U News | Emory University accepting applications for its RAISE Forum
The University of Buffalo has received a $750,000 grant to help sustain three more years of operations for Cultivator, its early stage start-up support program.
From Emory University:
Emory’s Goizueta Business School is accepting applications for its RAISE (Retention and Advanced Investment for the Southeast at Emory) Forum. The event connects start-ups and investors from across the Southeast. The Forum is accepting applications from post-revenue start-ups based in the Southeast seeking funding between $500,000 and $5 million. Apply here by September 27. The 18th annual RAISE Forum will be held November 15.
From the University of Arkansas:
A new registered student organization devoted to the venture capital industry is launching this semester, with plans for “fostering the entrepreneurial spirit” via workshops, networking opportunities, and hands-on projects.
The University Venture Capital Society RSO will focus on providing practical experiences in due diligence, sourcing and investor relations, while also facilitating connections between students and industry professionals, according to Founder William Tier, who will also serve as the Society’s President.
The new organization will be collaborating with 46VC, a venture capital firm based in Tulsa, OK, that invests in early stage technologies. The firm, which has offices in Bentonville, announced the Dickson & Main fund earlier this summer. The initiative is a partnership between the firm and the University of Arkansas’ Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation to back tech founders affiliated with the university and the wider Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The society has planned three panel sessions and a fireside chat for the fall semester:
- Panel session #1 on September 23 – Identifying Your Investment Thesis and Raising a Venture Fund;
- Panel Session #2 on October 21 – Deal Flow Sourcing and Due Diligence; and
- Panel Session #3 on November 18 – Investment Structures and Negotiating Terms.
From Indiana University:
The Indiana University (IU) Foundation has announced the receipt of a $16 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its statewide initiative College and Community Collaboration. The funding will help IU Bloomington and key community partners accelerate the development of Bloomington’s Trades District into a thriving hub for innovation, economic development, and community engagement, stimulating economic growth and opportunity in the city and the 11-county Indiana Uplands region.
More specifically, the grant will partially support the development and activation of the Trades District and collaborative efforts that seek to expand capacity to incubate entrepreneurs at The Mill, a nonprofit that is developing pathways so entrepreneurs and start-ups can:
- Connect with the Trades District;
- Attract high-wage jobs at the city’s new sustainable tech center in the Trades District, known as The Forge;
- Facilitate the success of area development and revitalization projects; and
- Create new artwork, arts pathways and cultural programming that engages Bloomington’s creative community alongside the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design.
The $16 million College and Community Collaboration grant will leverage $64.4 million in investments from key partner organizations and planned developments, totaling more than $80 million in total investment. The City of Bloomington and The Mill were the two primary partners on the IU Foundation’s grant application.
From the University of Buffalo:
The University has received a $750,000 grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to help sustain three more years of operations for Cultivator, its early stage start-up support program. The two organizations share a dedicated mission of strengthening the Western New York (WNY) region, in part through fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.
The namesake legacy foundation of the Buffalo Bills’ Founder and former owner, The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has a focus on connecting entrepreneurs in Southeast Michigan and WNY to critical resources to start and grow businesses. Managed by the University of Buffalo’s Office of Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships (BEP), Cultivator nurtures WNY-based start-up founders by providing mentorship, investments, and other resources to transform their innovative ideas into viable, scalable businesses.
Since its inception three years ago, 66 companies have participated in Cultivator, with more than 70 percent founded by women or founders of color. UB has invested in 28 companies through Cultivator, with a total of $2.7 million in pre-seed investments made.
The nine-month program, organizers say, democratizes access to startup funding opportunities at the earliest stages of business, welcoming aspiring entrepreneurs from the five counties of WNY — no prior UB affiliation required.
Another from the University of Arkansas:
A 17-year-old on a mission to make e-bikes more accessible and a veteran-owned start-up harnessing artificial intelligence to improve firearm training are among seven start-ups in the fall 2024 cohort of the University’s outdoor recreation business incubator.
The Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) supports start-ups building products and services in the outdoor recreation industry with workshop training, team mentoring, and dedicated business development consulting to help them scale.
Overseen by leaders from the University’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, GORP’s fall cohort includes a mix of start-ups focused on cycling, firearms, outdoor apparel, and camping. The 12-week program, which begins next week and ends with a “Demo Day” on November 12, also provides up to $15,000 in “non-dilutive seed funding” per company — funding that doesn’t require the owner to give up equity in the company.
Click here to learn more about the participants.
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