The University of Rhode Island has joined Brown University, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, and Betaspring to launch a new partnership called the Founders League. Designed to strengthen Rhode Island’s entrepreneurial environment, the Founders League offers start-ups, students, and aspiring entrepreneurs at all stages of development a place to connect, learn, and build their businesses.

Betaspring, a start-up accelerator program for technology and design entrepreneurs who are ready to build a product and launch a company, will provide leadership and a mix of entrepreneur-centric activities, educational programming, and networking events. The League’s workspace, programming, and support community will be based at the Betaspring headquarters in Providence.

“Many positive things have happened in the start-up community over the last few years,” says Betaspring Managing Partner and Co-founder Allan Tear. “It’s great now to build on that momentum and apply what we have learned to help a broader community of founders and entrepreneurs in Rhode Island.”

URI President David M. Dooley calls the initiative “an effective strategy to keep and attract top talent to Rhode Island. When they find a welcoming community, strong support system and climate, they will say, ‘Rhode Island. Providence. That’s the place to be.’ This is exactly the kind of activity emphasized during my discussions at the White House” in September, he added—“strategies that are strongly supported by the federal government.”

See “Start-up To Success” for the story of a multimillion-dollar global company that began with major input from URI research and expertise.