Marquette University has established a seed fund for budding student and faculty entrepreneurial ventures with funding from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
Using dollars from the WEDC Capital Catalyst Program and its own Strategic Innovation Fund, Marquette has set aside $600,000 for the Marquette Enterprise Seed Fund.
“Wisconsin’s universities are leaders in advancing new technologies and innovations,” said Mark Hogan, chief executive officer of the WEDC. “The Marquette Enterprise Seed Fund will offer a critical source of capital to support the development of new business ventures that bring important solutions to the global marketplace.”
Through three competitive application cycles, up to six Marquette student, faculty or staff projects will be eligible to receive awards or investments of $25,000 or $50,000, depending on the business model and need. The first application cycle will take place this fall. The applicant projects must have established a legal business entity, and will be judged based on their management teams, product/service feasibility, potential market size, and business model viability.
The winning project teams will meet regularly with experienced mentors, and will take part in Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship programming.
“As we continue to boost research and innovation at Marquette, particularly around those projects with commercial potential, seed funding like this has become increasingly important,” said Dr. Jeanne Hossenlopp, vice president for research and innovation at Marquette. “Our president, Mike Lovell, believes firmly that collaborative partnerships like this one with the WEDC will be the key to unlocking Marquette’s potential to bring transformative solutions to the marketplace. We look forward to the possibilities this partnership will bring.”
