Guest Blog: From White Shoe to Canvas Chuck

By Matt Meltzer

Founder and CEO of Sage Corps

“Hi everyone, my name is Matt Meltzer and….I’m a recovering lawyer.” I paused. Silence, for a second. And then the crowd roared in laughter. Phew.

It was a Friday happy hour (“TGIF”) at 1871 – my very first. Staring at a sea of t-shirts with logos containing misspelled words, hoodies, skinny jeans and canvas chucks sitting around open tables (where were the cubicles?), I wasn’t sure what to think.

Last Fall, I left partnership at a top law firm in Chicago to stake myself as an entrepreneur. One week later, I stood in front of 1871’s entrepreneurs, describing my startup, Sage Corps. With prior job experience as a litigator, law clerk, and camp counselor, I had a few things to learn about launching a company.

That day, I described Sage Corps as “an elite experiential learning program that sends top college students abroad to help build foreign tech startups.” After surviving my first pitch, the 1871 community rose in support with ideas and resources. Some members offered their advice on how to market to students and create publicity for the program. Others asked to participate as Sages (student career mentors), and one even suggested that I offer my program for corporate training and sabbaticals (#sagecorps2015!).

Since my first TGIF event, 1871 gave me the opportunity to pitch Sage Corps to Ireland’s Minister of Technology and to participate in a roundtable discussion with Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States. I learned how to connect with 1871’s robust membership network, including executives at Google, Dell, Microsoft, and SAP. I have presented my business model and growth plans for feedback during office hours with seasoned entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

With 1871’s support, Sage Corps recruited top students from Northwestern, University of Chicago, Michigan, Harvard, Penn, Dartmouth, Columbia, Tufts, Georgetown, and Swarthmore to join the 2014 summer Sage Corps class. After reviewing over 500 applications, we sent the top 23 students to work with tech startups in Buenos Aires and Hong Kong for eight weeks. Some of these universities awarded our students grant money to help cover expenses, and U. Michigan – Ross students can enroll in a Fall entrepreneurship course that builds upon their experience in Sage Corps.

Upon the students’ return, and with help from the Sage Network, Sage Corps helps students leverage this unique experience into further career opportunities – many in Chicago. In fact, one 1871 startup hired one of our students as a growth hacker.

With 1871’s help, we are scaling our model to serve even more students and startups around the world. In 2015, Sage Corps will launch a program in Dublin, Ireland based on a partnership with its government-backed incubator. We are also exploring programs in Singapore, Turkey, and Colombia, all thanks to 1871’s network. Separately, we are collaborating with larger companies to launch a sabbatical program that will send their incoming entry-level classes abroad to work with startups before they start their full-time work. Finally, we are formalizing partnerships with universities to fund students and connect Sage Corps’ programming with the schools’ curriculum.

Sage Corps’ success will rely heavily on 1871’s continued and unfaltering support. For me, 1871 is not merely a cool co-working space. It is a robust community that provides incredible resources, valuable connections, and a shared passion for nurturing missions like Sage Corps into viable companies.

Thank you, 1871. I am still recovering from law, but with your help, I’m proud to say I am an entrepreneur. My name is Matt Meltzer, and I am the Founder & CEO of Sage Corps.