Kauffman Acquires StudentBusinesses

Wade Roush10/19/09

StudentBusinesses.com, a startup founded by a group of Harvard College graduates nearly two years ago to help entrepreneurial university students network with potential investors, advisors, and collaborators, has been acquired by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, MO, according to CEO and co-founder Travis May. The purchase price was undisclosed. The company’s online directory of student businesses and entrepreneurs, which is free to students and available by subscription to investment professionals, is being used by more than 30 universities, May says. The Kauffman Foundation, which will assume management for the site in Kansas City, “will be able to expand on the success we’ve seen so far,” he adds. “We are very pleased with the outcome, and we have successfully accomplished our dual goals for the venture: generating a strong return for our shareholders while also generating a positive impact.”

Wade Roush is Xconomy's chief correspondent and editor of Xconomy San Francisco. You can e-mail him at wroush@xconomy.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/wroush.