Difference between revisions of "Organization:Dorm Room Fund"

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[[File:DormRoomFundLogo.png|thumb|right|300px|DormRoomFundLogo.png]]
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= Overview<br/> =
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== Overview ==
  
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<span style="font-size:small;">Dorm Room Fund (<span data-scaytid="1" data-scayt_word="DRF">DRF</span>) is a student-run venture firm that invests in student-run companies. Launched in September 2012 and backed by [http://firstround.com/ First Round Capital],&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size:small;">they provide&nbsp;average investments of $15,000 - $20,000 for student run start-ups.</span><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;The DRF's overall mission is to inspire and support more careers in the startup industry. Apart from funding,&nbsp;<span data-scaytid="2" data-scayt_word="DRF">DRF</span> also offers their members&nbsp;discounts and partnerships with premier service providers, public relations, mentorship</span><span style="font-size: small;">, <span data-scaytid="5" data-scayt_word="DRF">DRF</span> events, and access to a national network of amazing student entrepreneurs.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Dorm Room Fund currently has student groups&nbsp;based out of New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, and Boston.</span><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;</span>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-198f9028-de14-0153-9143-ffbfe260f63e"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dorm Room Fund (DRF) is a five-year-old venture capital firm that invests in student founded companies. The firm, backed by First Round Capital, invests in companies where at least one founding member is a student, undergraduate or graduate. DRF’s investment teams consist of small committees of students on campuses in the New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and the Bay Area. Each investment team is given $500,000 to invest in student-run startups in order to bring their ideas from the “dorm to the market.”</span></span>
  
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= Purpose =
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== The Program ==
  
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<span style="font-size:small;">The main purpose of <span data-scaytid="7" data-scayt_word="DRF">Dorm Room Fund</span>&nbsp;is to help student founders take their ideas from their dorm room to the market while providing their members with an entrepreneurial education. The main ways of achieving this goal are through investments, access to their huge support network, and vast recourses. All of the <span data-scaytid="8" data-scayt_word="DRF">DRF</span> investors are students, making it an organization for students led by students. &nbsp;</span>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-198f9028-de14-368a-bdbe-675fcea3cefa"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once accepted into the program, founders are given access to all of the resources at DRF. On top of providing $20,000 of capital, DRF investment partners meet regularly with founders to help them learn fundraising, launch strategy, growth, and hiring. In addition, DRF connects founders to a vibrant community of talented entrepreneurs, world-class advisors, investors, industry leaders, and mentors to help them solve their key problems. &nbsp;</span></span>
  
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= Distinct Differences From Other Offerings =
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=== <span style="font-size:large;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">'''Stats'''</span></span> ===
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<ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
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<li><span style="color:#000000;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-198f9028-de1d-beb9-fa6f-43e9b5f372d7"><span style="font-size: 11pt; background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; background-color: transparent;">DRF has invested in 150 startups that have gone on to raise over $300 million in additional funding from Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, Union Square Ventures, Sequoia Capital and more. Here are a few of those startups:</span></span></span></span></li>
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</ul>
  
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== How It Is Run<br/> ==
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[[File:Partners.png|border|center|Partners.png]]
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<ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
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<li><span style="color:#000000;"><span><span style="font-size: 11pt; background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DRF represented the largest community in Y Combinator's Spring 2017 batch with 8 startups.</span></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="color:#000000;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-198f9028-de1d-beb9-fa6f-43e9b5f372d7"><span style="font-size: 11pt; background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over $1 billion in value has been created by DRF companies. With multiple portfolio companies raising rounds of over $10 million within the last 6 months alone, students are rapidly building some of the most promising companies in the country.</span></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="color:#000000;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-198f9028-de1d-beb9-fa6f-43e9b5f372d7"><span style="font-size: 11pt; background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Student founders come from schools all across North America:</span></span></span></li>
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</ul>
  
