thomas MBA’22 and River Otter Renewables (Alumni Track), Jennifer Calhoun MBA’23 and G.I. Junk Removal (Graduate Track), and Dylan Zajac ’25 and Computers 4 People (Undergraduate Track). Each year, the Blank Center also gives special awards, recognizing value creation and impact in three important categories. The 2023 winners were Jennifer Calhoun MBA’23 of G.I. Junk Removal, who received the High Impact Female Founder Award; Aleksandr Malashchenko MBA’24 of LOYKO, who won the Lila W. Sahney Endowed Fashion and Textile Innovation Award; and Anh Thu Le ’24 of Sebela, who took home the Tech Innovation Award.
PRIZES & AWARDS
$127K+ Cash Prizes
$120K+ In-kind Prizes
$707K+ Credits Awarded
2023 B.E.T.A. CHALLENGE WINNERS
Alumni Track Amelia Thomas MBA’22 River Otter Renewables
10 | 2022-2023 IMPACT REPORT
Graduate Track Jennifer Calhoun MBA’23 G.I. Junk Removal
Undergraduate Track Dylan Zajac ’25 Computers 4 People
SUMMER VENTURE PROGRAM 15 YEARS OF IMPACT Summer Venture Program (SVP) is a 10-week intensive experience that builds entrepreneurial skills and accelerates the development of student ventures. In the summer of 2023, we marked a special milestone for the Summer Venture Program: We welcomed the 15th cohort of the program. We took this opportunity to conduct a longitudinal survey of the past cohorts to better understand SVP’s impact on our participating founders and their ventures and entrepreneurial goals.
BY THE NUMBERS
Being around so many dynamic people in one place for 10 weeks was an amazing learning experience. Braeden Ruud MS’16, SVP’16 CEO and Co-Founder of Raised Right
52%
SVP Ventures Operational Today
88%
SVP Ventures Planning to Grow in the Next 3 Years
87%
SVP Founders Interested in Entrepreneurship
$174+ Million Raised by all SVP ventures in equity investment* *Reported by Pitchbook as of November 2023. Excludes funds awarded by Babson College in competitions, accelerators, and other programs.
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Babson has long been a leading catalyst for entrepreneurship research, and the Blank Center plays a critical role in supporting programmatic and research initiatives that convene scholars from around the world.
THE BUTLER INSTITUTE FOR FREE ENTERPRISE THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP (BIFETE) The Butler Institute for Free Enterprise Through Entrepreneurship at Babson College facilitates exploration at the intersection of government, business, and society by considering how policies, social values, and ethical business influence entrepreneurship, free enterprise, and prosperity for all. Our programming aims to inform policy by studying the relationship between entrepreneurship and free enterprise. Further programming seeks to foster a community of thinkers and business leaders who can examine the policies and practices that create economic and social value for businesses, regions, and economies.
STUDENT SCHOLAR BOARD MEMBERS Every academic year, a select group of students is chosen to work in collaboration with Faculty Director Professor Andrew Corbett, Blank Center Executive Director Smaiyra M. Million, Butler Institute Director Cindy Klein Marmer MBA’02, and Program Manager Clare Currie to produce academically meaningful events and programs and to share varying schools of thought related to entrepreneurship, enterprise, and policy. 2022-2023 Butler Institute Student Scholars: Valerija Ilievska ’24, Rani Jivani ’23, Jackson Kuja ’25, Shivam Lohiya MBA’23, Rohit Nayak MBA’23, Emmanuel Nsanganwa ’24, Gabriella Sally ’25, Dominic Sapone ’24, Michael Twomey ’23, Ryan Wilson ’22, MSF’23.
PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS Signature Event: “Finding Success, Happiness, and Purpose” with best-selling author, Harvard professor, and The Atlantic columnist Arthur Brooks Open Forum: Scholars led discussions on many topics including: Corruption in the Diamond Industry Opportunity Zones The Cannabis Industry and Regulation Empowering Entrepreneurship and Small Business Through Policy and Action Symposium: Featuring Dani Babineau MBA’15, Jane C. Edmonds, Glynn Lloyd, and Dan Rivera Inaugural Action Tank Weekend THE ARTHUR M. BLANK CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 13
GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP MONITOR The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) was initiated in 1999 as a joint venture of Babson College and the London Business School. GEM, now a global consortium of over 500 researchers, is the largest and most developed research program on entrepreneurship in the world, providing globally comparable data from 120+ economies. The 2022 United States Report found the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be far reaching, and entrepreneurs didn’t escape the negative economic effects and pressures of the pandemic. However, many found and pursued new opportunities to endure and persist through the crisis. The results show entrepreneurs’ resilience and growing awareness and action to minimize the environmental footprint of their businesses and maximize their social value. This also demonstrated the importance of entrepreneurship to U.S. society in generating a source of income for families, creating jobs, providing valuable products and services, and contributing economic growth.
Select Findings Among the 18-34 age group of entrepreneurs,
67% emphasized a focus on environmental sustainability
and
58% were highly likely to take actions to maximize social impact.
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52% of entrepreneurs thought that Covid19 provided new opportunities to pursue their businesses.
49% of all entrepreneurs stated that in the past year they had implemented actions to minimize the environmental impact of their businesses.
68% of entrepreneurs prioritize the social and/or environmental impact of their businesses above profitability or growth.
BABSON COLLEGE ENTREPRENEURSHIP RESEARCH CONFERENCE (BCERC) Founded by Babson College in 1981, BCERC is considered by many to be the premier entrepreneurship research conference in the world. It was established to provide a dynamic venue where academics and real-world practitioners, through spirited dialogue, could link theory and practice. Each year, the conference attracts more than 350 entrepreneurial scholars who come to hear the presentation of more than 220 papers. The 2023 BCERC was hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. We got a taste of Southern hospitality from the Volunteers on campus. entrepreneurs representing
2023 DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM The annual BCERC Doctoral Consortium provides doctoral students with a unique opportunity to interact with experienced researchers in the field of entrepreneurship. This year’s consortium consisted of 25 doctoral students from 11 countries and was guided by 18 senior scholars in the field of entrepreneurship research. Since its inception in 1985, over 1,000 doctoral students have gone through the program. Students also contributed to the Research Translation Showcase, which demonstrates the real-world application of their research.
By the Numbers
291
Registered Participants
49
Countries Represented
577 Abstracts Submitted
158 115
Research Papers Presented
Ad-hoc Reviewers Assembled
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Blank Center Scholars The Arthur M. Blank Scholarship—$7,000 each year for all four years at Babson—is awarded to incoming students based on entrepreneurial potential, academic achievement, and financial need.
Charmaine Cera ’26 Benjamin Kane ’26 Chiraag Kankariya ’26 Scott Davidson ’23 Levi Lowney ’24 Keydell Fuller ’23 Samuel Mendel ’24 Christian Garcia-Ordonez ’24 Colette Posillico ’26 Gabriella Garozzo ’25 Jacqueline Semerly ’25 Demarre Johnson ’24
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