Edge X
Got what it takes to create a startup?Starting your own company can be hard. Let us be there for you when you need it, every step of the way.
Edge X is the brand-new startup accelerator program at UChicago.
Join us in building a lifelong community of student startup founders and amazing mentors.
- What the heck is Edge X?Whatever your major, your experience, or your skills, Edge X incubates startups at any stage of development.
Amazing mentorshipIn Edge X, you get a seasoned startup CEO from Techstars as your personal mentor. They work with you weekly, and together you'll pinpoint strategies to solve your startup's biggest challenges.Learn more below >
Supportive communityOver weekly dinners, you'll learn alongside your fellow Edge X startups, giving and getting feedback on your progress
and setbacks. We think you'll make
some great friends along the way.Learn more below >
Powerful networkGet lifelong access to UChicago's only network for aspiring entrepreneurs.
We'll double your tech connections with investors, designers, coders, and founders from world-class companies.Learn more below > - Make it happen.Individualized weekly instruction from seasoned entrepreneurs who have each raised over $100,000.
When you get into Edge X, we help you select a mentor from our mentor team of Techstars CEOs. We make an introduction and then we hand over the reins to you—you get to set up weekly meetings on your own terms.Together you and your mentor pinpoint strategies to launch and grow your startup, even if you're just getting started. Each week you have their undivided attention to talk everything from progress to setbacks to favorite pizza joints.Huge thanks to Techstars—one of the most prestigious accelerators worldwide—for helping us do this. This is crazy. This has never been done. - Share, debate, learn.A diverse community of founders who are leading the charge.
Our dinners are open to all: Tuesdays at 7:00pm at the Chicago Innovation Exchange, 1452 E 53rd St.If mentor meetings are the brain of Edge X, the weekly dinners are its heart. Each Tuesday evening, all the Edge X teams meet up. We break bread, talk shop, goof off. Most importantly, every team gets everyone else's input on how things are going.To be clear, it doesn't matter if you're a rookie founder or you've started several companies before—if you're in Edge X, your input is valuable. Every team will enter Edge X with different challenges before them, and that's intentional. Discussion works better when participants are diverse.Every so often, we'll also switch it up with field trips to Northwestern, investor visits, group workshops, and other fun stuff. - Network for days.We've brought together investors, entrepreneurs, engineers, lawyers, designers, marketers, salespeople, consultants, bankers, traders, and more to supplement our mentors. And we're just getting started.
When you join Edge X, you join a tech network that will continue to grow year after year, even after you graduate. No matter what happens to your startup, once you're in Edge X, you have lifelong access to the network.We're a young program, but we have huge ambitions. We hope you'll help make them a reality. - TeamEdge X is a new experiment, and we're not going to get everything right the first time around.
Here's who to blame when things go wrong:
Connor SoltasEdge Co-Director, Edge X LeadConnor’s from New Jersey. He hunts the hidden passages on campus you read about, which are real. As a designer and developer, he has worked at several accelerators including Techstars. His hobbies include discussing how the weather is up there.
Bryan WaterhouseEdge X LeadBryan hails from Ohio. He enjoys long walks on the beach and crushing the souls of his enemies. He studies economics and computer science but sometimes would rather take a nap. He plays soccer, runs an ed-tech company, and does slam poetry.
Chase PackardEdge X LeadChase is from Washington, D.C. and spends his time playing baseball and doing things other than writing this mini-bio. He's a Computer Science major with experience working at startups and building a mobile app of his own.
