Introducing the Origin Ventures Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership
We are excited to announce that Origin Ventures co-founders Steve Miller (through his family’s REAM Foundation) and Bruce Barron have provided the naming gift for the Origin Ventures Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership within the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. Read more about the gift.
The mission of the Origin Ventures Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership is to infuse entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking across every academic discipline of the University of Illinois. Steve, Bruce, Brent, and Jason are honored to lend the Origin Ventures name to a University that has produced many outstanding entrepreneurs over the years, including: Marc Andreessen, Larry Ellison, Tom Siebel, Shad Khan, along with the founders of PayPal, YouTube, and Yelp, plus the co-founder of Tesla.
I had a chance to talk to Steve and Bruce earlier this week to learn more about this generous gift.
“Bruce and I are both alumni, and giving back to the University of Illinois has been important to us since graduation. We are pleased to take this support to the next level by naming the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership. I’ve had the privilege of being around successful entrepreneurs my whole life: starting with my father and continuing with the talented leaders we’ve backed over the last 19 years at Origin Ventures,” commented Steve.
“We have immense respect for the founders we’ve met over the years,” added Bruce. “Entrepreneurs have to make a huge number of high-stakes decisions in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty. We are confident that the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership can help develop those decision-making skills, along with many others required for entrepreneurial success.”
“We’ve certainly learned valuable lessons in our previous operating roles as executives, and as we’ve built Origin Ventures. The Academy will create an environment in which important lessons like these can be conveyed to future generations of entrepreneurs,” added Steve.
