Stefanos Zenios working with students in the NPG CoLab. | Photo by Steve Castillo
For nearly a decade, students have learned to create and launch new ventures in innovative course.
The rigorous, inquiry-based course Startup Garage is known across the Stanford campus for its unique use of design thinking, lean startup methodologies, flipped classroom approach, and real-world application. Since the class was first offered by Stanford GSB and Stanford d.school, nearly ten years ago, more than 130 viable businesses have been created.
Led by Stefanos Zenios, professor of operations, information & technology, along with a number of other professors, students are encouraged to formulate and test their ideas, push hard, and ultimately learn by proving or disproving their initial concepts.
“For many students, the mindset is ‘I want to make this hypothesis work,’” Zenios says. “Whereas we want to teach the mindset: ‘I want to discover if this hypothesis is valid or not — and if it’s not valid, why not.’”
Students have worked on everything from online marketplaces to artisan gift companies to meal delivery services to supply chain businesses. In 2018, we took a look at a few ventures of the ventures created in Startup Garage.
Launched in 2013 by Tony Xu, MBA ’13; Stanley Tang, BS ’14; and Andy Fang, BS ’14
The well-known online service that delivers meals directly from restaurants to customers was launched in 2013. Xu, Tang, and Fang cooked up their concept after interviewing the owner of a small but popular macaroon shop, who said customers were eager to have cookies delivered to their offices. They expanded on that idea and went on to major success.
Launched in 2017 by Charlie Maynard, MBA ’17 and Raymond Murthi, MSc ’07 (Carnegie Mellon)
Maynard wanted to connect students with financial aid opportunities. He remembers his team’s initial research didn’t take into account the scholarship providers. “The class helped us ask really simple questions that we hadn’t thought to ask,” Maynard says. Once his team began tackling the issues from the perspective of both students and providers, they accelerated quickly. Today, their mission is to “give every student equal access to life-changing education.”
Dachille led her group in Startup Garage to create Nimble, a company that uses data-driven solutions for school districts looking to hire teachers and increase retention rates. She entered the class knowing what she wanted to create but without a clue where to begin. “Startup Garage teaches you how to come up with hypotheses, test those hypotheses, and get as close to actually doing it as you can — while also being a student,” she says. Nimble’s motto: “Great teachers change lives.”
Read the full, original story for more GSB alumni businesses that rolled out of the Startup Garage.
