Cam Houser built an organization that transforms students into entrepreneurs in 30 countries. Invigorated by the challenges students face along the entrepreneurial journey, Cam has led 3 Day Startup from a student organization at the University of Texas to a global force for activating student entrepreneurs.
Cam moved to Austin in 2000 to explore the city’s vibrant tech startup scene. He began his career at Amplifier, an e-commerce/fulfillment firm serving companies with large online audiences including the LIVESTRONG Foundation, The Onion, and Despair, Inc. The explosion of the yellow “LIVESTRONG” wristband served as his indoctrination into rapid growth startups. After Director and Project Manager roles, he departed to pursue an MBA at the University of Texas.
10 years ago, entrepreneurship courses at the university level focused heavily on theory; dynamic, cross-disciplinary, hands-on experiences were in short supply. Cam and a group of like-minded graduate students began experimenting with a short-format model that captured the essence of his own experience in the early-stage startup environment.
The mission of 3 Day Startup is to activate entrepreneurial potential in students of all kinds through experiential education and a global entrepreneurship ecosystem. In 2010, Cam and his co-founders established 3 Day Startup as a nonprofit and began expansion to Harvard, MIT and other university ecosystems. In 2017, 350+ programs with 12,000 students have led to hundreds of student-led companies landing $90 million in angel and VC funding. 3 Day Startup teams and alumni have achieved a handful of exits and received acceptances to prestigious incubator and accelerator programs such as Y Combinator, Techstars, and more.
When Cam is not thinking about 3 Day Startup, he spends his time teaching entrepreneurship at the University of Texas and balancing a love of fitness with a passion for hamburgers.
Show Notes
1:45 - From a band to Start-Ups
2:28 - Majoring in Business is a slow process but that's not how the world works
2:50 - The first 3 Day Startup
3:45 - Taking it from Austin to Germany
4:22 - Over 500 3DS all over the world
5:35 - Current 2019 look of 3DS
6:45 - Experiential learning trumps everything else
11:40 - A group of people together chasing a goal
13:55 - Just getting to know a customer problem better is huge progress
15:00 - Moving into the LIVE A GREAT STORY Conference / Festival / Weekend
17:18 - A key part of making something is a feedback
19:45 - LIVE Story
21:04 - A speedreading course that led to a seven month trip
