Aspiring entrepreneurs from the Dartmouth Kairos Society attended the fourth annual Kairos Global Summit Feb. 2-5. The event, co-sponsored by the Kairos Society, the United Nations and the New York Stock Exchange, brought together 350 entrepreneurial students and 150 influential world leaders, according to the summit's website.
At the 2012 summit, Riley Ennis '15 and Gary Le '15 were named as members of the "Kairos 50," a group of the 50 most innovative and promising young entrepreneurs from universities around the world. They presented their ideas to leading international entrepreneurs on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Ennis founded Immudicon LLC, a company aimed at developing a breast cancer vaccine. "I had this idea and was working on it over the summer, but I came here and sat on it because I forgot my passion and energy," Ennis said. "Kairos made me realize that this idea was worth working for and made me realize that it was really something that I could make happen."
Le began a company called PowerTestPrep, which he said aims to help students in both the United States and China prepare for standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT by pairing them with tutors who achieved exam scores in the top 1 percent.
"In 36 hours, the conference changed my life because I met the investors that I needed and the connections I need in China from the top universities," Le said. "I had connections, but this just solidified it."
The Kairos Society was founded in 2008 as a student-run, non-profit organization with the goal of making international connections between the world's current entrepreneurial leaders and the most promising startups. Kairos focuses on helping solve the world's most pressing problems in areas such as health, education and sustainability, according to the organization's website. Kairos consists of over 700 fellows worldwide and is established in 14 countries over four continents.
Noah Bond '13 and Dexter Zhuang '13 founded the Dartmouth chapter of the Kairos Society last term.
"I noticed that there wasn't really a support network in place for Dartmouth students who were passionate about entrepreneurship, and I saw the Kairos as that support network that could help people launch their ventures," Zhuang said.
At Dartmouth, Kairos provides a community where young entrepreneurs can share ideas with one another, acting as a "catalyst for social innovation and entrepreneurship," according to Bond.
Kairos is working to give the best entrepreneurs at Dartmouth the resources they need to push their ideas forward and engage in collaborative discussion, according to Zhuang.
"We're connecting them with alums because mentorship is a huge part of entrepreneurship," Zhuang said. "We're also helping them find access to funding, gain publicity and find support from other young entrepreneurs."
Members of the society hope to extend beyond Dartmouth in other ways, such as traveling to Boston for conferences with Kairos chapters at schools like Tufts University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other institutions, Bond said.
"In the future, we'd love to develop a regional summit where entrepreneurs, Darmtouth alums, professors and people in the Upper Valley can come out and meet our fellows," he said.
Zhuang said the society is also looking to broaden membership by reaching out to more if campus' promising entrepreneurs.
Bringing the Kairos Society to Dartmouth has filled a need for an entrepreneurial group fostering international connections that was previously unmet, Bond said.
"In order to stay relevant in a global society, Dartmouth has to take initiatives and efforts to get our students connected with the outside world and get us to think about how we can develop socially conscious technologies and solve problems in health care and energy," Bond said. "Of all the people who can start successful ventures, it's Dartmouth students we're talented, smart and passionate."
