Have some big ideas for 2021? Grant funding is now available for student teams working on STEM innovation from VentureWell, a program that supports science and engineering-based student teams from across the nation, helping them bring high-impact innovations out of the lab and into the market. Every year, the program awards over $700,000 in non-dilutive E-Team grants to early-stage student science and tech startups who are on the path to launching innovations with a social, health, or environmental impact. In the past two decades, VentureWell has provided over $8M in grants to more than 550 entrepreneurial teams.  The 180+ alumni ventures have received over $122M in follow-on funding since taking part in the E-Team program. 

In addition to funding, VentureWell offers a robust Early-Stage Innovator Training Program designed to thoroughly prepare teams to discover possible pathways for their venture as they explore topics like business model development, customer discovery, and intellectual property.

The E-Teams Program supports student ventures as they embark down the path they’re likely to take as an innovator and entrepreneur.

If teams are able to continue with their startup after they graduate, ASPIRE and an investor network are available to help teams prepare to launch and scale their company.

VentureWell is on a mission to cultivate inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs driven to solve the world’s biggest challenges and create lasting impact. This includes university students inventing new things and forming companies around them, researchers from academia and government learning how to transition from lab to market, and entrepreneurs from emerging economies all around the world.

Venture will offers a suite of programs for early-stage innovators dedicated to launching them on a path to success. Learn more about VentureWell programs here: https://venturewell.org/

Note, if you missed this deadline, there is another funding round, so be sure to bookmark this opportunity and follow it!

Russell Fearon ’20 G’21 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Ricardo Sanchez ’21 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) were the grand prize winners of the 2021 ACC InVenture Prize Syracuse University campus edition.  They earned a $5,000 cash prize generously sponsored by M&T Bank and will now move on to the ACC Conference finals hosted virtually by North Carolina State University and televised by PBS.  Their invention, SugEx, is an innovative device and mobile app designed to better monitor glucose levels for Type 1 and 2 diabetes and those with pre-diabetes. 

“We started in the Invent@SU accelerator as undergraduates and immediately began working with the tenacious team in the LaunchPad who incubates amazing entrepreneurs, “said Fearon, co-founder and CEO of SugEx.  The SugEx team developed an initial prototype in the Invent@SU program for a wearable glucose monitoring device, based on Fearon’s own experience suddenly discovering he had diabetes while in college.  They worked with the LaunchPad on a commercialization roadmap and along the way won a number of accolades, including a national health innovation award from the American Heart Association.

Fearon is now finishing his master’s degree in bioengineering and biomedical engineering after receiving his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at Syracuse University.  He is also an Orange Ambassador at the LaunchPad, encouraging STEM majors to think about entrepreneurship.

“I am grateful for our supporters at SU, the World of Money and the American Heart Association who continue to believe in the innovation of the SugEx Watch,” he added.  “As the CEO of SugEx, I am determined to pioneer change for the millions in the diabetes community, as tough as the road seems.” 

The SugEx team has now won more than $60,000 for the invention in various competitions.  “The capital earned for SugEx is a testament to our hustle mentality.  We will keep this momentum as we represent Syracuse University in the next round.”

Co-founder and CTO Ricardo Sanchez, a fifth year Industrial and Interaction Design student, said, “I am extremely humbled and excited to have this opportunity to propel SugEx forward and represent Syracuse University. I want to thank Invent@SU and the LaunchPad, as well as my professors in the School of Design here at SU for believing in us.  I’d especially like to thank Diana Miller and Dr. Louise Manfredi for their support and advice throughout my journey.” 

