How to do startups at UChicago

I've been in Edge, ILC and LTF, where I'm a general partner, and in the OakNorth young entrepreneurs program. Below is what I would keep, then what I would cut.

Week one, what is worth doing

Go to a Polsky event early in the year. It takes an afternoon, and meeting the other people who care about startups is most of the point. Mine was an internship event. This year the College New Venture Challenge kickoff is on October 7.

After that, look at the startup clubs. I joined Edge, ILC and LTF (I'm a general partner at LTF), and I was part of OakNorth's young entrepreneurs program. Each one was worth something. They get you started, and the building still has to come from you.

What the clubs give you

Clubs give you exposure and people. You hear founders talk, meet other students who are trying, and maybe do a hackathon. In first year that is useful.

LTF is the one I would pick first. I'm a general partner at LTF, so I am not neutral about it. It works differently from the other clubs. You are on the investing side, giving out equity-free grants, and startups pitch to you directly. You judge the idea in front of you, and after a year of that your judgement gets sharper. Its FAQ says it takes only a few associates a year.

Through LTF, where I'm a general partner, I have reviewed and funded student startups, and the grants are equity-free. If you are building something here and want someone to look at it, LTF has written up how its funding process works, from the first coffee chat to the board pitch.

I won't rank the other clubs against each other. Different clubs suit different people.

The part that makes you a founder

None of the above makes you a founder. For that you have to make something exist.

Do your own project. Find something missing, build it, and get students to use it. If people keep using it, you are on to something.

(P)rind, a 2025 CNVC finalist, started as small batches of snacks handed to friends who wanted more. That is a good model for a first project.

What surprised me

Almost everything good happened by chance, through people. The startup scene here is small enough that a year of showing up puts you inside it.

What you can control is being visible. When people can see you building, they start coming to you. Find a mentor if you can. Most of what a mentor does is introduce you to people, and those introductions are how things move here.

What I would skip

I would join fewer clubs, probably one, and put the rest of my time into the project.

I would also be much more public about building. Very few students knew I was the person behind Pool, so I had no connection to most of them. Keeping quiet felt modest at the time, and it slowed me down.

A small community

The startup community here is small. The good part is that the people who are building are easy to find, and once you know a few of them you tend to meet the rest.

If you want a project to join

If you would rather work on an existing student project than start your own, Pool is one. It is a food deals app for Hyde Park, built by a student. This quarter that means 2-for-1 12 oz açaí bowls at Deep Purpl (from October 8) and 2-for-1 subs at Subway 53rd Street, plus deals at 12 more Hyde Park restaurants (one from September 29, one from September 30, four from October 1 and one from October 8), live from Monday, September 28.