One of the coolest things about In-Residence is stepping back and seeing the incredible range of businesses in the Miller Center community. This year, we welcomed 13 enterprise fellows from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to Santa Clara University. They work across agriculture, healthcare, finance, water, clean energy, technology, and artisan livelihoods. Each entrepreneur started with something they saw that wasn’t working for a farmer, a patient, a family, or a community, and decided to do something about it.
In an age when AI can draft a pitch, build a model, and summarize a market in seconds, why bring entrepreneurs from a dozen countries together on campus for a week? Because human connection matters more than ever. Trusted peers, mentors who understand your business, and investors who believe in your vision can’t be generated. They have to be built and that’s at the heart of In-Residence.
13 Businesses, Many Shared Challenges
The range of businesses in this year’s cohort was striking. Across agriculture and food, Alicia Wallace (AAA Farms, Uganda), Gabriela Villareal (ékole, Mexico), Gally Mayer (Buena Vida Specialty Coffee, Costa Rica), Pedro Daniel Viera Pereyra (Hola Tractor, Bolivia), and Varun Raheja (Raheja Solar Food Processing, India) are rethinking everything from equipment access to food processing.
In healthcare, Shantanu Pathak (CareMother, India) is expanding access to care, while Franck Langevin (Maïa Africa) is tackling malaria across West Africa.
Others are strengthening access to capital and markets: Tiffany Tong (Aloi, Nepal and Singapore), Vincent Kiarie (Moto Hope Capital, Kenya), and Marie-Reine Seshie (Kola Market, Ghana). Minhaj Chowdhury (Drinkwell) is expanding access to safe drinking water, Olasimbo Sojinrin (Solar Sister) is bringing clean energy to communities through women entrepreneurs, and Nivedita Rai (Karghewale, India) is building sustainable livelihoods for traditional weavers.
What struck me was how interconnected their work is. Better market access strengthens farmers. Clean energy creates economic opportunities for women. Preserving traditional crafts requires business models that allow artisans to earn a living. No single entrepreneur sees all of these connections from inside their own business, but a room full of them can.
Why Are We Building with LEGOs?
If you had wandered into one of our sessions, you might have found entrepreneur fellows building their impact stories out of plastic bricks. What does that have to do with investment readiness? On the surface, it was about communicating impact creatively, something every founder needs to do with customers, partners, and investors. But there was another purpose: connection.
It’s hard to stay guarded when you’re building something next to a stranger and explaining it out loud. People laugh, borrow ideas, and get to know how someone else thinks. It’s a simple activity, but it creates the kind of shared experience that helps turn a room of entrepreneurs into a community. That same intention carried through the week. Our In-Residence syllabus included Board Management, AI in Practice, and Ethical Dilemmas in Entrepreneurship, along with conversations about the history of Silicon Valley and leading with compassion.
These weren’t just opportunities to build new skills. They gave entrepreneurs space to compare experiences and work through challenges together. In our ethical dilemmas session, for example, we explored the difficult trade-offs impact entrepreneurs face: balancing affordability for customers with the margins needed to sustain a business, or staying true to a mission while making decisions that allow the company to grow. There aren’t always easy answers. But having peers who understand those challenges can make all the difference.
Perspectives on Investing from Both Sides of the Table
This year, Miller Center hosted an inaugural True Cost Lab with impact-first investors, including Acumen, Global Partnerships, Halcyon, Kiva, MCE Social Capital, Open Road Impact, and Village Capital. The group spent a day unpacking fresh fund data from the ongoing research collaboration and then joined the In-Residence cohort entrepreneurs for candid conversations about what raising capital looks like from both sides of the table.
Many of these investors also participated in our mock investor meetings, which made for a different kind of experience. Entrepreneurs were presenting to people they had sat shoulder to shoulder discussing the challenges of fundraising already. The questions were still tough: Are the assumptions behind the numbers sound? Is the market opportunity clear? How much capital does the business really need, and what will it make possible? But the feedback came from people who understood the context. And because this was a learning environment, entrepreneurs could take that feedback away, reflect, and decide what to do with it. Just as importantly, it created opportunities for relationships that can continue long after the week ends.
The Long View: Entrepreneurs Supporting Entrepreneurs
At this year’s Welcome Reception, we recognized two longtime fellows of the Miller Center Entrepreneur Network: Javier Lozano of Clínicas del Azúcar and Michael Wilkerson of Tugende.
Both have been part of the Miller Center community for years, and it’s been a privilege to watch them grow their businesses in very different ways. Recognizing them was also a reminder that entrepreneurship is a long road. Those who have traveled further along it often have some of the most valuable lessons to share.
That’s what we hope this year’s 13 entrepreneurs take away from In-Residence. Investment readiness is about more than a polished pitch deck or a successful fundraising round. It’s about being clear on your purpose, honest about the trade-offs, and surrounded by people who can help you navigate the next hard decision.
A week on campus won’t solve every challenge that comes with building a business. But we hope these entrepreneurs left with new ideas, better questions, and a few more people to call. That’s why Miller Center invests in building a community around entrepreneurs, not just individual programs or milestones. Thank you to our mentors, investors, facilitators, speakers, and everyone who made this year’s In-Residence possible. And to the 13 entrepreneurs: thank you for bringing your businesses, your questions, and your willingness to lean into the room. We look forward to seeing what you do next.
Watch our Welcome Reception video playlist:
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Photos:
Mock investor meeting
Group photo of the In-Res cohort
Ethical dilemmas session
A mock investor meeting
In-Res hike excursion
