Seed Funding

Student Venture Funds are a catalyst to help student ventures move beyond the idea stage.

Overview

A couple hundred dollars can be the difference between an idea staying just an idea or becoming something much more. In addition to funding, student ventures will get support, mentorship, and connections through the Alan B. Miller Entrepreneurship Center. Student Venture Funding will be allocated according to the composition of the team as follows:

Single-person ventures – up to $250.

Multi-person ventures with students from the same major – up to $500.

Multi-person ventures with students from different majors – up to $750.

Application Process

1) Submit an online application during one of the 6 application windows:

Fall – 9/8, 10/6, 11/3

Spring – 2/2, 3/2, 4/6

2) The application can be found here.

3) Submissions will be reviewed the week following the application deadline by the Seed Funding Application Committee comprising the Entrepreneurship Center Executive Director, a member of Tribe Ventures, and a regional entrepreneur.

* A single funding recipient will be named during each funding window. Those who do not receive funding are welcome to reapply.

Eligibility

1) Students from any major or program may submit an application.

2) Teams must include at least one primary founder who will be a full-time student for the duration of the project but can include multiple co-founders. Teams may only be awarded funding once a year. Successfully funded ventures may only submit in a subsequent year if all post-funding expectations have been adequately met.

Post-Funding Expectations

Funding will be awarded according to the team composition, and recipients will be paired with an Entrepreneurship Center mentor to help the team make progress on their idea. The team will schedule regular progress meetings with their mentor and will provide an update to the Entrepreneurship Center every 4-6 weeks. Once a semester, funding recipients are expected to record a short video progress update which may be shared with Student Venture Seed Fund donors and on the EC website.

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