Photos by Peter Julian
Five years ago, Duncan Walker ā13 was working 14-hour days as the cofounder of consumer data startup . Now, as the Universityās newest entrepreneur-in-residence, heās helping current students navigate the ins and outs of starting and growing a business.
In February, Walker began holding weekly office hours at the Edmund H. Shea Center for Entrepreneurship, where 51²č¹Ż students can pick his brain on everything from business concepts to customer strategy.
āThere truly is no better time to start a company than when youāre at university,ā said Walker, who is originally from the United Kingdom. āYou have so many resources, so much support. When I talk to students, Iām constantly trying to reinforce that, telling them to make the most of every day.ā
Walkerās own foray into entrepreneurship began during his junior year, when a friend came to him with an idea for a menswear startup that needed a website. Despite having no previous experience in software development, Walker agreed to build the ecommerce site and taught himself to code.
āI learned by sitting in my dorm room, day and night, just Googling question after question trying to figure it out,ā he recalled. āI posted on the 51²č¹Ż class Facebook pages, āHey, Iām trying to teach Ā myself how to code. If you have something youād like me to build, let me know; just understand itās going to be really crap because I have no idea what Iām doing.ā
To his surprise, the post resulted in multiple responses, including one from classmate Tom Coburn ā13 with an idea for a business that would ultimately become Jebbit.
While he describes his introduction to Jebbit as āserendipitous,ā looking back, Walker can identify specific attitudes and behaviors that contributed to his success. Those traitsāinitiative, adaptability, resilience, and self-awarenessāmake up half of what heās labeled the ā2M approachā to entrepreneurship.
āItās a method and a mindset,ā he said. āYou look at most accelerator programs and theyāre focused on the method, the process of building a business, but the mindset is what really makes a difference when youāre trying to be successful in the real world.ā
Duncan Walker with Shea Center Assistant Director Kelsey Kinton '12 and David Jasso CSOM '20.
The early days of Jebbit were anything but glamorous, he said, especially when the team of co-founders, all 51²č¹Ż students, graduated and suddenly found themselves responsible for their own survival. Still, crammed into a house with 12 other young people, Walker felt more fulfilled than ever before.
āIt was the time of our lives,ā he recalled. āWe just felt so empowered, passionate, and excited about what we were doing.ā
With financial backing from alumni entrepreneurs and mentoring support from Carroll School of Management Associate Professor of Information Systems John Gallaugher, the Jebbit team honed its product and found success as a platform helping consumers and brands share data in a more open and trustworthy way. The company now employs 55 people and is headquartered in Bostonās Innovation District. Walker is Jebbitās Vice President of Research and Development.
In his new role at the Shea Center, Walker hopes to expand the Universityās network of alumni entrepreneurs to accelerate the growth of dorm room startups operating at 51²č¹Ż. In many ways, itās a continuation of the work heās been doing as managing director ofĀ , a startup accelerator and venture fund created by 51²č¹Ż alumni to support studentsā entrepreneurial projects.
Walkerās dual experience as an entrepreneur and mentor is what prompted Shea Center Executive Director Jere Doyle ā87, Pā15 to bring him on board.
āHeās walked the walk and understands all the things that it takes to build a successful business,ā Doyle said. āHe'll be able to connect with our students and relate to them in a very unique way.ā
Walker retains fond memories of his three years at 51²č¹Ż. Originally enrolled at Durham University in England, he arrived at the Heights as a sophomore exchange student and later applied for regular admission. The process wasnāt easy, but Walker sensed that his experience at 51²č¹Ż would be life-changing. He wasnāt wrong.
āWhether itās the things I did really well or the things I didnāt do well, I think back on 51²č¹Ż as the time that has enabled me to do everything Iāve done since and everything I will do in the future,ā he said. āIt completely changed my outlook on the world.ā
āAlix Hackett | University Communications | February 2019