A Primer on the Foundry

The Foundry catalyzes regional economic growth by building capable lifetime entrepreneurial leaders. The program is sponsored by the David Eccles School of Business, and is open to all - students, recent graduates, and members of the community. Participants in the Foundry come from all walks of life, and the companies they form range from small, single-owner businesses to high-potential firms seeking growth capital. What binds them together is a shared commitment to become capable business leaders, a drive to launch their company, and the willingness to help other participants do the same.

Currently, the Foundry operates by assembling cohorts of roughly 20 teams, which we compose through an application and evaluation process, detailed below. We run three cohorts a year through the Foundry. The Foundry also regularly sponsors free education and training events open to the community. Join the Foundry page on Facebook to be kept up to date on these events.

We provide participants with experience-based education that compliments their in-classroom learning (if they are students) and augments their career experience (if they are not). The Foundry provides a context in which one can learn how to build and lead an entrepreneurial firm. We believe that people learn best "on the court" and so the Foundry is an environment where leadership skills are developed in a context where participants can be put "at risk to learn" - the launching of a company they care deeply about.

At this point, an attentive person will have noticed that we have said nothing about providing resources to help students build companies, providing legal help, or access to "expert" mentors. While Foundry companies do launch and get to profitability rather quickly (evidence suggests that Foundry outcomes are superior in terms of company success, career services, revenue per employee when compared to other programs) the Foundry does not accomplish this by providing specialized resources. In contrast, we do this by participating in the generation of a social system that drives participants to gather resources on their own - which is the core of entrepreneurial leadership. We focus on the development of people, not companies. Great companies come for free when you train great people.