Google Ventures has introduced YouTube Product Manager Rick Klau to its managerial mix as Partner, Startup University. Google Ventures is planning to confer as much knowledge and context as it can to its portfolio companies by way of Startup University. The goal is to provide educational services like office hours, classes, active research opportunities, etc. to help startups learn from their mistakes, grow and prosper. The project aims to provide its numerous startups with a communication line to a network of 30,000 Googlers. The hope is that these learning opporunitites will lead to increased efficiency and success in the long-run.

According to a TechCrunch article:

Klau tells me that he hopes that Startup University will provide classes on a regular cycle — every couple of days — for the 150 portfolio companies that the fund hopes to support by this time next year. Thus far over a hundred people from Google Ventures portfolio companies have attended Startup University office hours or classes, in the nine months the program has existed.

“[Startup University] has already saved the Astrid team dozens of hours and tens of thousands of dollars in consulting and recruiting fees and given us deeper confidence as we prepare to share what we’ve been working on with the world,” says Astrid co-founder Jon Paris.

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