One of the world's largest student-run not-for-profit organizations created in the name of entrepreneurship, the Kairos Society has acquired numerous accolades for its quest to better college education with an added business kick. Thanks to founder Ankur Jain, the 22-year-old boy wonder passionate about anything and everything innovative venture related, the Kairos Society has steadily progressed into something greater and bigger than ever originally imagined.
Dubbed the next Mark Zuckerberg, Jain formed the Kairos Society back in 2008 to address the question: "What if today's most influential leaders were friends 30 years ago, working together to solve the world's problems?" He had a growing interest in collaboration, believing that those intrigued by entrepreneurship should join forces and share their successes and more importantly, their failures, revealing what they had learned from their many missteps. By doing so, the Kairos Society could unite the next generation of entrepreneurs, a society of innovative and ever evolving minds.
The primary mission of the Kairos Society is "to find and empower the young pioneers who will push the world forward through entrepreneurship and innovation" doing so with the help of illustrious universities, extraordinary mentors, as well as ventures from all over the globe. Currently the Kairos Society has over 700 members all over the world including India, China, Europe, and of course the United States.
While Kairos Society is an international organization, it has roots to the D.C. area, spearheaded by none other than Virginia Tech student entrepreneurial wiz Caroline Pugh of Virtual U. Labeled as the global partnership director of Washington, D.C. and regional president, Pugh is fostering the growth of a Kairos Society presence at schools within the area, ensuring that the word is spread about the collective opportunity. According to Pugh, the Kairos Society has members that attend Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, and this year the University of Virginia will be getting on board.
The reason as to why the Kairos Society and Pugh herself feel the need to connect students from various universities across the globe is because each school already has its own entrepreneurship ecosystem, so this is an opportunity to be able to have these like minds come together and unite for events to learn and produce more efficiently. When it comes to the DMV area, entrepreneurship is a way of life, so why not take that passion, that inspiration and mold it into something amazing and truly transformative.
Pugh is attempting to forge the disconnect between the venture world and university grounds, a lofty goal, but one that I have no doubt she will accomplish.
If you are interested in applying to be a part of the Kairos Society, the 2012-2013 Kairos Society Fellowship applications are now open. You can find the app here.
