🎙️ 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."
✅ 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
🔔 Subscribe for more unfiltered startup masterclasses
📬 Know a student founder who needs this? Share it with them now!
Join my community of 60,000+ people!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anshumansinha1/
Website: https://theanshumansinha.com/
🔔 Subscribe for More Interviews from Startup Trailblazers