DEN Officially Opens Its Doors With a Celebration

The DEN Innovation Center and New Venture Incubator is throwing a launch party next week to celebrate its successful liftoff—just one year after President Phil Hanlon '77 announced the concept in his inaugural address.

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From left, Ryan Buckvar ’17, Joshua Schoenbart ’16, and Martin Moon ’16—all part of a student leadership group called DEN Associates—talk in the new Innovation Center and New Venture Incubator at 4 Currier Place. (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)

“The launch party is our opportunity to officially open the doors and offer up this amazing hub of entrepreneurial activity to the greater Dartmouth community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and individuals in the region," says Jamie Coughlin, director of New Venture Incubator Programs and the DEN Innovation Center.

The party is Wednesday, October 1, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the DEN, 4 Currier Place, Suite 103. The Currier Place entrance faces the sidewalk and above the door is a sign featuring the new DEN logo. The event, featuring food, music, giveaways, and start-up swag, is free and open to the public. Attendees are asked to RSVP via the EventBrite website.

"The event will have a high-energy vibe that fits with our belief in creativity and outside-the-box thinking—for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs. It will be a celebration and proof point that entrepreneurship is alive and growing here at Dartmouth,” says Coughlin.

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While the event is billed as the official opening, the DEN has been coordinating a range of programming and events, even as work on the new center was under way. Coughlin ran a summer entrepreneurs' boot camp, and center staff and Dartmouth students participated in the Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Forum in San Francisco on September 5, an event the DEN co-organized. Earlier this month, the center hosted a dedication dinner with President Hanlon, Trustees, and alumni donors and supporters.

This term, Coughlin is the adviser for 26 undergraduates in the new DEN in Residence living learning community, based on the fourth floor of New Hampshire Hall. He is also an adviser for the Community for Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CTIE), a design-your-own residential grouping of 13 students based on the first floor of the North Fayer residence hall.

On October 2, at 4:30 p.m., the DEN is hosting a six-week startup boot camp, called Six to Start, that will provide the Dartmouth community with an orientation and education about basic entrepreneurial principles such as venture product validation and development, startup team building, and venture formation and funding strategies.

“The buzz is growing and we are off to an exciting start,” says Coughlin. “This is just the beginning. We look forward to developing the ecosystem, connecting and building cross-campus collaborations, and ultimately assisting in moving ideas into action.”