IT ALL STARTED WITH MY BROTHER
I remember it clearly; I was at a Holiday Inn outside Richmond, VA, taking my brother, Chris, on one of our many college tours. He was venting about his frustrations with his startup: a lack of knowledge on how to get it off the ground, absence of entrepreneurship support from his school, and feeling alone without a community of peers. What started as a selfish desire to give my brother the support he needed to power his potential grew into a company with a mission and vision that became my life's work.
CATAPULT TAKES FLIGHT
In 2013, we launched our first program at the Harvard Innovation Lab, bringing together 33 students from 18 states. The response was overwhelming, and we knew we had tapped into something special. From the start, we were fortunate to have the support of visionary organizations and institutions. Ashoka believed in our mission, while prestigious business schools like Harvard, Wharton, UChicago, and Stanford lent their expertise. Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Salesforce, alongside scrappy startups like FiveStars and other Y Combinator-backed companies, provided real-world insights and mentorship.
CATAPULT BECOMES QUARTER ZERO
In the spring of 2017, after talking with hundreds of prospective students, alumni, partners, and parents, a bigger picture emerged. They told us that the Catapult Incubator was only the beginning of their transformational journey to become an entrepreneur. With that in mind, we launched Quarter Zero, fondly known as QØ.
QØ's mission was to guide young entrepreneurs on their entire journey, which lasts far longer than a summer. This meant offering more experiences alongside the Catapult Incubator to help even more aspiring entrepreneurs begin their journey. It also meant continuing to support our alumni - QØ Fellows - long after their first experience. We offered 1-on-1 career coaching, exclusive internships, and even explored a venture capital fund solely for QØ Fellows.
GROWTH AND INNOVATION
Over eight transformative years, we touched the lives of over 1,000 high school students from 40 states and 15 countries. We refined and expanded our offerings, developing what became an award-winning, best-in-class immersive entrepreneurship experience. Our diverse experiential programs catered to students of all ages and at varying stages of their ventures, earning recognition and trust within the entrepreneurial education community.
In 2019, we reached new heights. My wife Lucy joined as President and COO, bringing a decade of operational due diligence experience from the hedge fund industry. We achieved our highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 62, on par with industry leaders like the iPhone. Our new Startup Camp saw tremendous growth, representing 44% of our total students enrolled. The QØ Angel Network's $1,000,000 investment in one of our alumni companies (now valued at $40 million) further validated our long-term model.
NAVIGATING CHALLENGES
Like any true entrepreneurial endeavor, our journey was not without trials. The global pandemic of 2020 brought unprecedented challenges, forcing us to pivot rapidly and innovate in ways we never imagined. We transitioned our in-person programs to virtual platforms, launched new initiatives like the QØ Cup and QØ Academy, and continued to support our community of young entrepreneurs even as the world around us changed dramatically.
Despite achieving our highest-ever NPS scores for virtual programs, the financial impact of the pandemic was significant. We faced difficult decisions and explored various options to keep our mission alive.
A NEW CHAPTER: ENDOWMENT FOR POTENTIAL
In 2023, a new chapter began. During the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we realized that our mission to power potential extended far beyond just budding entrepreneurs. We saw a need for support across the entire spectrum of personal and professional development – from families seeking meaningful connections and educational experiences, to seasoned entrepreneurs navigating the difficult process of closing a business and charting a new course.
This realization led to the birth of Endowment for Potential, a non-profit organization dedicated to continuing and expanding Quarter Zero's mission. When we paused Quarter Zero's operations during the pandemic, we made the decision to transfer its assets and mission to this new non-profit entity, ensuring that our work could continue and grow in a sustainable way.
Endowment for Potential takes the best of Quarter Zero – our passion, our experience, our award-winning curriculum – and expands it into a comprehensive ecosystem of support that spans generations and life stages. As a non-profit, Endowment for Potential can access new resources and partnerships to further our mission of powering human potential.
The organization offers support across three core pillars:
Family Connections and Learning: Immersive, educational adventures for families.
Entrepreneurial Support: Nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs, building on Quarter Zero's proven model.
Entrepreneurial Transition and Recovery: Supporting entrepreneurs through business closures and career transitions.
While Quarter Zero as a separate for-profit entity has concluded its journey, its spirit and mission live on through Endowment for Potential. By transitioning to a non-profit model, we're able to focus even more directly on our mission, reinvesting all proceeds into expanding our impact and reaching more individuals who can benefit from our programs.
We're excited to continue powering potential and fostering resilience on an even broader scale, now with the added benefits and opportunities that come with non-profit status. This transition allows us to explore new avenues for funding, partnerships, and program development, all in service of our core mission to unlock human potential at every stage of life.
We're grateful for everyone who has been part of the Quarter Zero story and invite you to join us in this new chapter with Endowment for Potential. Together, we can build a world where everyone has the opportunity to discover, nurture, and realize their full potential.
Onward!
Josh
Founder and CEO
P.S. - If you are interested in learning more about the Endowment for Potential - click this link.