Celebrating five years of Campus, a home for startups
We’re big believers in the power of startups to fuel progress and build businesses that make a positive impact—on individuals, communities and economies. But most great startups don’t go it alone: A supportive community is critical to their success. That’s why five years ago, we opened the doors of Campus London and Campus Tel Aviv, our first spaces for entrepreneurs to learn, share, connect and collaborate.
Since then, Google for Entrepreneurs has gone on to open four more Campuses in Seoul, Madrid, Warsaw, São Paulo—and Campus now has 200,000+ members globally. While each location customizes trainings and events to reflect the needs of their city, they have a few key things in common: Anyone can join as a member, host an event for the benefit of local entrepreneurs, or attend educational sessions, all for free. And all of our Campus communities are made of people who see problems as opportunities and then take action to fix them. Founders in Campuses are working to improve the health of older generations with apps like KareInn, foster interaction between governments with citizens with Nama, and help babies and parents sleep better with a smart device called Whisbear.
Together, startups in Campus communities have created more than 11,000 jobs and raised more than $537 million in funding for entrepreneurs since 2012. Learn more about these founders and the Campuses they call home:In a challenging political environment, Nama, a machine learning startup, worked with the State of São Paulo to foster interactions with citizens through a chatbot—exchanging more than 7.5 million messages in less than 90 days. Nama is part of Campus São Paulo's Residency program. "Being part of this community in this Google space was instrumental for our growth over the past year," says founder Rodrigo Scotti.
With only 8 percent of startups founded by women in Korea, Hyemin Lee is an inspiration to many. Already a successful entrepreneur, she's now the cofounder of Finda. While working from Campus Seoul, she hired her first five employees for Finda, raised a $1M Series A round, and with help of Googlers implemented machine learning to her recommendation engine. She also serves as a mentor to women in the community.
New moms Zuzanna Sielicka-Kalczyńska and Julia Sielicka-Jastrzębska wanted to bring newborn babies (and their parents) more peaceful sleep. After years of trial and error, Whisbear was born, a smart soothing device. As participants in Campus for Moms, our baby-friendly startup school, and a two-week immersive startup bootcamp in Silicon Valley, their new global network is helping them take Whisbear beyond Campus Warsaw.
We’re so proud to support them!
