Cultivating a community of global entrepreneurs

Learn what becoming part of the MIT Bootcamps community can mean for you.

The ‘lone wolf’ myth

Entrepreneurship is infamously known as a career path for the ‘lone wolf’. Someone who is a hustler, a go-getter, a quick decision maker —or perhaps they happen to have whatever ‘it’ is that makes them an entrepreneur. But, many educators have worked to debunk this myth about entrepreneurs –and bring it to a wider audience around the world.?

With the first online course in their series, Entrepreneurship 101, 102, and 103, Bill Aulet and Erdin Beshimov took online learners through the 24 steps of becoming a “disciplined” entrepreneur. They showed that entrepreneurship is something that can be taught in a rigorous and systematic way in an educational setting.?

Finding a space of belonging?

In 2014, the very first Bootcamp began with the goal of supplementing the online learning from “Entrepreneurship 101” with an in-person, practical, entrepreneurial experience where learners could apply the disinclined approach to entrepreneurship with a diverse team of learners from all around the world. Bootcampers went through what startups face in the first 2-3 years of operations in just one-week on campus at MIT.?

While the content provided Bootcampers with a toolkit for innovation and a process for building their own venture, they gained something even greater at the Bootcamp. By working with and forming lifelong bonds with? a diverse group of like-minded individuals, this very first cohort gained a community of support along their entrepreneurial journey.?

“It's not just a network; it's a powerhouse of ideas, support, and inspiration. Together, we're proving that dreams know no borders, and entrepreneurship has no limits. Any problem you can think of, there is somebody in the group who has gone through it and willing to share insights. Any country you visit, there is someone there who is willing to connect and help.” - Dr. Wasim Mohideen (Doc Waz) , 2014 MIT Bootcamp Graduate???

Since the first Bootcamp, we have added over 1800 new graduates to the community and many of the first members are still as active today as they were 8 years ago. By selecting individuals for the Bootcamp, we are not only selecting them for the program but also for the future of our innovation community. Together, they have built companies, invested in one another, and become lifelong friends and mentors.??

As the MIT Bootcamp graduate community has grown, we recognized that in order to best support our graduates, our avenues of support needed to evolve. Hearing directly from our graduates, we have shifted what we provide after the conclusion of our programs.

Harnessing the power of community?

The Bootcamp community has members from over 100 countries. They have raised over $100 million dollars and are regularly featured in news media around the world. The diversity of the community makes it a unique community of innovators and there are many ways to stay connected — online and in-person.?

On Discord, the Founder’s Voyage community’s goal is to “facilitate collaboration, learning, and meaningful engagement amongst entrepreneurial-minded individuals.“ Managed by Nancy Nash , a 2016 MIT Bootcamp graduate, the group regularly hosts live fireside chats with community members who share their entrepreneurial experiences with a live Q&A.?

In addition to the online communities, many members have found ways to stay connected in-person. From spontaneous connections, to planned gatherings, there are many stories we hear about nurturing friendships as well as beginning businesses together.?

Nicky Agahari , a 2017 MIT Bootcamp graduate and current Bootcamp coach, attended the Harvard HealthTech Fellowship in 2021 where he worked on InConfidence, an overactive bladder solution that gives patients control and discretion via smart technology. During his time at Harvard, he reconnected with Dr. Helena Franco , a 2019 Bootcamps graduate, who is now the director of innovation as well as Dr. Mihir Shanker , a 2017 Bootcamps graduate, as the COO. InConfidence won top honors at the Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge and has secured its first investors, one of whom is a MIT Bootcamp graduate, too. Agahari shares that it would have been hard to get from ideation to commercialization without the Bootcamps network.?

Access to exclusive content?

As part of our commitment to continued entrepreneurial success for our community, we offer exclusive MIT content that keeps on growing by the year. We dive into cutting-edge topics, engage with thought leaders, and work to continue to expand your innovation toolkit even after you say your goodbyes and your program comes to an end. Most recently, we have kicked off a webinar series called, “Living with AI”, where we have MIT faculty share their expertise and their research in this topic area, like Professor Cynthia Breazeal , Professor of Media Arts and Sciences and Founder & Director Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab. With a mix of content and community support, we hope to usher you into the next step of your career long after your time with us on campus or online.?

Graduate discounts for you and your network

We believe in creating cohorts of strong students who are poised for success. To achieve this, we offer graduate discounts for all future Bootcamps programming, so you can nurture your passion for innovation no matter the direction it takes you.?

Part of our reason for building the Venture Advancement Program was to offer our community members the opportunity to build on their learnings and businesses created after taking our foundational Bootcamp. Bhisham Sahi , CEO & Founder of The Pixelate, attended the second MIT Bootcamp in Seoul, South Korea in 2016, where he learned the frameworks of entrepreneurship and applied them to his business with immediate impact. More than 8 years later, he came back to MIT to understand how to scale this same business and reconnect with the people who transformed his career trajectory as an entrepreneur.?

In addition to offering discounts and specific programming for our graduates, we also offer a discount to your friends, family, and larger network. With your support, the community of innovators only gets stronger and you have the ability to shape it into a fantastic resource for yourself and for others.?

The MIT connection?

Being an MIT Bootcamp graduate means you're part of a growing global network that spans across industries and domains.?

We designed an MIT Bootcamp graduate directory that focuses on sharing what you’re looking for (ex. fundraising tips, mentorship, connecting with co-founders) and how you can give back (ex.providing mentorship, organizing meets-up, providing skill area expertise) and? in addition to sharing some general information with your fellow community members.?

In addition to the Graduate Directory, we share a quarterly MIT Bootcamps graduates newsletter to keep you updated on resources, opportunities, and insights, ensuring you remain at the forefront of innovation updates. Plus, the connections you forge within our community extend to broader networks – we have graduates who have attended MIT’s IDM program, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Harvard’s HealthTech Fellowship, and many other esteemed programs.?

What’s next??

After you complete the Bootcamp, you’re not only handed a certificate — you're becoming part of an extraordinary community that champions and enables collaboration, innovation, and personal growth for entrepreneurs for life. Graduating from the Bootcamp isn’t only about learning a more disciplined approach to entrepreneurship, it's a pathway to unlocking your entrepreneurial potential while nurturing lifelong connections that span the globe through these lifelong MIT Bootcamps benefits.?