With the semester about to begin in full swing, the LaunchPad & Techstars at SU Libraries has some exciting new projects in the docket, including an expanded partnership with the Dorm Room Fund (DRF), a venture capital subsidiary that invests in student startups. The DRF has an extensive and successful history providing pre-seed funding for companies including Firefly, Stash and WeTravel. DRF has officially started consulting and reviewing Syracuse LaunchPad ventures and will now be expanding the collaboration in spring 2021 with office hours and workshops.
The Syracuse LaunchPad and DRF collaboration will include regular office hours with the DRF team as well as “Demo Day” styled sessions where the most investable Syracuse University student startups will have the opportunity to present their ideas to DRF partners, get feedback and be coached on when they are ready to apply for possible DRF funding.
The office hours will be a 45-minute session each month, starting in February. These 45-minute sessions will primarily be structured in two parts: a 15–20-minute segment discussing relevant investment themes (e.g., assembling a pitch deck, B2B/B2C sales strategy, marketing themes, etc.). The second segment, which will last approximately 20-25 minutes is primarily a Q&A session for startup teams attending the event.
Presentation Sessions will be hosted twice in spring 2021 with a total of ten companies given the opportunity to present to the DRF team. These two sessions will occur during March and April. Teams will be chosen through a competitive process and enable LaunchPad teams to engage in friendly competitions.
Check for dates on our event calendar.
The Dorm Room Fund initiative is being coordinated by Krishna Pamidi, a finance and accounting major in the Whitman School.
Want to learn more and participate in these programs? To get started, please join the LaunchPad if you are not already a member: https://launchpad.syr.edu/join/
You can also e-mail us at LaunchPad@syr.edu
Keep up with dates and details via our social media by following @LaunchPadSYR on these links:
Look over our Website – particularly the news page — and be sure to bookmark your calendar for these and other opportunities.
Story by Krishna Pamidi, LaunchPad Orange Ambassador