The Herb Kelleher Center hosts Entrepreneurship Live moderated by Dr. Luis Martins in Rowling Hall on October 3, 2019. Photo by Lauren Gerson.
What does a student do with a great idea when they lack the means or knowledge to take it to the next level? That’s the problem the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center (HKEC) sought to solve when it launched in 2001. Through its Forty Acres Founders Program, HKEC has connected students with the needed resources, mentorship, and guidance to see big ideas become reality.
Named for visionary Herb Kelleher, co-founder of Southwest Airlines, HKEC provides avenues for students to pitch and refine ideas meant to shape the future of the world. Through the Forty Acres Founders Program, undergraduates and graduates are given unprecedented access behind the curtain where they can study potential customers, improve their product and better position it for success in the marketplace
Madeleine Montgomery, Forty Acres Founders Scholar and 2022 pitch competition winner.
“The Forty Acres Founders Program has allowed me to build my academic background in entrepreneurship, talk to a variety of entrepreneurs, receive feedback on my startup’s progress, and find a strong community of fellow student entrepreneurs,” said Madeleine Montgomery, Forty Acres Founders Scholar and 2022 pitch competition winner.
Each Forty Acres Founders cohort is made up of 20 students from different colleges and schools across The University. A large part of the program’s success is the relationship between students and mentors. Over a ten-week period, mentors volunteer one hour per week to two student Founders offering guidance as students develop their ideas.
David Willson, Forty Acres Founders cohort ’22.
“Coaching up the skills and adding a fundamental backbone to the way we see the world of entrepreneurship is something that [the Forty Acres Founders Program] did for all of us. It was very important and imperative to our skillset,” said David Willson, Forty Acres Founders cohort ’22.
Each spring, Founders vie for an opportunity to pitch their ideas during the final pitch competition hoping to win up to $20,000 in grant funding.
“This program has such an open and inclusive environment. We all truly feel supported by our peers, mentors, and professor,” said Montgomery. “I feel much more confident to continue forward with my venture post-graduation after my participation in the Forty Acres Founders Program.”
To learn more about the Forty Acres Founders program’s engagement opportunities, please visit their website or contact Ali Arnold, Communications Specialist, for more information.
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