Our Mission & Programs:

Our Mission is to educate the economic, business, and entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow through experiential and curriculum-based activities. This includes classes each week, signature events like Founders' Lab and the Future Founders' Podcast, project work with, and for, regional venture firms, entrepreneurial support organizations, and accelerators, and the opportunities to participate in the investment process. 

• Classes:

  The Organization will host weekly classes. Classes include a 12 part curriculum taught between 8-10 weeks each fall and detailed below. Each class also features a news segment, wherein students and other participants discuss interesting news segments and their impacts on private finance, entrepreneurship, macroeconomics, and more. Additionally, many class sessions feature guest speakers, including entrepreneurs and notable individuals in the private financial sector.

   

  For the first semester of each school year, topics will be taught per the curriculum outlined in Schedule B. These topics are designed to give each student an outline of private finance and its applications. In the second semester, the curriculum will be replaced during class time by projects, more guest speakers, news, and capstone assignments. 

   

• Signature Events:

  Students participate in two UVF signature events, Founders' Lab, an office hours event for Founders and Investors, and Future Founders' Lab, a podcast interviewing founders and investors from under-capitalized markets sharing their experience with young professionals.  

• Project Work:

  The Organization will provide experiential opportunities to students through projects with regional firms, accelerators, and support organizations.

  Examples of projects students have completed prior to the incorporation of the Organization include: 

  • TechStars pre-screening and pre-diligence work of applicants to support the selection of Founders for the TechStars Kansas City 2019 cohort; (2)

  • Review and pre-diligence on more than 90+ emerging companies in animal health and ag-tech for Fulcrum Global Capital; 

  • Full diligence and written investment recommendations for the Fountain Innovation Fund, an evergreen fund focused on supporting pre-seed and seed-stage companies in the Kansas City region. This work included calls with founders, researching and writing full market analysis, team analysis, product analysis, competitive landscape analysis, and making recommendations about investing; and

  • Brush Creek Partners Insur-Tech Accelerator: teams of students assigned to six different companies to support projects ranging from market analysis, customer discovery, and competitive landscape.

Non Discrimination Policy:

University Venture Program - Crossroads (“UVPC”) shall admit students of any race, color, and national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at UVPC. UVPC shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, and national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.