Founder age and growth: what the Census study of 2.7 million founders found
Mean founder age rises with how fast firms grow. What a Census Bureau study of 2.7 million founders measured, and what it cannot say about one founder.
Founder segments
Student founders
Considerations for a founder who is still a student: who has a claim on the work, when a project needs a legal home and what to read.
WE is a long-horizon business incubation and consulting firm. WE makes no promise of funding.
If you are still a student, the program’s own description of a good fit is on the page about who the program is for. If a question about your studies is not answered there, ask through the contact page.
Who this is for
You are building a product while you are still a student, so your school, your coursework and your own project may all touch the same work. This page points to reading about who has a claim on a project, about grants and about when a side project needs a legal home.
Common challenges
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Checking your school's claim on the work
Universities publish rules about who owns what students and researchers create, and one school's policy may be broader, narrower or different from another's.
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Handling the first payment
The first payment turns a hobby into something an accountant and a tax authority may care about, so the article asks where the money goes and how it is recorded.
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Testing a grant against a student project
SBIR and STTR awards go to for-profit companies, so a student project would have to be set up as one before it applies.
Reading path
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SBIR and STTR as patient capital for research-based companies
How federal SBIR and STTR awards fund research over years without taking shares, what the 2026 reauthorization changed, and what to ask first.
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From side project to company: the decision points
When a side project starts to need a legal home, a bank account and written agreements, and the questions each moment raises for solo and student founders.
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Grants and SBIR programs for software companies
What the US SBIR and STTR programs are, who can apply, how the phases work, and what a software company should check before it writes a proposal.
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Part-time to full-time: deciding when to commit
Moving from a side project to a full commitment is a staged decision. How to write the criteria in advance, and what to leave to your own professionals.
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Student founders: the questions to settle before you start
Before you build a company while enrolled, find out what your school's policy says about ownership. Two real policies compared, and the questions to ask.
Start a readiness review
The application form asks about your company, your team and what you are building.