Capital One and Next Gen Summit announced a corporate partnership to host a startup competition aimed at empowering a community of collegiate-aged founders in the area.
The two organizations deeply believe in the positive social impact of young entrepreneurs and are taking action to support the growing demographic. Students from more than 20 schools in the Philadelphia area will engage with the partnership, bolstered by Next Gen community members and ambassadors at the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova, the University of Delaware, and other locations
Founders from Jamaica, Germany, and South Korea are registered to participate as well.
“We are proud to support Next Gen and the young entrepreneurs participating in the start-up competition,” said Joe Westcott, Delaware Market president at Capital One. “These entrepreneurs and start-ups are the future of our economy, and it’s critical to offer our support and guidance. Our investment in Next Gen is part of Future Edge – Capital One’s $150 million, five-year commitment to empower more Americans to succeed in the 21st-century economy.”
Next Gen is a global community of over 3,000 community members spread across 6 continents. The community is comprised of young entrepreneurs.
Young people are exhibiting more entrepreneurial behaviors and tendencies than ever, but they’re not starting businesses, a release stated.
According to a nationwide study from Ernst & Young, 62 percent of millennials have considered starting a business and 55 percent believe millennials are more entrepreneurial than older generations. A lack of resources prohibits this group from starting up, with 42% of millennials citing financial obstacles.
In announcing the partnership, Next Gen Co-founders Justin Lafazan and Dylan Gambardella wrote: “It is truly remarkable an organization like Capital One is standing up and supporting young founders worldwide. We could not be more excited to work together with Capital One to empower the next generation of startup leaders.”
The partnership will support founders both digitally as well as through a live conference in October. Online, Capital One and Next Gen will create content to educate founders on key business practices and work to mentor startups applying for the competition with relevant feedback. The finalists will be invited to pitch their startups during Next Gen Summit @ Philadelphia, powered by Capital One. Team members from both organizations will help mentor the young entrepreneurs attending the October event.
To learn more about the event, visit Next Gen’s website at NGSummit.com/CapitalOne.
