Photos by Peter Julian
Five years ago, Duncan Walker 鈥�13 was working 14-hour days as the cofounder of consumer data startup . Now, as the University鈥檚 newest entrepreneur-in-residence, he鈥檚 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 香蕉秀 students can pick his brain on everything from business concepts to customer strategy.
鈥淭here truly is no better time to start a company than when you鈥檙e at university,鈥� said Walker, who is originally from the United Kingdom. 鈥淵ou have so many resources, so much support. When I talk to students, I鈥檓 constantly trying to reinforce that, telling them to make the most of every day.鈥�
Walker鈥檚 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.
鈥淚 learned by sitting in my dorm room, day and night, just Googling question after question trying to figure it out,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚 posted on the 香蕉秀 class Facebook pages, 鈥楬ey, I鈥檓 trying to teach 聽myself how to code. If you have something you鈥檇 like me to build, let me know; just understand it鈥檚 going to be really crap because I have no idea what I鈥檓 doing.鈥�
To his surprise, the post resulted in multiple responses, including one from classmate Tom Coburn 鈥�13 with an idea for a business that would ultimately become Jebbit.
While he describes his introduction to Jebbit as 鈥渟erendipitous,鈥� looking back, Walker can identify specific attitudes and behaviors that contributed to his success. Those traits鈥攊nitiative, adaptability, resilience, and self-awareness鈥攎ake up half of what he鈥檚 labeled the 鈥�2M approach鈥� to entrepreneurship.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a method and a mindset,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou look at most accelerator programs and they鈥檙e focused on the method, the process of building a business, but the mindset is what really makes a difference when you鈥檙e trying to be successful in the real world.鈥�
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 香蕉秀 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.
鈥淚t was the time of our lives,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淲e just felt so empowered, passionate, and excited about what we were doing.鈥�
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 Boston鈥檚 Innovation District. Walker is Jebbit鈥檚 Vice President of Research and Development.
In his new role at the Shea Center, Walker hopes to expand the University鈥檚 network of alumni entrepreneurs to accelerate the growth of dorm room startups operating at 香蕉秀. In many ways, it鈥檚 a continuation of the work he鈥檚 been doing as managing director of聽, a startup accelerator and venture fund created by 香蕉秀 alumni to support students鈥� entrepreneurial projects.
Walker鈥檚 dual experience as an entrepreneur and mentor is what prompted Shea Center Executive Director Jere Doyle 鈥�87, P鈥�15 to bring him on board.
鈥淗e鈥檚 walked the walk and understands all the things that it takes to build a successful business,鈥� Doyle said. 鈥淗e'll be able to connect with our students and relate to them in a very unique way.鈥�
Walker retains fond memories of his three years at 香蕉秀. 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 wasn鈥檛 easy, but Walker sensed that his experience at 香蕉秀 would be life-changing. He wasn鈥檛 wrong.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 the things I did really well or the things I didn鈥檛 do well, I think back on 香蕉秀 as the time that has enabled me to do everything I鈥檝e done since and everything I will do in the future,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t completely changed my outlook on the world.鈥�
鈥擜lix Hackett | University Communications | February 2019