New USC club seeks to fund the next generation of innovators


A laptop screen shows the home page of Azure Ventures. It reads "Empowering entrepreneurs to create the next big thing"
So far, Azure Ventures Group has established connections with Alpha Kappa Psi, Keck School of Medicine, Trojan Consulting Group and USC faculty and alumni. (Daily Trojan | Nayeon Ryu)

USC has been an incubator for many successful business moguls and corporations — from Sean Rad of Tinder to Marc Benioff of Salesforce and Brandon Beck of Riot Games. However, when aspiring-entrepreneur Rishi Armstrong was a freshman, he noticed that, unlike schools such as UC Berkeley and Stanford University, USC had a lack of opportunities for the vibrant student start-up community to receive funding. 

In an effort to change this, Armstrong, along with five other students, founded Azure Ventures Group, a new business startup club that strives to encourage up-and-coming student entrepreneurs by providing capital, consulting and business training. 

The group first started last fall by developing their organization and networking with partners  such as Alpha Kappa Psi, Keck School of Medicine, Trojan Consulting Group and USC faculty and alumni. Having established connections with partners to provide necessary resources including legal and financial infrastructure and marketing, AVG looks to begin its services this semester once they accept applications that were due Feb. 8. 

“What we want to do is be an initial first investor in small startups at USC that we see as promising,” said Director of Finance Steven Vorona, a sophomore majoring in computer science. “We want to give them strategic guidance, business development advice and in the end, use our network, our connections and our pool of talent to help propel USC students to larger rounds of fundraising and connect them with the right people in the industry for their company.” 

The group’s program is divided into three main objectives: AVG Grow, AVG Invest and AVG Build. 

AVG Grow guides startups in the process of cultivating their minimum viable product — an early prototype with features to attract investors — and developing a comprehensive business plan to mobilize startups in producing revenue. AVG Invest educates student members about private equity and venture capital through engaging opportunities in investment companies. AVG Build recruits students who are not involved in a startup to gain hands-on experience working in entrepreneurship through business development, technology marketing and other areas. 

For their AVG Grow application, Azure Ventures Group seeked startups that operate using asset light business models and create high market demand that are projected to scale within one to two years. According to Business Standard, businesses who use an asset light model do not rely upon significant capital expenditures to enter the marketplace or are characterized typically in relatively inexpensive capital assets. 

Vice President of Azure Ventures Group Shaan Patel said he was inspired by his parents and family to pursue entrepreneurship who created their own business. Through Azure Ventures Group, he said he hopes to encourage other college students and provide them with the right tools and guidance to implement their new ideas. 

“What we wanted to do is be able to show that people have a chance to be able to create what they want, and they don’t have to just follow a traditional job path,” said Patel, a sophomore majoring in business administration. “Even though [USC students are] young, they can create something and create a business, and creating a business is not something you have to do when you’re 40 years old or 50 years old; it’s something you can do while you’re in college.” 

The Azure Ventures Group e-board also wants to utilize its platform to create equitable opportunities for all entrepreneurs, especially for marginalized groups. Patel said they believe having a diverse team with different perspectives and talents is essential to help a startup’s growth and progression. 

 “We’re leveling the playing field for entrepreneurs as well as people who want to get involved in these industries that have usually been dominated by majority groups,” said Armstrong, a sophomore majoring in business administration. “We’re offering a lot of opportunities for these members of these communities to join and get educated and prepare themselves for what they want to do in the future.”

In the future, Azure Ventures Group aspires to contribute to entrepreneurs outside of USC and increase the number of startups they support, Vorona said. 

“We want to build this into the premier investment club and venture capital club on campus where any founder, no matter what background they’re from, if they have a great product or a [minimum viable product], they come straight to us,” Armstrong said. “After this semester, we’re looking to increase our [funding] by a pretty sizable amount so after that we will be able to have much more impact as well on the startups that we’re able to invest in.”