New On-campus House Fosters Entrepreneurship

The Yellow House for Entrepreneurship, established this year by the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative as a space to foster an entrepreneurial community on Georgetown University’s campus, is off to a robust start. Six Georgetown undergraduates — four seniors and two juniors — inhabit the house and assist in the planning and execution of community-building events.

On October 23, they launched a series of conversational networking events called “Startup Stories,” which features local entrepreneurs. These guest speakers share their successes and learning experiences with students in a casual, fireside chat format at the Yellow House. Every Friday afternoon, the students also host coworking “hangouts” as an opportunity to meet fellow student entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship-related clubs and student startups also may use the Yellow House for meetings and brainstorming sessions. The house offers extensive open hours, and students are encouraged to utilize the working space to explore their business ideas.

Jeff Reid, founding director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative at the McDonough School of Business, believes the Yellow House is well on its way to fulfilling its vision.

“We see Yellow House as Georgetown’s answer to Bill Gates’ ‘garage’ – a place where students can work on their business ideas and share problems and solutions with their peers in a casual, welcoming environment,” Reid said. “We see the house as a place where Georgetown students can create the future.”

Ethan Rosen (B’19) has enjoyed living in the Yellow House thus far. “Not only is the house beautiful, but the people in the house inspire me every day to be innovative and hardworking,” Rosen said. “Everyone in our house has had such different paths up until this point that it truly makes every conversation fascinating and a learning experience.”