The SU competition was hosted by the LaunchPad at SU Libraries and featured a slate of “Elite Eight” teams vying for the title of top campus innovator.  Competing in the campus qualifier were:

• Alexander Don ’22 (Whitman), founder of Cirus, a social media platform for people who prefer their voices to be valued rather than visual appearances.
• Ben Ford ’23 (Whitman), founder of DoNATION, an impact investment platform that offers a platform that matches people launching projects with donors who share similar interests.
• Bruno Gonzalez Hauger ’21 (Whitman), co-founder of Ambassadoor Technologies, a platform that connects local businesses with nano-influencers to catalyze engagement and brand growth.
• Cullen Kavanaugh ’22 (Whitman), co-founder of Spread, a mobile application that provides a platform for custom wagers on events between friends.
• Kyra Thomas ’21 (Engineering and Computer Science), co-founder of Signal, a company that focuses on creating technology solutions that solve issues related to accessibility and inclusion.
• Murray Lebovitz ’23 (Whitman), founder of Keep Coffee Casual, a network that is building modern coffee culture through sustainability, inclusion, and creativity.
• Sam Hollander ’22 (Whitman and Newhouse), founder of FSCL, an alternative finance vehicle that is a simple, affordable and flexible solution to finance higher education.

The ACC InVenture Prize Competition is the nations’ largest undergraduate student innovation competition.  This year’s campus judges brought a range of skills from industrial design to mechanical engineering, digital media and marketing, finance, investment, and diversity and inclusion. They included:

• Kate Beckman ’17 G ’18, Senior Content Manager at Ripple Match and former freelance writer at Cosmopolitan, Founder of FreshU, Speaker for Advertising Week and 2017 ACC InVenture Prize winner
• Rob Englert, founder and principal designer of ram industrial design, a consultancy specializing in consumer products, user interactions and experiences for a portfolio of global brand clients, and also co-founder of (sphere) optics company
• Joanne Lenweaver, founder and co-farmer of Clean Slate Farm, president and creative director at Lenweaver Advertising + Design, and former long-time director of the WISE Women’s Business Center
• Kayla Simon ’19, Integration Engineer at Relative Space and former Propulsion Test Engineer at Virgin Orbit, co-founder of In-Spire, former LaunchPad Global Fellow and LaunchPad Watson Scholar and 2018 ACC InVenture Prize winner
• Marcus Webb ’19 and G ‘22, Economic Inclusion Fellow at Center State CEO
• Ryan York, President of York Wealth Management, former CEO of Pinnacle Investments LLC and a Syracuse University alumnus

In addition to Syracuse University, the 15 participating ACC Conference colleges are: Boston College, Clemson University, Duke University, Florida State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State, University of Notre Dame, University of Louisville, University of Miami, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Pittsburgh, University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and Wake Forest University.

The University Investor Series, or UIS, is seeking applications for a virtual pitch-fest for university startups conducted via Zoom.  This program, which is sponsored by Quake Capital, is open to all current matriculated university students, faculty, or alumni affiliates. The team must be an active, operating company with an MVP or prototype, a web presence and demonstrated market traction to be eligible.

 The series promises to offer students access to startup investors within the United States as well as in-depth feedback on their venture raise, go-to-market strategy, and growth plan, as well as a chance to win $100k investment from Quake Capital.

Eligible applicants include any person who is affiliated with a university (only needs to be one member of the team), including faculty, staff, matriculated students (undergraduates and any affiliated graduate schools), as well as recent alumni. 

Applications are on a rolling basis with 10 teams selected per competition to pitch to a team of early-stage investors.  The winning team is invited to the final round of UIS with a chance to receive automatic acceleration through the due diligence process to round two and a chance to be accepted into the Quake program and $100k of investment from Quake Capital. 

Quake is an industry-agnostic venture capital fund with offices in the U.S. and Europe and recruits teams from all around the world. It invests $100,000 in each portfolio company, focusing heavily on traction, team, and market opportunity.  Quake boasts that by identifying the right partners and investors, it can rapidly accelerate pre-seed and seed-stage companies, often producing 9 to 12 months’ worth of growth over the course of a three-month continuity program.

This program will be virtual in light of COVID-19.

Apply here.

Nine Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows from Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Tanzania and Togo visited with the LaunchPad team last week as part of a cross cultural exchange program.  The Fellows are young and midcareer professionals from the public, private and NGO sectors who bring rich experience in public policy, public health, public finance, economic development, workforce and youth development, technology, volunteerism and community building, as well as other areas.

The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by the Institute of International Education.

