Eric Tarczynski

Supporting people rather than companies is the core of what we do at Contrary. That's why we've worked hard over the past five years to build the infrastructure needed to identify exceptional individuals and build deep, long-term relationships with them years before they start companies.

A key component of this approach is connecting up-and-coming builders with high-growth startups. This is not only helpful to the startups that recruit from the Contrary network, but hopefully life-changing for those who embark on the journey most aligned with their goals.

That's why today, we're excited to announce that Anthony Nardini has joined Contrary as Head of Talent!

Anthony spent a decade in leadership roles at Goldman Sachs, but found himself with the itch to start a company of his own, specifically around guiding people through their own professional journeys.

So after building a career-coaching startup, he joined On Deck to launch the First 50 Fellowship and then ran their Hiring business as they scaled from less than 20 people to over 200.

Having spent quite literally years looking for someone so thoughtful about talent in the startup world, we can't wait to share more about everything Anthony will be leading at Contrary. More importantly, as many of you will soon see for yourselves, I'd have a tough time imagining somebody more kind and genuine taking the helm. (That's not to mention the fact that Anthony's a fellow New Jersey native!)

The ecosystem we've built at Contrary — stepping up to bat and helping people while asking little in return — is the most long-term-minded approach in existence. Talent is the core piece of that puzzle, which is why I'm so excited to welcome Anthony to the Contrary team.

We're thrilled to announce that Anthony has joined our team as Head of talent.

Welcoming Anthony Nardini

From Facebook to Dell, many of the most successful technology companies started in dorm rooms. Starting a company in college is one of the most influential decisions you can make in setting yourself up for a meaningful and successful career. 

We've created the most comprehensive resource list for startups at every major entrepreneurship university. Until now, these resources have been hard to find, disorganized and often out of date. Our Venture Partners have compiled and centralized everything you need to know about the entrepreneurship ecosystem at 35+ universities across North America, including clubs to join, classes to take, and where to find funding.

Did we miss something? Send edits and additions to [vp@contrarycap.com](mailto:vp@contrarycap.com).

#### How to Start a Startup Guides

[How to Start a Startup at Penn →](/penn)

[How to Start a Startup at Stanford →](/stanford)

[How to Start a Startup at Waterloo →](/waterloo)

[How to Start a Startup at Harvard →](/harvard)

[How to Start a Startup at MIT →](/mit)

[How to Start a Startup at Yale →](/yale)

[How to Start a Startup at UChicago →](/uchicago)

[How to Start a Startup at Columbia →](/columbia)

[How to Start a Startup at Boston College →](/bc)

[How to Start a Startup at Boulder →](/boulder)

[How to Start a Startup at Brown →](/brown)

[How to Start a Startup at BYU →](/byu)

[How to Start a Startup at Carnegie Mellon →](/cmu)

[How to Start a Startup at Cornell →](/cornell)

[How to Start a Startup at Dartmouth →](/dartmouth)

[How to Start a Startup at Duke →](/duke)

[How to Start a Startup at Emory →](/emory)

[How to Start a Startup at Georgia Tech →](/gt)

[How to Start a Startup at Illinois →](/illinois)

[How to Start a Startup at Johns Hopkins →](/hopkins)

[How to Start a Startup at Maryland →](/umd)

[How to Start a Startup at Michigan →](/michigan)

[How to Start a Startup at Northeastern →](/northeastern)

[How to Start a Startup at NYU →](/nyu)

[How to Start a Startup at Penn State →](/psu)

[How to Start a Startup at Princeton →](/princeton)

[How to Start a Startup at Rice →](/rice)

[How to Start a Startup at UC Berkeley →](/berkeley)

[How to Start a Startup at UC San Diego →](/ucsd)

[How to Start a Startup at UCLA →](/ucla)

[How to Start a Startup at USC →](/usc)

[How to Start a Startup at UT Austin →](/longhorns)

[How to Start a Startup at UVA →](/uva)

[How to Start a Startup at Vanderbilt →](/vanderbilt)

[How to Start a Startup at WashU →](/washu)          

We've mapped out the startup ecosystem for 35+ universities.

How to Start a Startup

Jason Chen

Today, we’re excited to announce our investment in Uprise, building the wealth management platform for everyone. Jess and Chris have extensive experience across consumer fintech and money management, having built highly relevant products at Wise, Earnin, Robinhood, and Justworks. We don’t think there’s a better team to build the next generation of personal finance software.

This investment is particularly special for me, as Jess is my older sister. Growing up, our mom spent over 20 years as a financial analyst at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Every day, she would assess the various risk factors of banks and other financial institutions, and on rare occasions, she would be dispatched to shut down troubled banks and provide support to its panicked customers. Jess and I had a front-row seat to the importance of making smart personal financial decisions, primarily because we’ve seen what happens when things go awry.

These past few weeks and months have put this in sharp relief. Inflation is at a 40-year high, the Fed just raised its benchmark rate by 0.75 points (the largest such increase since 1994), and a recession may be just around the corner. Lightly regulated crypto companies that promised high yields and safe harbors have paused deposit withdrawals and are flirting with bankruptcy. This downturn is coupled with the continued popularity of consumer fintech that provides retail investors with newfound access to a wide variety of alternative assets.

All of this makes today’s personal finance decisions more difficult and complex. And in a down economy, mistakes are amplified. Well-compensated financial advisors help their clients navigate this environment, but their services are traditionally reserved for people with $5M in net worth or more.

Uprise aims to break down that barrier, starting with recent graduates and those a few years out of college. This generation has never had access to meaningful wealth management support and are now encountering their very first bear market. For them, Uprise is coming at just the right time.

At Contrary, we serve a similar profile across our various communities. We’ve had the privilege of seeing our Fellows, VPs, and alums become enthusiastic early users. They’ve referred friends and colleagues, provided valuable product feedback, and helped the team iterate. Most important, they have made smart and savvy financial decisions with their hard-earned money, confidently navigating an uncertain economy by leveraging advice I wish I had when I was younger.

We couldn’t be more proud to partner with Jess, Chris, and the whole Uprise team as they continue on this critical mission to expand wealth management to everyone.

Investing in Uprise

### A lot has changed this year, but we believe in young founders now more than ever.

At Contrary, partnering with the brightest, early-career talent is all we do. Across hundreds of 1:1 conversations throughout the past 12 months, the core theme of this year has been that in spite of immense tribulations, there’s consensus among young founders that there’s no better time to build.

In this year’s annual University Report, we’ll be highlighting some of the top programs and opportunities for new or existing founders at universities and provide a comprehensive, up-to-date set of school rankings. We’ve analyzed publicly available data, and conducted research on-the-ground with our Venture Partner network to identify what makes a strong ecosystem.