MSU’s student-led VC fund offers new hands-on learning

With a new investment fund at Michigan State University, students can gain experience on either side of the venture capital industry. The Student Venture Capital Fund offers students with an idea for a business or an innovation “priceless” experience in seeking capital and pitching to prospective investors, said Jeff Wesley, the executive director of Red Cedar Ventures at […]

Ohio State Energy Partners award winners advance innovation, collaboration

Twenty-one projects — tackling issues such as addiction recovery, sustainability and income inequality — have been awarded grants in the second year of philanthropic funding from The Ohio State University’s comprehensive energy management partnership. Ohio State Energy Partners contributes $810,000 each year to the university or affiliated philanthropic causes as part of its commitment to […]

There’s an alternative to raising VC and it’s called revenue-based financing | TechCrunch

Revenue-based financing is on the rise, at least according to Lighter Capital, a firm that doles out entrepreneur-friendly debt capital. What exactly is RBF you ask? It’s a relatively new form of funding for tech companies that are posting monthly recurring revenue. Here’s how Lighter Capital, which completed 500 RBF deals in 2018, explains it: “It’s an alternative […]

UD’s Horn Program finds multiple avenues to guide aspiring entrepreneurs

Over the past seven years, the University of Delaware’s Horn Program in Entrepreneurship has seen good early results in its effort to serve as a springboard for promising start-up ventures. Contributor Larry Nagengast recently spent some looking at the program, how it works and where it’s heading. It’s only seven years since the Horn Program in […]

New fund seeks to boost partnerships between MIT, Israeli universities

A fund launched by the Mortimer Zuckerman STEM Leadership Program seeks to match faculty members from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US and seven Israeli academic institutions in an effort to promote the “next generation of groundbreaking research” in sciences and technology. The new MIT-Israel Zuckerman STEM Fund is now calling for proposals from […]

Part fund, part accelerator, Contrary Capital invests in student entrepreneurs | TechCrunch

First Round Capital  has both the Dorm Room Fund and the Graduate Fund. General Catalyst has Rough Draft Ventures. And Prototype Capital and a few other micro-funds focus on investing in student founders, but overall, there’s a shortage of capital set aside for entrepreneurs still making their way through school. Contrary Capital, a soon-to-be San Francisco-based operation led by Eric Tarczynski, is […]

UGA Startup gateway generates $531M into economy

The University of Georgia’s startup program generates economic value of more than half a billion dollars annually, according to a new analysis. Startup companies created through Innovation Gateway, the university’s arm for research commercialization, have an economic impact of $531 million across the United States, including $322 million in the state of Georgia. “We’re thrilled to […]

Yeshiva University Opens Brand-New Innovation Lab 

Yeshiva University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, May 16 to unveil its brand new Innovation Lab. Located in Furst Hall, the Lab is host to a renovated office space that will serve as a hub for Israeli startups to collaborate with students at YU in a number of different areas of work. Startups will obtain benefits […]