🎙️ Pitch. Fund. Scale. – Startup Masterclass in Bite-Sized Episodes
Guest: Dr. Thomas Duening, President – International Collegiate Angels Network (ICAN)
👇 Timestamps & Key Takeaways Below 👇
What if student founders have exactly what it takes to build breakout startups?
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Thomas Duening, a trailblazing academic-turned-entrepreneur and angel investor, now leading the International Collegiate Angels Network (ICAN). He shares bold insights on how students can pitch, fund, and scale—without waiting to "grow up."
We talk about:
✅ The truth about student startups
✅ What academia gets wrong about entrepreneurship
✅ Green flags and red flags investors spot in first-time founders
✅ Why student naivety might be an asset
✅ How to validate an idea when you have zero network
✅ The future of collegiate venture capital
Whether you're a university founder, early-stage investor, or just building from scratch—this episode is your crash course in rethinking who gets to win in the startup game.
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
01:22 – Dr. Duening’s startup journey & ICAN origin
05:15 – Why student founders are underestimated
09:50 – What investors miss about young founders
15:30 – Academic myths about entrepreneurship
21:40 – Raising capital without a network
26:15 – Quick fire: books, pitches & unfiltered advice
28:30 – Final message to every young founder
👍 Like this episode if you believe student founders are the future
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