It may be summer break, but the Washington University campus is about to be buzzing with entrepreneurial activity! The Skandalaris Center is hosting startup founders, interns, and fellows for a 10-week program aimed at providing valuable experience working in the St. Louis startup ecosystem. Summer with Skandy participants will take part in an IdeaBounce®, tour Delmar Divine, hear from a variety of St. Louis entrepreneurs and experts, and much more over the course of the program.

Twenty-one startups, primarily consisting of finalists from the fall 2022 and spring 2023 cycles of the Skandalaris Venture Competition, are taking part in the summer accelerator program. Each team will have free co-working space, intern support, and will participate in programming tailored specifically for early stage startups. These student and recent-graduate founders have elected to spend the summer in St. Louis focusing on their companies, with the goal of taking their ventures to the next level. We are excited to have them here and support them in their efforts!

Twenty-seven undergrads have received an internship and stipend from the Skandalaris Center to support the startup teams this summer. Each founder was responsible for interviewing and selecting their intern(s), with the goal of adding valuable skills to their team. In addition to working with their designated startup, each intern will also take part in weekly programming that will introduce them to the entrepreneurship community in St. Louis and provide insights into what it takes to run a startup.

In addition to the founders and interns, our 10 St. Louis Entrepreneurial Fellows will also be taking part in Skandalaris programming in conjunction with interning at a local early-stage startup this summer. The Fellows will also be working on capstone projects aimed at identifying and addressing a perceived gap in the St. Louis entrepreneurial ecosystem. It’s going to be a busy summer, but we can’t wait to see what our founders, interns and Fellows accomplish!

Stay tuned throughout the summer to learn more about these startups, founders, and teams! Many of our Summer with Skandy events will be open to the public, and community members are welcome and encouraged to attend – you can find more information on our events page. We hope to see you this summer!