Olin Startup Grants boost WashU alum startups, give students VC experience

The first-ever Olin Startup Grants will help two WashU alumni take the next big step in their dreams to reinvent eye care healthcare management and tech manufacturing.

The experience also gave students in Jeremy Degenhart’s Venture Capital Practice class a glimpse behind the curtain of the VC world, helping them understand what VC funds look for when deciding whether to invest.

“I was so jealous — I would have been desperate to be in this class as a student,” said Colton Calandrella, BSBA 2017, whose eye care electronic health records platform Barti was one of the two winning startups. “It gives students great experience and helps provide more exposure to Olin.”

The other winning startup was uFab, which has developed a technology for in-house production of printed circuit boards. The company’s founder is Tyler Richards, BSEE 2022. Each winner received a $25,000 non-dilutive grant.

Olin’s Venture Capital Practice course is open to undergraduate, specialized master’s, and MBA students. This year’s class expanded on an earlier version of the course that introduced students to the world of venture capital.

Howard “Buddy” Foster, MBA 2024, now a full-time associate at Mudita Venture Partners, found the VC practice course invaluable while at Olin. Foster particularly cited the expertise of Degenhart, a professor of practice and venture partner at Advantage Capital Partners, a St. Louis impact investment firm.

“There’s no one who knows the world of VC, the different models in that space, better than Jeremy Degenhart,” he said. When Degenhart told him about planned changes to the course for fall 2024, Foster said he was on board immediately. “I was happy to help however possible. That class gave so much to me, helping me meet people who wanted to do the same thing I did.”

As in previous years, students heard from venture capital professionals about how to analyze proposals and make funding decisions. In addition, with the help of Foster and other industry mentors, students chose two recipients for the new Olin Startup Grants. Eligible startups had to be founded by WashU alumni or St. Louis-based.

VC Practice student Che-Pei "Pat" Kung, PMBA 2025, was on the team of students who reviewed applicants to choose the Olin Startup winners. Kung is a staff scientist at WashU Medicine who works in drug discovery in cancer research and has an idea for his own startup.

He said the class gave him a useful window into the venture capital process, particularly since some applicants were themselves working on drug discovery and biomedical devices.

"I do feel a little closer to those types of companies, just because it’s actually part of what I’m trying to do personally," Kung said. "I would consider a couple of these companies to be a few years ahead of my own project. So that was very informative to me, seeing the process from both sides of the coin."

Kung said he learned a lot from watching the presentations and took away several key points that will help him in his own future pitches: Understanding the target market. Articulating how the specific grant can help the company grow. Presenting a polished presentation.

Degenhart believes the course is valuable to both aspiring venture capitalists and those like Kung who will be pitching to them. “By primary intent, it is geared more towards VCs but seeing what VCs look for in deals and how they judge deal quality also provides great insights for founders,” he said.

Foster goes further: “If you’re in finance and you go into corporate development, you’re going to be asking similar questions of founders. You’d ask the same questions if you were in corporate innovation doing product development.

Learning how to ask the right questions at the right time, in the right way — having that skill set is incredibly important, no matter what field you’re going into. It’s not something that is easily taught; it has to be practiced.  

Buddy Foster

Foster is happy that in bringing this practical aspect to the class, Degenhart hasn’t eliminated the speakers who made his classroom experience so rich.

“I still keep up with some of the guest speakers (from his class),” Foster said. “They’ve become mentors. Those relationships have been incredibly valuable.”

And now Foster and founders like Calandrella have become a part of the chain of relationships forged in the VC practice class over the years.

“It’s very cool, coming full circle,” Calandrella said.