Pioneer Venture Group Benefits Students and Community
The University of Denver proudly announces the inception of the Pioneer Venture Group, a new initiative that gives students from across the University experience in operating a venture capital investment fund. The Pioneer Venture Group is wholly run by students, and it has an advisory board composed of faculty and community business leaders.
The initiative arose from a partnership between Project X-ITE and the Venture Law Society, and is designed to provide educational, practical, and networking experiences to students focusing on entrepreneurship, venture investing, and general business practices. As it becomes a premier interdisciplinary student-run venture fund, Pioneer Venture Group will serve both to provide students with the experience of running a best-practice venture fund and to provide the community with positive economic impact.
A unique interdisciplinary focus allows students from X-ITE’s four partner schools at DU – Sturm College of Law, Graduate School of Social Work, Daniels College of Business, and Ritchie College of Engineering and Computer Science – as well as other DU students to gain practical experience in the field. Students may elect to receive credit for their participation.
In addition to the experiential education the Pioneer Venture Group will provide to students, the new initiative will also serve to strengthen the DU and Denver communities. Within the University, it will create meaningful relationships and interdisciplinary experiences across programs. Throughout the Denver community, the Pioneer Venture Group will provide a platform for supporting entrepreneurial opportunities, thus strengthening our city’s spirit of innovation and problem-solving.
“DU students think big and are motivated to learn the ins-and-outs of entrepreneurship. Pioneer Venture Group is an amazing opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience, network with VCs throughout the Colorado startup ecosystem, and learn what it takes to manage a fund,” said Marty Katz, Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director of Project X-ITE at DU.
Pioneer Venture Group will begin evaluating companies in September 2019, and it is open to all startups regardless of location. It can invest up to $25,000 in companies that are in the early investment stage. Companies wishing to apply should visit Project X-ITE.
