Our Story
As the first and longest-running Living Learning Community at Babson College, eTower is celebrating over 20 years of fostering entrepreneurship and innovation.
01. The Founding
eTower was founded in 2001 by Andrew Foley, then a sophomore at Babson College. Andrew realized that there was a small subset of Babson students who were actively pursuing startups while in college, and had one big question...
"What if we created a live-in incubator of the best entrepreneurial minds on campus?"
With his fellow startup friends and support from administration, Andrew found a space on the second floor of Van Winkle Hall and moved in as the first of Babson's several living-learning communities. And thus, eTower was born.
02. The Establishment
It didn't take long for this group to realize the power of having so many motivated, entrepreneurially-minded students living together, as the founding team found major growth in their venture ideas. One of which was IdeaPaint, one of the first of the many companies to come out of eTower, co-founded by residents Andrew Foley, Jeff Avalon, and John Goscha.
Knowing the future potential that eTower has, the community became more formalized in a 2004 retreat which established eTower's mission statement that still holds true 20 years later:
"A community of students committed to becoming successful entrepreneurs."
03. The Fumble
Around ten years after its founding, eTower had become a group that was extremely competitive, pushing each other as founders to the max. This environment, while good-intentioned, went to some extremes. It was very exclusive to those who were only currently creating companies, and the Tower became isolated from the Babson entrepreneurial ecosystem at large.
This led the organization to lose housing for two semesters, which really served as a wakeup call.
04. The Re-Establishment
The group took a step back and thought about where they've been and where they wanted to go, and with the leadership of Diana Yuan '15, thoughtfully developed community guidelines that would ensure that eTower didn't lose its supportive community environment again.
05. The Growth Era
After establishing a newfound foundation in the balance of entrepreneurship and community, a renaissance era of eTower blossomed. Our community began an outward expansion with the proper execution of big ideas, including the Young Entrepreneurs Conference (YEC) and ePitch (Babson's biggest to-date student run pitch event).
COVID-19 Adaptation
eTower adapted to virtual programming during the pandemic, expanding its reach globally.
06. The COVID Era (March 2020 - Summer 2021)
eTower's exuberant expansion showed no signs of stopping. However, there was no warning in sight for a worldwide pandemic that would affect everyone on Earth: COVID-19. A week after a new recruitment cycle just ended, in March of 2020, eTower would undergo challenges it had never seen before.
eTower went from a 21-person, living and learning community to a 15-person in-person community, with many residents scattered across the country.
07. Post-Covid
Emerging out of the COVID era, eTower is excited to come back in-person with a bang celebrating their 20th anniversary in the Fall of 2021 hosting a first-ever Alumni Gala celebration to bring back all eras of eTower to celebrate the organization's success.
eTower sees itself as an example of what is possible when like-minded students come together with the intention of growth, and is excited to see what else is possible.
Join Our Entrepreneurial Community
Follow us on Instagram and apply at the start of each semester to become part of eTower's legacy of innovation and entrepreneurship.