Affiliated with the Fulbright Exchange Program, it gives emerging global leaders access to non-degree graduate-level study, leadership development and professional collaboration with U.S. counterparts. 

The nine Humphrey Fellows are being hosted at Syracuse by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs where they are engaging in an intensive program of study, professional development and cultural exchange.  Syracuse University is one of 12 campuses across the country to host Humphrey Fellows.

Because of COVID-19 regulations, the LaunchPad visit was virtual, but animated and robust.  The Fellows engaged in a conversation with LaunchPad executive director Linda Dickerson Hartsock and Claire Howard ’23, a LaunchPad Global Fellow majoring in economics and international relations in the Maxwell School.

Hartsock provided a historical context for the evolution of innovation and entrepreneurship programs in communities across country dating back to the first incubator in the U.S., “hatched” on an egg farm to “incubate” new businesses just outside of nearby Rochester in the 1950s.  Its goal was not to build high tech startups, but to bring economic viability and sustainability to post-industrial communities that were losing factories to other places around the country and the world. The movement to launch homegrown businesses spread across the U.S. with literally thousands of local incubators and working spaces in communities of all sizes.   In the past ten years there has been a ten-fold growth in equity-based technology accelerators across the country that have launched unicorns like Airbnb, Dropbox, Stripe, Reddit and Twitch.

Syracuse University was one of the first colleges to create academic programs in this subject matter.  The Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises program at Whitman is 20 years old and was followed by the IDS program at the iSchool with its flagship programs, the Student Sandbox.  The SU Student Sandbox, located at the Tech Garden, a downtown Syracuse incubator, was the first U.S. Economic Development Administration University Center for student entrepreneurship in the country.  That was less than 15 years ago.  Now, incubators are mainstays on college campuses at nearly every college in the country, typically housed in business schools or in downtown business districts.

Syracuse University continued to be at the front of innovation when it opened the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars in spring 2016.  It was the first program of its kind in the country to be located in a college library, recognizing the importance of building an interdisciplinary program, and celebrating the role of a university library as an innovation hub. 

Hartsock explains that it serves 4,500 students from every academic program who are working on products, services and technologies in the areas such as cleantech, fintech, medtech, hardware, software and consumer goods, digital media, e-commerce, and the creative sectors.  It also has a strong focus on career development, recognizing that young people need to develop entrepreneurial mindsets, and that the goal of programs like the LaunchPad is to create global citizens who will be innovation leaders across all sectors of life.

Claire Howard expanded on social impact entrepreneurship, which is a strong area of focus for the LaunchPad.  She spoke from her perspective working with student entrepreneurs tackling social issues such as food access, equity, the environment, public health, and other “wicked problems.”  She also offered her perspective as the campus ambassador for the Hult Prize which is a partnership between the Hult International Business School, the United Nations Office of Partnerships, and the Hult Prize Foundation.  The Hult Prize is a global competition for solutions to annual challenges.  With a $1 million grand prize, it is considered the Nobel Prize of student impact entrepreneurship.  Syracuse University hosts annual Hult Prize competitions and was selected to host a Hult Prize Regional Summit later this spring.

Humphrey Fellows shared their perspectives on how innovation ecosystems are structured in their countries and some of the challenges that come with introducing innovation in government, particularly around the issue of sustainability related to leadership change. 

The group discussed the components that go into building a successful ecosystem, and how to mobilize resources and support for grassroots efforts to accelerate technology adoption and innovation initiatives.  They shared success stories, and their own journeys to help shape change in their organizations and home communities. 

The conversation also focused on how to engage young people – particularly Generation Z – in creating new business, and also in creating new models for engagement and citizenship. 

As a Maxwell student, Howard was particularly pleased to engage with the guests. “Each Humphrey Fellow, coming from a unique background, offered a thoughtful and eye-opening perspective on entrepreneurship around the world while affirming that innovation is a universal human drive that brings joy and positive social impact. Meeting them afforded me the opportunity to learn how they are making the world a better place through their own vision and passion for becoming change agents in their own organizations, communities and respective countries.”

