Our Story
As the first and longest-running Living Learning Community at Babson College, eTower is celebrating over 20 years of fostering entrepreneurship and innovation.
The Founding
Andrew Foley, Founder of eTower
eTower was founded by Andrew Foley, then a sophomore at Babson College. Andrew realized that there was a small subset of Babson students who were actively pursuing startups while in college, and had one big question...
"What if we created a live-in incubator of the best entrepreneurial minds on campus?"
The Establishment
It didn't take long for this group to realize the power of having so many motivated, entrepreneurially-minded students living together. The founding team found major growth in their venture ideas, including IdeaPaint, one of the first companies to come out of eTower.
Fun Fact:
The IdeaPaint founders painted the entire tower walls with their prototype, making the eTower space uniquely suited for innovation with erasable whiteboard walls that are still used today for ideation and announcements!
The Fumble
Around ten years after its founding, eTower had become extremely competitive, pushing each other as founders to the max. This environment, while good-intentioned, went to some extremes. It became very exclusive and isolated from the Babson entrepreneurial ecosystem at large.
This led the organization to lose housing for two semesters, which served as a wake-up call.
The Re-Establishment
The group took a step back and, with the leadership of Diana Yuan '15, thoughtfully developed community guidelines to ensure that eTower maintained its supportive environment.
Community Guidelines:
- Be passionate about entrepreneurial thought and action
- Strive to create economic and social change
- Support each other to promote personal and professional growth
- Work hard to achieve personal and professional goals
- Help the organization run smoothly
- Give back to the Babson community
- Collaborate with other organizations
- Leverage faculty resources
The Growth Era
After establishing a newfound foundation balancing entrepreneurship and community, a renaissance era of eTower blossomed. The community began an outward expansion with the execution of big ideas, including the Young Entrepreneurs Conference (YEC) and ePitch.
ePitch
A watershed moment in eTower history. With an audience of hundreds, three incredible entrepreneurs pitched to a panel of judges similar in caliber to those of Shark Tank. eTower resident, Ryan Laverty '20, pitched his text message learning company, Arist, and secured significant funding from the judges.
Seed Fund
Allowed residents to apply for funding up to $1,500 to help move their ventures forward, providing crucial early-stage support for budding entrepreneurs.
The COVID Era
eTower adapted to the challenges of the global pandemic, transitioning from a 21-person living and learning community to a hybrid model with 15 in-person residents and others scattered across the country. Despite the challenges, eTower continued to innovate and provide value to the Babson community.
Achievement Highlight
eTower won SGA's Most Creative/Best Event of the Year for our event with Tariq Cherif, Founder of Rolling Loud, demonstrating resilience and adaptability in difficult times.
Post-Covid
Emerging from the COVID era, eTower celebrated its 20th anniversary with the first-ever Alumni Gala celebration. The 20th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign was launched with the ambitious goal of raising $100,000, including a matching contribution of $40,000 by Professor Len Green.
eTower continues to be an example of what's possible when like-minded students come together with the intention of growth and innovation.