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<span style="font-size:small;">Which start-up ventures the <span data-scaytid="12" data-scayt_word="DRF">Dorm Room Fund</span>&nbsp;invests in is entirely '''decided upon by the student investors,'''&nbsp;meaning the investors can truly relate to what other students are trying to accomplish and the problems a student start-up may encounter. By using this approach to start up investment, it gives the <span data-scaytid="13" data-scayt_word="DRF">DRF</span> a very unique perspective compared to traditional investment teams. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span>
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[[File:Schools.png|border|center|Schools.png]]
  
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== '''Financing''' ==
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=== <span style="font-size:large;">'''How to Apply&nbsp;'''</span> ===
  
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<span style="font-size:small;">DRF invests on a founder-friendly uncapped convertible note. This means that the student investment group loans money to a startup, but instead of receiving the invested money back after a certain time period, the note converts into stock.&nbsp;However, if the startup is successful without raising additional capital or pursuing equity financing, the note may not convert and the startup can choose to simply repay the note plus a very nominal (around 2%) interest rate. The Dorm Room Fund operates as transparently as possible so that every aspect of their terms and conditions are clearly understood.&nbsp;Knowing the risk in investing in student start-ups, the DRF fully understands that a '''failed company is not the same as a failed entrepreneur'''. As long as all persons involved learned from the failure, the student investment group views the money invested in the student start-up as tuition paid toward an entrepreneurial education. The Dorm Room Fund takes a loss and the founders '''DO NOT need to repay the money'''&nbsp;under any circumstances.</span>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-198f9028-de1a-5059-00c2-0c8aeafcff54"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Student founders can submit an application to the DRF website with the option to include a pitch deck. The website stresses the importance of two main components in an application. The first thing partners look for is a strategy for how the company plans to grow either capital or users quickly and effectively. The second thing they look for is where the ideas are coming from. DRF partners want to have faith in the success of the people they are investing in. Based off of these criteria, the investment partners decide whether or not a startup should join DRF's program.</span></span>
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<div></div>
 
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== '''The&nbsp;Support System'''<br/> ==
 
  
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<span style="font-size:small;">The most incredible thing about this program by far is the knowledge and experience that the RA ([http://dormroomfund.com/about#advisors DRF Advisors]) support system gives to the student entrepreneurs.&nbsp;The 60 RA's have a combined 450 years of entrepreneurial experience and together have produced $2.7 Billion in exit revenue. This network gives students accepted into the program a huge advantage from the advice and recourses they receive.&nbsp;</span>
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== Contact'''&nbsp;''' ==
  
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= Impact Achieved For Students and Campus =
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[https://dormroomfund.com/ <span id="docs-internal-guid-198f9028-ddfc-152c-bbf9-e2ef1ed5c871"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(45, 86, 136); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Website</span><span style="text-decoration-line: underline; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span>]
  
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<span style="font-size:medium"><span style="font-size:small;">Even though the program is fairly young (celebrating its first year, 2013),&nbsp;<span data-scaytid="21" data-scayt_word="DRF">DRF</span> has already funded 24 companies. The successful ones can all be viewed at <span data-scaytid="26" data-scayt_word="DRFs">DRFs</span> [http://dormroomfund.com/portfolio, portfolio page]&nbsp;or in the gallery below. The portfolio CEO's come from a variety of schools which include <span data-scaytid="28" data-scayt_word="Upenn">Upenn</span>, Columbia, Stanford, <span data-scaytid="29" data-scayt_word="UC">UC</span> Berkeley, NYU, Dartmouth, MIT, and Princeton; like the universities listed, the&nbsp;companies funded are in extremely different fields</span>.</span> <gallery mode="packed-hover">
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[https://www.facebook.com/DormRoomFund <span id="docs-internal-guid-198f9028-ddfc-152c-bbf9-e2ef1ed5c871"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(45, 86, 136); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Facebook</span><span style="text-decoration-line: underline; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span>]
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</gallery>
 