“I was very impressed to know that an objective of LaunchPad is to launch entrepreneurs, not all of whom will necessarily launch companies, said Humphrey Fellow Débora Targino Teixeira, from Brazil. “Coming from an organization that believes in the power of entrepreneurs to transform the world – regardless of where they are – it was very gratifying to see that Syracuse University also follows this premise.”

Some Fellows travelled internationally to learn about innovation and technology. Humphrey Fellow Jordan Dean from Papua New Guinea is looking forward to opportunities at LaunchPad.

“I’d like to learn more about the innovation ecosystem here at Syracuse University and LaunchPad. I am also keen to join to see how we can collaborate with my office back in Papua New Guinea.”

“Humphrey Fellows approach innovation and entrepreneurship in a myriad of ways, given the many countries and organizations they hail from,” said Margaret Lane, director of the Humphrey Fellowship Program at Syracuse University. “The LaunchPad enables them to share ideas, collaborate, innovate and discover new ways of thinking in order to make an impact after their fellowship.”

“The conversation about how the U.S. looks at innovation, especially within public policy, and the sharing of perspectives certainly resonated with the fellows,” added Martha Haddad Ketcham, associate coordinator of the Humphrey Fellowship Program and a coordinator for executive education at the Maxwell School.  “Hopefully this is the start of some fantastic networking and engagement with the numerous initiatives at the LaunchPad.”

Heading back to Syracuse this week?  Get a jump start on the semester by thinking about competition season this spring.  Applications are now open for events featuring more than $125,000 in prize money for great student ideas.  The LaunchPad team is ready to help you get ready to compete.  Learn more about competitions hosted by the LaunchPad, the iSchool, Whitman School of Management, VPA’s School of Design and InclusiveU.  

There are more competitions than ever this spring.  We are actively looking for founders, idea champions and people who want to be part of teams from across every academic program on campus. 

Don’t have an idea, but want to be part of the fun and join a team?  E-mail us at LaunchPad@syr.edu and we can help you make matches.

Key dates:

• March 15, 2021, Applications due for Raymond von Dran (RvD) iPrize (with teams automatically entered into the Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards, as well as Compete CNY, the regional qualifier for the New York Business Plan Competition, which are both part of this event). Apply here.
• March 19, 2021, Applications due for Panasci Business Plan Competition. Apply through the Whitman School of Management and learn more on the competition website.
• March 26, 2021, Virtual competition:  RvD iPrize, Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards and Compete CNY (concurrent competitions)
• April 5, 2021, Applications due for Intelligence ++ Competition. Apply here.
• April 23 – 24, 2021, Event:  Panasci Business Plan Competition, Whitman School of Management
• April 16, 2021, Event:  Intelligence ++ Competition.   
• May 7, 2021, Event:  New York Business Plan Competition (top winners of the RvD iPrize competition move on to the state event)

About the competitions:

• Raymond von Dran (RvD) iPrize:  Open to all graduate and undergraduate students working on venture ideas for products, services, technologies and social impact ventures.  Sponsored by the iSchool, the competition typically features a prize package of more than $40,000.  The competition is also part of Compete CNY, the regional qualifier for the New York State Business Plan Competition.  
• Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards:  Open to undergraduate and graduate students at Syracuse competing in the iPrize, the competition features a prize package of $10,000 from the Hunter Brooks Watson Memorial Fund (Hunter’s Fund) in memory of Hunter Brooks Watson, a Syracuse University iSchool student who passed away in a 2016 distracted driving accident. This competition is concurrent with the RvD iPrize.
• Compete CNY and New York Business Plan Competition:  Contestants in the RvD iPrize are automatically entered into this regional qualifier for the New York Business Competition.  The qualifier runs concurrently with the RvD iPrize. Open to all undergraduate and graduate students at New York State Universities.  Check for details on this year’s competition here.
• Panasci Business Plan Competition:  Sponsored by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and open to all graduate and undergraduate students, typically with a prize package of more than $40,000.  This is a separate application through the Whitman School, so check for details on the competition website.
• Intelligence ++ Competition: Supported by a generous gift to SU Libraries by Gianfranco Zaccai ’70 H’09 and the Zaccai Foundation for Augmented Intelligence (Intelligence++), this challenge is focused on inclusive entrepreneurship and design. It is open to all undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines, with a $30,000 prize package. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged to submit proposals for products, services or technologies that address problems or create new opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. It is offered through a partnership between the LaunchPad, the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education (InclusiveU) and the  College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA). This is a separate application from the common app, so apply for this competition here.

