Draper University

In 2011 Tim Draper bought and renovated the Ben Franklin, an eight-story hotel built in 1926 in downtown San Mateo, and also bought a former bank building and a large building across the street, the latter planned as a startup incubator called “Hero City at Draper University”; the three properties were assessed at $15.6 million. After buying the hotel, Draper turned it into a school at his son’s suggestion; he said: “I’ve always wanted to start a school.”⁠[1][2]

Following a pilot, Draper University of Heroes held its first session from April 17 to June 7, 2013, with 42 students from 17 countries, followed by a six-week summer session from June 24 to August 2. Participants aged 18 to 26 paid $9,500 per session and were selected through an online application. The program replaced traditional teachers with speakers who have real-world experience, and its curriculum ranged from marketing, negotiation, finance and pitching to venture capitalists to survival training, martial arts, yoga and first aid; students pitched to investors at the end of the program.⁠[2]

Draper said he hoped to find great entrepreneurs among the students who would need capital, adding, “I’ll be the first in line.” The program is unaccredited; Draper called accreditation “a box we don’t want to be put into.”⁠[2][1]

In January 2015 Draper grouped Draper University and related organizations into the “Draper Ecosystem,” which he said “revolves around growing entrepreneurs and providing deal flow for Draper Associates.” Draper University ran a seven-week program four times a year at $9,500 in tuition, with scholarships available; Hero City was an incubator and co-working space across the street; VCx was a one-week, invitation-only program teaching high-net-worth individuals how to invest in early-stage companies; and a one-week executive education program targeted corporate executives. Counting the eighth class, which had just started, Draper University then had more than 300 alumni from 38 countries, and Andrew Tang had become its chief executive.⁠[3]

In June 2015 ABCABCABC (American Broadcasting Company) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It grew out of NBC’s Blue radio network, took its name after becoming independent in 1943, developed into a national television network after merging with United Paramount Theatres in 1953, was acquired by Capital Cities in 1985, and has been owned by The Walt Disney Company since 1996. With CBS and NBC it is one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks, and it is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry Family announced the cast of Startup U, a docu-series following 10 entrepreneurs through Draper University’s seven-week program as they prepared to pitch venture capitalists; it was scheduled to premiere at 8 p.m. on August 18, with Tim Draper among its executive producers. The show’s profile of Draper said that over the previous three years more than 180 student ideas had been funded with more than $20 million.⁠[4]

Draper University’s website lists programs including Hero Training, Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship and the GO! Entrepreneurship Immersion Program, and says that over the previous ten years it invested in alumni companies and currently counts eight unicorns among them.⁠[5]

Draper University: Official website: https://draperuniversity.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[5]