Vanderbilt Students Launch Their Own Venture Studio to Help Classmates Build Startups

NASHVILLE, October 22 (Hypepotamus) - A group of students on Vanderbilt’s campus want to help more of their classmates build and scale startups through a new venture studio. 

Aptly named Campus Venture Studio, founder Eli Landers described the program as a “startup building startups.” It works as an independent, student-founded venture studio that helps Vanderbilt students become company builders.  

Landers came up with the idea over the summer. He was having a hard time connecting with like-minded entrepreneurs on campus, but saw an opportunity to build something new after learning about the concept behind a venture studio (Hypepotamus reporting on the studio model here). 

“[The venture studio model] can be really good for college students. You’re giving students initial structure and a problem space to build a company. For students that may struggle with the ambiguity of entrepreneurship…it’s a structure that gives them a lot of support to get started,” Landers explained. The hope is that the studio can “lower the barrier to entry” when it comes to students building companies. 

Landers is building Campus Venture Studio alongside Andy Overdeck and board members  Thomas Hung, Broghan Rice, and Jake Bornstein. In its early stages, the studio has brought on Rho and Base44 as partners to scale and put on more events. 

Now in the middle of its first cohort, Landers said founders participating in Campus Venture Studio are largely interested in physical AI space and physical security.

Birmingham Venture Studio Launches PackPay and DealTree

Birmingham’s Innovate Alabama Venture Studio has launched its first two startups: PackPay for consumer brands, and DealTree for private equity.

HypepotamusMaija Ehlinger

The studio is not an official registered student organization on campus, but Landers said they went about recruiting students for their first cohort in a similar fashion to most college clubs: with tabling and flyering and social media posting around campus. 

The studio’s big need right now? Connect with more people in the tech ecosystem in Nashville and across the Southeast, Landers told Hypepotamus. 

What’s next? The Nashville Demo Day in December. After that? Landers said there is the potential that they could bring the Campus Venture Studio model to other colleges and universities. 

Atlanta’s Brightlane Labs Launches As Venture Studio To Build & Scale FinTech Startups

Atlanta-based Brightlane Labs debuts to launch 3–5 FinTech startups yearly, targeting compliance and risk solutions for smaller banks.

HypepotamusMaija Ehlinger