StartUp Learning Community

If you're taking a leave of absence this year from a higher ed program, you may want to check this out.

Thanks, Madison Magazine for this terrific piece on the partnership between entrepreneurship on campus and the greater Madison community. StartUp is proud to be part of the Innovate Network on campus!

The Innovate Network aims to coordinate and amplify startup initiatives on campus The Innovate Network, coordinated by UW–Madison’s relatively new Discovery to Product, or D2P, program pulls together more than a dozen campus and campus-affiliated efforts.

The end-of-year note to the StartUp Community from Program Coordinator, Sari Judge.

Dear StartUpers,

This wasn't the end-of-year note I was expecting to send to you all. I was hoping to send pictures of our final BBQ, where we ate cake emblazoned with a StartUp logo and danced to the number 1 tunes of your freshman year (yes, making that playlist is the way I stay current" (sidenote: The number 1 song the day you moved in was "Señorita" by Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes. The number 1 song on the day you unexpectedly moved out in March was "The Box" by Roddy Ricch).

I am used to getting to say goodbye in person. I am used to inquiring about your summer plans. I am used to heading up to 2A the second week of May, shake my head at the mess that was our Den and smile knowing you had experienced an amazing freshman year.

But this year was different. I said goodbye to very few of you. I haven't been in Sellery Hall since mid-March either. And I know you didn't have the full freshman year you hoped you'd have or deserved.

No, it wasn't the year we expected. But I do though want you to know that StartUp is always here for you. We are here over the summer, we are here next year, and we are here to help throughout your entire Badger experience no matter where you are physically.

The friendships you made this year will last, I promise. I spend every Sunday afternoon these days on a Zoom call with friends from my freshman year of college (1984, by the way. The number one song that year was "When Doves Cry" by Prince). Nothing much has changed (except the color of our hair).

What you learned in seminar and out will shape you--innovation matters.

The startups you launched, or maybe only dreamed of, could be wildly successful. Or maybe you'll pivot. Or maybe you'll explore a completely different path which has nothing to do with entrepreneurship. But your creativity, resilience and willingness to work hard will endure.

Keep in touch with John, Kelly and me this summer. We don't just want to know what you're doing "professionally". We also want to know what you're reading, watching and listening to.

The number one song as I write this is "The Scotts" by Travis Scott and Kid Cudi. The song was released on Fortnite during a virtual concert--pretty different from me heading to the theater to watch "Purple Rain".

But it's precisely this difference that matters. You are the future.

2A forever!

Sari