Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 9, 2026

Startup U

Startup U is an American reality television series that premiered on August 11, 2015, on Freeform. The show is about students in an entrepreneur mentoring program in Silicon Valley.

Last revised
Jul 9, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
555 w
Citations
13
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Startup U
GenreReality television
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Producers
  • Mike Duffy
  • Tim Duffy
Production companyUgly Brother Studios
Original release
NetworkFreeform
ReleaseAugust 11 (2015-08-11) –
October 15, 2015 (2015-10-15)1

Startup U is an American reality television series that premiered on August 11, 2015, on Freeform (then ABC Family). The show is about students in an entrepreneur mentoring program in Silicon Valley.2

Startup U is based on Draper University, a 7-week residential program in entrepreneurship.

Cast

  • Tim Draper, founder of Draper University.
  • Sequoia Blodgett, Draper University entrepreneur in residence.
  • Charlie Taibi, Draper University program director.
  • Erin Brady
  • Tony Capasso
  • John Randolph Parkhill Frye
  • Shawn Isaac
  • David Kram
  • Ana Marte
  • Carly Martinetti
  • Keyonna Patterson
  • Malcolm Jamaal Tyson
  • Sharon Winter

Format

Startup U follows 10 entrepreneurial techies looking to make names for themselves. Each founder endures a grueling seven-week program at Draper University, a program led by billionaire founder and venture capitalist Tim Draper. The series is produced by Ugly Brother Studios, a Sky Vision partner.3

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal release dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Welcome to Draper University"August 11, 2015 (2015-08-11)0.224
2"The Hack-a-Thon"August 18, 2015 (2015-08-18)0.105
3"Chain Reaction"August 25, 2015 (2015-08-25)0.056
4"Bro's and Bras"September 1, 2015 (2015-09-01)0.067
5"6 Degrees to Nowhere"September 10, 2015 (2015-09-10)0.118
6"The Great Outdoors"September 17, 2015 (2015-09-17)0.069
7"Not So Fair"September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)0.0610
8"Motivation"October 1, 2015 (2015-10-01)0.0711
9"Prototypes, Partners & Pitches"October 8, 2015 (2015-10-08)0.1112
10"Fund Me"October 15, 2015 (2015-10-15)0.0813
References

References

  1. "STARTUP U (ABC FAMILY)". Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  2. Littleton, Cynthia (April 1, 2015). "ABC Family Ramps Up Docu-Series Slate with 3 Orders". Variety.
  3. Friedlander, Whitney (June 30, 2015). "ABC Family Sets Cast for Tech-Themed Reality Series 'Startup U'". Variety.
  4. Metcalf, Mitch (August 12, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals: 8.11.2015". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  5. Pucci, Douglas (August 19, 2015). "Tuesday Final Nationals: 'America's Got Talent' on NBC Up Double-Digits from Year-Ago Evening". TV Media Insights. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  6. Metcalf, Mitch (August 26, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals: 8.25.2015". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  7. Metcalf, Mitch (September 2, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals: 9.1.2015". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  8. Metcalf, Mitch (September 11, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Originals: 9.10.2015". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  9. Metcalf, Mitch (September 18, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 9.17.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  10. Metcalf, Mitch (September 25, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 9.24.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  11. Metcalf, Mitch (October 2, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.1.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  12. Metcalf, Mitch (October 9, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.8.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  13. Metcalf, Mitch (October 16, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.15.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
External links