PitchBook recently published a report looking at which universities produce the most funded founders.
What they did was track founders of companies that received a first round of venture funding between January 1, 2006 and August 15, 2016. They then looked at which school they graduated from and sliced the data to find companies valued over $1B (”unicorns”), big exits, Ivy vs. non-Ivy league alumni, and so on.
The full report can be downloaded here for free. However, you’ll need to enter your email. Below are some of the key highlights.

Top 10 MBA:

Top 10 MBA by female founders:

For all of you Canadian readers, the top undergraduate schools include:
- University of Waterloo (#20)
- McGill University (#32)
- University of Toronto (#33)
- University of British Columbia (#49)
McGill does quite well in the unicorn department, placing in the top 10. However, it is clear that Canadian universities need to step up their game.
Of course, the question remains: what is it that is holding us back? How much of it is the school itself and how much of it is external and perhaps cultural?