  
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= Steps Required To Bring Resource to Campus =
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[https://twitter.com/DormRoomFund <span id="docs-internal-guid-198f9028-ddfc-152c-bbf9-e2ef1ed5c871"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(45, 86, 136); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twitter</span></span>]
  
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<span style="font-size:small;">The Dorm Room Fund mainly operates in the 5 cities listed above, but state on the website that the student investment group does not completely rule out investing in companies outside of those particular 5 cities. If you do live in [http://dormroomfund.com/newyork New York City],&nbsp;[http://dormroomfund.com/bayarea San Francisco Bay Area],&nbsp;[http://dormroomfund.com/philly Philadelphia], and&nbsp;[http://dormroomfund.com/boston Boston]&nbsp;follow these links to learn more about the specific network in your city. To get them associated with your campus, simply get a start up from your school to fill out the&nbsp;[http://dormroomfund.com/apply application form]. Since the Dorm Room Fund is in its infancy (1 year old!) and has already spread to five major cities, the possibilities to spread to additional locations, especially if there is already an established entrepreneurial environment, are open.</span>
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[https://medium.com/@dormroomfund <span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(45, 86, 136); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Medium Blog</span>]
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<div>Last Edited by: [http://universityinnovation.org/wiki/Cheyanne_Wheat Cheyanne Wheat], [http://universityinnovation.org/wiki/Liyang_Feng Liyang Feng], [http://universityinnovation.org/wiki/Joshua_Lim Joshua Lim]</div>
  
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= Contact Information =
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[[Category:Organizations]]
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<span style="font-size:small;">If interested, the best way to contact the Dorm Room Fund is through their website,&nbsp;[http://dormroomfund.com/ dormroomfund.com]. On the website you will find a contact form and a tab to submit a business idea to be accepted into their program. You can also connect with the student investment group on&nbsp;[https://www.facebook.com/DormRoomFund Facebook]&nbsp;and&nbsp;[https://twitter.com/dormroomfund Twitter].</span>
 

Latest revision as of 10:59, 2 June 2020

DRF.png

Overview

Dorm Room Fund (DRF) is a five-year-old venture capital firm that invests in student founded companies. The firm, backed by First Round Capital, invests in companies where at least one founding member is a student, undergraduate or graduate. DRF’s investment teams consist of small committees of students on campuses in the New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and the Bay Area. Each investment team is given $500,000 to invest in student-run startups in order to bring their ideas from the “dorm to the market.”

The Program

Once accepted into the program, founders are given access to all of the resources at DRF. On top of providing $20,000 of capital, DRF investment partners meet regularly with founders to help them learn fundraising, launch strategy, growth, and hiring. In addition, DRF connects founders to a vibrant community of talented entrepreneurs, world-class advisors, investors, industry leaders, and mentors to help them solve their key problems.  

Stats

  • DRF has invested in 150 startups that have gone on to raise over $300 million in additional funding from Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, Union Square Ventures, Sequoia Capital and more. Here are a few of those startups:
Partners.png
  • DRF represented the largest community in Y Combinator's Spring 2017 batch with 8 startups.
  • Over $1 billion in value has been created by DRF companies. With multiple portfolio companies raising rounds of over $10 million within the last 6 months alone, students are rapidly building some of the most promising companies in the country.
  • Student founders come from schools all across North America:
Schools.png

How to Apply 

Student founders can submit an application to the DRF website with the option to include a pitch deck. The website stresses the importance of two main components in an application. The first thing partners look for is a strategy for how the company plans to grow either capital or users quickly and effectively. The second thing they look for is where the ideas are coming from. DRF partners want to have faith in the success of the people they are investing in. Based off of these criteria, the investment partners decide whether or not a startup should join DRF's program.

Contact 

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Medium Blog

Last Edited by: Cheyanne Wheat, Liyang Feng, Joshua Lim
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