The LaunchPad team at SU Libraries is available to assist. To schedule a meeting to discuss your idea, get matched with a peer mentor, or participate in pitch workshops, please e-mail LaunchPad@syr.edu

For the latest news about these competitions and other funding opportunities for your great idea, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, as well as our LinkedIn company page and Instagram.

Congratulations to Sam Hollander ’22 (Whitman and Newhouse), founder of FSCL, who was selected as one of 30 semi-finalist teams from a large field of student startups across the country to compete in the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars network pitch challenge.  The event is an opportunity for student startups from across the LaunchPad global network to compete for over $50,000 in prize money, mentorship and feedback from top investors.

Hollander was a finalist last week in the EO’s Global Student Entrepreneurship Award (GSEA) competition. He is a Syracuse LaunchPad Rubin Family Innovation Mentor, LaunchPad Orange Ambassador and has been a Syracuse LaunchPad Global Fellow.  He recently completed a Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars Fellowship.  He has been very actively engaged in LaunchPad programming, including organizing Syracuse University’s first Startup Weekend and many other campus events.

FSCL is an alternative finance vehicle that is a simple, affordable and flexible solution to finance higher education.

The 2021 competition will be held within Startup Grind’s virtual Global Conference. Seven finalist teams will be selected from the semi-final round to go on and pitch in the finals in front of industry-leading judges and a global virtual audience.  The final competition will be hosted by Marcus Felder, Vice President, Blackstone Career Pathways, and judges will include:

• David Cohen, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Techstars
• Brian Brackeen, General Partner, Lightship Capital
• Christine Feng, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone Growth

Besides Syracuse University, other teams hail from:

• Cornell University
• Montana State University
• New York University
• State University of New York at Albany
• State University of New York at Buffalo
• Temple University
• The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
• Trinity College Dublin
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Davis
• University of California, Irvine
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of California, Riverside
• University of California, San Diego
• University of Central Florida
• University of Southern California
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Texas at Dallas
• University of Texas at San Antonio
• University of Texas at the Permian Basin

The LaunchPad network recently added six new schools from the University of Texas system as a part of a commitment to supporting diverse and underrepresented students in exploring opportunities associated with entrepreneurship.  Additionally, the network recently added a number of additional University of California system schools.  There are now 30 universities in the network, including universities in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Montana, Texas, California and Ireland.

The LaunchPad is pleased to welcome Belle Martorano G ‘19 (Whitman) as our new Alumni Entrepreneur in Residence for Spring 2021.  She is the founder of Rilind Consulting, a company culture firm specializing in organizational management, change implementation, and operational optimization. Leveraging a decade of experience in learning and development, community engagement, and crisis intervention, she revitalizes and restructures struggling organizations and start-ups within both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors through targeted team training, strategic planning, and executive coaching. She also founded and manages a private equity fund providing seed-stage capital for socially responsible, mission-driven initiatives — particularly start-ups led by women and founders of color. Currently, she serves on several advisory boards for both domestic and international companies, nonprofits, and community organizations.

A graduate of the Whitman School of Management with both an MBA and an M.S. in Entrepreneurship, she also holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Southern California and a Professional Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. In addition, she is a Certified Scrum Master; a Prosci Certified Change Practitioner; and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She is currently completing her EdD in Leadership and Learning in Organizations at Vanderbilt University.

She is available to provide mentorship in early-stage team building and networking; conflict and crisis management; partnerships and early equity distribution; diversity, equity and inclusion; and fleshing out investor pitches and presentations. She is also available for 1:1 coaching in soft skills, best practices, and leadership development. Consultation can be conducted via email, or by scheduling a phone or Zoom meeting through Calendly.

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:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Linked In

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