StartupCorps helps city youth launch restaurant, record label

We already know that Philly is a hot spot for new startups, but we may see a whole lot more entrepreneurial action in the coming years, thanks to StartupCorps, an emerging youth entrepreneurship program.

Finishing its first academic year in June, StartupCorps has given away $3,500 in startup capital to Science Leadership Academy students, says founder Christian Kunkel.

Kunkel, originally from Harrisburg, has always had Philly in his blood, and when he dreamed up the idea for StartupCorps, he knew just where to take it.

“I’ve always been a Philly fan, and I moved to the area with the explicit intent of executing StartupCorps,” Kunkel says. “Historically there have been so many problems in the Philadelphia education system. Now they actually have a lot of innovative things going on, and there is a lot of flexibility to grow the program.”

Read more

myDunkTank.com makes a cowboy out of Blake Jennelle

Blake Jennelle, receiving the oath of his 'urban cowboy' office from City Councilman Bill Green in front of a City Hall that is, by our best estimation, entirely unrelated to Philadelphia. Screenshot via a video from Revzilla

No one can be sure about the accuracy of Blake Jennelle‘s stereotype of a cowboy. Or how authentically the Philly Startup Leaders co-founder says ‘howdy.’

But what Jennelle has done is made a pledge, donned a Western hat and begun a month of wandering Philadelphia as an urban cowboy, the pledge he made as part of myDunkTank, the new experimental fundraising website launched last month by Jennelle and partner Chap Ambrose.

Read more

Startup Roundup: D.C.’s startup soul offers lessons, DreamIT-backed SCVNGR growing strong, TicketLeap redesigns

Introducing Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup. Here, we’ll parse out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

Philly Startup Leader Founder Blake Jennelle writes long-form about Washington D.C.’s “startup soul,” after taking in the scene there earlier this month. There’s a lot for Philly to learn from it’s neighbor to the south, Jennelle says, and we’ve got much in common. Like Philly, growth comes from the grassroots, but D.C. lacks a central community of entrepreneurs. And our brethren know Philadelphia. “The reputation of [Philly's] creative communities is strong,” he writes.

Read more