Entrepreneurship at Yale SOM is a relatively newer concept compared to peer schools among the top 10 U.S. MBA programs, which have spawned successful ventures such as Warby Parker (Wharton) and Rent The Runway (Harvard Business School). However, Yale SOM is fast catching up.
Yale Entrepreneurial Institute
The Yale Entrepreneurship Institute (YEI) was founded in 2007 with the intent of promoting entrepreneurship across all schools at Yale. Since its inception, it has supported the growth of 100+ ventures that have cumulatively raised over $150 million.
YEI recently announced the first eight winners of this year’s YEI Fellowship – one of its three programs. The Fellowship is a ten-week summer program, which provides ventures access to $15,000, mentors, access to corporate partners and the support of like-minded peers and experts. “The YEI Fellowship has been recognized across campus as the best place for ventures to get the concentrated resources they need—from expert mentors and one-on-one pitch guidance to education and peer support—to get off the ground,” said Jim Boyle, YEI Managing Director.
The winners include a non-profit organization that posts bail for individuals too poor to afford their bond payments. Among these eight winners, five have female co-founders and four have Yale SOM co-founders.
2016 YEI Fellowship Teams with Yale SOM Participation
Amor Rosa: (Laura Melendrez SOM ’16; Vanessa Ocando SOM/MAM ’16; Debra Broberg SOM/MAM ’16) Colorful embroidered clothing using ancestral techniques from Latin America.
Charityvest: (Stephen Kump SOM ’17; Jon Koon) A mobile and web technology platform that enables the average US donor to make easier, more meaningful, and more impactful charitable donations while drastically lowering administration costs for nonprofits.
Re-Harvest Foods: (Cat Wu SOM ’17) Portable, healthy snacks—beginning with “UglyFruit” applesauce— made from surplus produce.
Zeally: (Lexsa Campbell SOM ’17; Krystyna Taheri SOM ’17) A web-based platform that provides a personalized list of job postings for college students and recent college grads.