University of Georgia graduates are among the nation’s most likely founders of unicorn companies — privately held startups valued at more than $1 billion — according to a recent analysis of venture-backed entrepreneurs.
The analysis, conducted by a faculty member in the Stanford Graduate School of Business, ranked UGA No. 8 nationally for the likelihood that its graduates will found a unicorn company after receiving venture capital funds. Other universities on the list included Yale, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth.
The University of Georgia was the highest-ranking Georgia school on the list and the only SEC institution.
“That our VC-backed founders are nearly 50% more likely than average to become a unicorn is a true testament to the talent of our students, the vitality of our startup community and the strength of our global UGA community,” said Chris Rhodes, executive director of UGA’s Innovation District.
The study was led by Ilya Strebulaev, the David S. Lobel Professor of Private Equity at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. It examined universities that have produced at least 10 unicorn founders and calculated the odds that a graduate would go on to launch a billion-dollar startup.
UGA grads are approximately 48% more likely to establish a unicorn company compared with other universities with at least 10 unicorn founders, according to the analysis.
Strebulaev conducts research on venture capital and innovation, and he often posts the results on his LinkedIn page. He is also the founder of Stanford’s Venture Capital Initiative.
The ranking reflects UGA’s long-standing commitment to entrepreneurship and innovation through a range of programs.
The UGA Entrepreneurship Program, for example, provides students with experiential learning opportunities, a certificate program in entrepreneurship, business boot camps and many other opportunities to hone business acumen while also translating ideas into real products and services.
UGA is home to the Launch Pad, a residential learning community that houses up to 40 aspiring entrepreneurs from all majors. Those students have access to a makerspace with 3D printing, Raspberry Pi support and other tools for prototyping. Another makerspace is open to all students through the UGA Libraries.
Students studying as part of the Entrepreneurship Program also have regular opportunities to pitch ideas to angel investors or to secure privately funded seed grants to help grow their business ventures.
The university’s Innovation District is responsible for overseeing much of this activity, and it serves to connect students, faculty and industry partners to promote entrepreneurship, startup development and the commercialization of technologies.
Innovation Gateway, UGA’s intellectual property licensing and startup support arm, has a long history of nurturing ideas born out of UGA research into profitable commercial ventures.
Thanks in part to the support of these initiatives, the University of Georgia has ranked No. 1 among U.S. universities for the number of commercial products brought to market by industry partners for three straight years.