Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Kaufman.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Melissa. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The Garage is startup central at Northwestern University. We offer students interested in entrepreneurship the resources, space, and mentorship they need to thrive in a startup and any career. Through The Garage’s programming, students build an entrepreneurial toolkit, experience personal growth, and gain access to a supportive network of like-minded individuals who share their passion. Students develop essential skills like leadership, networking, and creativity, and are encouraged to build a future all their own. The 11,000 square foot co-working space, carved out of the North Campus parking structure, is home to more than 60 student founded startups per quarter and welcomes more than 1,000 visitors per month.
I am the Founding Executive Director of The Garage. Previously, I lived in San Francisco where I worked at Google, several consumer tech companies and started my own influencer marketing agency. Building The Garage has given me the opportunity to develop the space and program I wish I had had as a college student.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I started my job a few weeks before the academic year began. I was the only full-time employee, there was no program, and no students to serve. It was overwhelming. I built The Garage the same way you’d build a startup – by focusing on the user (in this case, students), prototyping an MVP (our incubation program), and a lot of rapid experimentation and failure. By the end of the first year, we ran out of space and had more students wanting to participate than we had space for.
The Garage at Northwestern – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We bring together a cross-disciplinary community of Northwestern students, faculty, staff, alumni and experts who share a passion for building new ideas. Unlike commercial incubators, our academic program focuses on building billion-dollar people, not just billion-dollar companies.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for The Garage is about giving Northwestern students a great collegiate experience. 94% of our alums report that The Garage enhanced their experience as a student and the top 3 skills they report learning are networking, creativity, and leadership.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2311 Campus Drive
Suite 2300
Evanston, IL 60208 - Website: thegarage.northwestern.edu
- Phone: (847) 467-7155
- Email: thegarage@northwestern.edu
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theGarageNU/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGarageNU
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theGarageNU
Image Credit:
Nathan Weber
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
