VEO Updates 4/16
Here are some upcoming events and updates from your favorite CIO!
🖊️ Interview with Zak Slayback
During our panel with the 1517 Fund and Not Yet Ventures, VEO had the opportunity to sit down with Zak Slayback, a Partner at the 1517 Fund, an angel pre-seed and venture capital fund that invests in startups founded by students, dropouts, and deep-tech scientists.
His interest in helping student and dropout founders stemmed from a previous company he worked for, which supported students who did not have the credentials for certain jobs but had the exact skill set those jobs were looking for. He firmly believes that there are plenty of individuals who have the ideal traits companies are looking for but do not have the degree that would allow their talent to be recognized. This belief is what led Slayback to join the 1517 Fund and look for those founders who were underappreciated.
The qualities that Slayback looks for in these founders are fairly straightforward: those who fuel their own ambition, are part of a team, and are interested in solving “very hard, real problems”. Though these qualities seem simple, they are hard to come across in a world that has “over-indexed on solving stupid problems”. Ultimately, he advises student entrepreneurs to “find their tribe” and surround yourself with those who have a similar passion for building.
We are so grateful Zak Slayback had the time to sit down with us!
🖊️ Interview with Alex Zorychta
After our speaker panel in March, VEO had the opportunity to interview Alex Zorychta, the founder and managing partner of Not Yet Ventures and former lecturer of entrepreneurship at the University of Virginia. Not Yet Ventures is a pre-angel venture capital fund that focuses on discovering pre-Y Combinator companies that are found through university entrepreneurship programs. He discovered his love for working with student entrepreneurs after he graduated from UVA and began encouraging and aiding students in finding customers and pursuing their startups. From that, he learned that those who were dedicated to their projects felt that the university did not have sufficient resources to aid their journey. Therefore, he sought to “find them early before they have the idea that is investible and…gauging and vetting them”, which he found in starting Not Yet Ventures.
Throughout his work with student entrepreneurs, he has found that there are two key indicators of students who are likely to build something real: perseverance and curiosity. These two traits help define students who can “navigate their way without losing energy.” He can also gauge how serious a student is about their work based on what they completed between their meetings. Going above and beyond what was discussed can be a telltale sign of the student’s drive to succeed.
Zorychta advises students who have difficulty finding an entrepreneurial community at UVA to share what projects they are working on to find like-minded people and present themselves as someone committed to building. He also recommends joining entrepreneurship clubs or competitions to find those similar to you and create an environment conducive to building.
We are so appreciate of Alex Zorychta for taking the time to talk to us! If you are looking to reach out, we have linked his LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/azorychta/).
🗒️ Resources to Look Into!
Here are some super cool resources to check out!
AI Grant: An Accelerator for AI Startups Offering Funding!
https://www.generalcatalyst.com/venture-fellows
Venture Fellows: Supporting Student Founders at every Stage of the Journey!
☕️ Schedule a coffee chat to join the community!
Sign up for a coffee chat with a VEO exec today! This isn’t an application, just a casual talk to learn more about your entrepreneurship goals before joining the community.
You'll unlock exclusive benefits designed to assist your entrepreneurial journey:
Access premium resources tailored for success
Connect with accomplished founders during dedicated office hours
Hone your skills at members-only workshops
Immerse yourself in a vibrant and supportive community
Virginia Entrepreneurship Organization (VEO) is the community for ambitious student builders at the University of Virginia. At our core, we support students who are working on side projects and startups — those who are looking to build their first version of their product and onwards.
Our meetings involve:
Startup workshops to fine-tune your ideas or brainstorm new ones
Listening to experienced entrepreneurs speak about their startups and journeys
Getting answers to any questions you have about your projects
Happy Tuesday!
xoxo, VEO
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