Princetonian entrepreneurs

We truly are going through an era of change. Just in the past couple of years we have been witness to a series of changes that would have been unthinkable in previous decades. But where does Princeton stand in its commitment to being the leader of change?

In the safety of the Orange Bubble, it is hard for many students to truly grasp the tumultuous and gut-wrenching experience of those who continue to deal with the recession daily. In an economy where one in five youths is unemployed, the opportunities to get an adequate job are shrinking, and the futures of our careers remain an enigma.

In study after study, entrepreneurship has been shown to be the only way to create new jobs. According to the Kauffman Foundation, startups annually create three million jobs while other companies lose one million jobs in the same time span. This comes intuitively to us who have been witness to companies like Facebook, Google, Apple, etc. starting off as ideas in dorms and growing to become some of the largest companies in the world. In fact, some of Princeton’s most famous alumni — Meg Whitman ’77, Eric Shmidt ’76, Jeff Bezos ’86 — are titans in the entrepreneurial world.

In response, the White House and countless organizations have begun to encourage entrepreneurship around the country. In two recent presidential memorandums, the president ordered all agencies to cut the time of tech transfers by 50 percent to spur on job creation. And in the past year, the White House has been coordinating Startup America with some of the entrepreneurial community’s biggest hitters — Steve Case, Michael Dell, Reed Hastings, etc. — to take a grassroots approach to connecting entrepreneurs with resources, mentors and tax incentives.

So where exactly does Princeton stand amidst all this hustle? It would be intuitive that an undercurrent of entrepreneurship flows naturally from the University given Princeton’s cutting-edge research, all-star alumni and commitment to service. Yet instead of leading our generation and economy — instead of opening up the floodgates of opportunity — the University has been slow and often unwilling to adopt a culture of entrepreneurship and activism.

The lack of both practical courses/workshops and networking opportunities inadvertently changes the culture of the University to drive students away from entrepreneurship and onto Wall Street. In fact, the University actively prohibits students from using any University resources — including internet access — for ventures, stifling innovation. As an entrepreneur myself, I’ve found dealing with the University incredibly frustrating. One walk through the campus of Harvard, MIT or Stanford — where students are building their companies in their hallways, dorms and cafeterias — will give you the sense that Princeton is falling behind.

While the Keller Center and the Entrepreneurship Club are making strides to change many of these restrictions, the lack of funding and support from the University is embarrassing. With no support from the University, Princeton startups are doomed to fail before they even start. The one conservative venture Princeton makes into entrepreneurship is its Student Agencies, which awards destructive monopolies in exchange for 50 to 80 percent of profits, sapping any competition and incentive.

As a result, Princeton continues to consistently fall behind its peers despite the tremendously high caliber of its students and faculty. The incredible hurdles lead to a vicious cycle of isolationism by the University and avoidance by the entrepreneurial community. Smelling blood, Stanford has proposed building a $2.5 billion campus in New York in order to usurp the growing New York community — the second largest start-up hub — and take advantage of the massive amount of resources that Princeton is frittering away, including its students.

As the University continues to make decisions, it should remember that it not only holds students’ futures in its hands, but also carries the tremendous burden of ensuring that they make a positive change. Therefore, the entire Princeton community should work together in ensuring the University:

1. Offers more opportunities in practical application to supplement our liberal arts education.

2. Revamps its regulatory framework for the 21st century (i.e cut the red tape and regulations on leave of absence).

3. Adequately funds the Keller Center and similar programs around campus — perhaps creating a seed fund, a startup competition of similar caliber to MIT (100K), a common space for students to work and a fund managed by USG to support student ventures.

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4. Actively reaches out to the entrepreneurial community to nurture students, unleash their potential and make sure “the next big thing” is created right here at Princeton.

5. Works with Career Services to promote and facilitate entrepreneurs.

When I first came to Princeton, there was a saying among the entrepreneurial community: “Princeton students don’t get jobs, they create them.” In the nation’s service and in the service of all nations, we have an obligation to train the next generation of leaders and visionaries who have the potential to create millions of jobs, solve society’s deepest problems and move the world forward.

Timothy Hwang is a Politics major from Potomac, MD. He is also a Managing Director for the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club. He can be reached at tthwang@princeton.edu.