Alumna Wins Top Prize in LaunchU Pitch Competition</h1> <article> <h1>Alumna Wins Top Prize in LaunchU Pitch Competition</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:01:50 +0000</p> <span>Alumna Wins Top Prize in LaunchU Pitch Competition</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:01:50-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:01">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:01</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>OBERLIN—<a href="/innovation-and-impact/launchu">LaunchU</a>, a venture incubator for �鶹��Ƶ College student and alumni entrepreneurs, has selected three winners in its annual pitch competition.</p> <p>The grand prize ($20,000) was awarded to Alesandra Zsiba ’10 for the Identity Project, an innovative program that uses documentary arts to address poverty-related barriers to identity development in underserved youth. Through a specialized curriculum in documentary storytelling, performance, and project-based literacy learning, The Identity Project empowers marginalized young people with an invaluable opportunity for self-actualization and self-advocacy through an applied empathy practice.</p> <p>The second-place award ($15,000) was given to team members Brendan McKenna, Matthew Fox, and Soren Zeliger ’15 for Storybook, a consumer-oriented mobile app that enables users to enjoy real-time documentation, sharing, and storage of picture and video media from multiple perspectives. The app focuses on sharing experiences in a collaborative fashion, and creating a platform where users can access memories forged with friends and family in a single, centralized location.</p> <p>Third-place winner Bryon Skvor received $10,000 for Humble Grounds Roasting Company, based in �鶹��Ƶ. Skvor’s venture looks for exceptional coffees that have the potential to be used to create stable economies in farming communities around the world. The coffees are brought to �鶹��Ƶ to be roasted and served locally and supplied to like-minded wholesale partners.</p> <p>LaunchU takes place over three weeks in January, during �鶹��Ƶ’s winter term. The program guides entrepreneurs through a business-model innovation curriculum, developing their skills and understanding in preparation for launching their ventures. The third week focuses on one-on-one mentorship, pitch prep, and getting ready to launch. Following a preliminary pitch competition, qualifying teams will pitch before a panel of potential investors and judges. Prizes include funding, hands-on mentorship, and extensive in-kind services.</p> <p>Contact: Elyzabeth Holford, director of entrepreneurship, (440) 775-8567, <a href="mailto:eholford@oberlin.edu">eholford@oberlin.edu</a></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Releases</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2016-02-02T12:00:00Z">Tue, 02/02/2016 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2406">Innovation and Impact</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> </article> <article> <h1>�鶹��Ƶ Receives $500,000 Grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation to Endow Entrepreneurship Initiatives</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:03:39 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ Receives $500,000 Grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation to Endow Entrepreneurship Initiatives</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:03:39-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:03">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:03</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A two-year grant of $500,000 from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation will endow entrepreneurship programming at �鶹��Ƶ College. The endowment will provide vital support for the college’s campus-wide entrepreneurship initiatives—<a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/office/creativity/">Creativity & Leadership and LaunchU</a>—and will play a critical role in advancing entrepreneurship as a defining and transformative component of an �鶹��Ƶ education. </p> <p>In 2007, �鶹��Ƶ was one of five colleges awarded seed funding through the Northeast Ohio Collegiate Entrepreneurship Program (NOCEP), conceived by the Burton D. Morgan Foundation and co-funded with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Based in Hudson, Ohio, the Morgan Foundation works to strengthen the free enterprise system by investing in organizations and institutions that foster the entrepreneurial spirit.</p> <p>Support from the Morgan Foundation has helped make entrepreneurship an overt and intentional part of an �鶹��Ƶ education. </p> <p>“The Foundation is excited to see entrepreneurship fully embedded on the �鶹��Ƶ campus as a highly visible, multidisciplinary program accessible to students and alumni through curricular and co-curricular modes of learning,” says Deborah Hoover, president and CEO of the Morgan Foundation. “�鶹��Ƶ has fully embraced the ambitious vision we shared for harnessing student energy and creativity through entrepreneurship, and we are pleased to help sustain the momentum of the program for the future. <br></p> <p>�鶹��Ƶ’s Creativity & Leadership (C&L) program is a multidisciplinary effort designed to encourage students to put their innovative ideas into practice. Competitive funding opportunities for students have included the Ignition Fund, Conservatory Initiative Grants, C&L Fellowships, and internship support. </p> <p>The Ignition Fund allows students with early-stage ideas to test and refine their business models. Conservatory Initiative Grants enable students to spend winter (January) term implementing artistic projects that prepare them for entrepreneurial lives and larger ventures. C&L Fellowships have provided seed funding for �鶹��Ƶ’s most promising entrepreneurs to move their ideas from concept to reality in the year after graduation. Students prepare for funding opportunities through C&L workshops, advising, mentoring, and courses. C&L also awards competitive, need-based funding for students to undertake unpaid summer entrepreneurship internships during which students work with a startup or other entrepreneurial enterprise, receive mentoring, and develop skills to further their own entrepreneurial aspirations. </p> <p>�鶹��Ƶ continues to respond to the changing needs of students and alumni and in 2013 introduced the LaunchU entrepreneurship accelerator. Culminating in a public pitch competition before a panel of investors, LaunchU helps students, alumni, and faculty refine their entrepreneurial ideas, develop skills and contacts, and compete for seed funding, coaching, and access to venture capital. By extending �鶹��Ƶ’s entrepreneurship resources to alumni for the first time, LaunchU is establishing a vibrant network of �鶹��Ƶ entrepreneurs in a range of sectors. It is also deepening ties with the rich entrepreneurship ecosystem of northeast Ohio. </p> <p>“Support from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation was key to catalyzing entrepreneurship as a powerful educational tool at �鶹��Ƶ,” says Andrea Kalyn, dean of the Conservatory. “We are very grateful to the Foundation for this campaign gift, which will ensure that generations of �鶹��Ƶ students and alumni have ongoing access to the opportunities and support critical to developing their passions, skills, and entrepreneurial ideas to create change and value in the world.” </p> <p><strong>About The Burton D. Morgan Foundation</strong> </p> <p>The Burton D. Morgan Foundation is a private foundation established in 1967, whose mission is to strengthen the free enterprise system by investing in organizations and institutions that foster the entrepreneurial spirit. To advance the mission, the Foundation supports entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education programs and initiatives at the youth, collegiate, and adult levels. A legacy of founder and entrepreneur Burton D. Morgan (1916-2003), the Foundation leverages its grant and staff resources to connect the people, ideas, organizations, and opportunities that comprise the vibrant and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem in Northeast Ohio. Visit www.bdmorganfdn.org.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Releases</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2014-07-09T12:00:00Z">Wed, 07/09/2014 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2406">Innovation and Impact</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Entrepreneurship Fellowship Established</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:04:51 +0000</p> <span>Entrepreneurship Fellowship Established</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:04:51-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:04">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>OBERLIN, OH — <a href="http://www.flashstarts.com">FlashStarts, Inc.</a>, a new, innovative accelerator for software startups, today announced a partnership with �鶹��Ƶ College.<br><br>The partnership connects the �鶹��Ƶ Entrepreneurship Fellowship program to the FlashStarts Accelerator, providing one team of graduating �鶹��Ƶ entrepreneurs or apprentices a slot in the FlashStarts business accelerator Summer 2013 program.<br><br>FlashStarts is launching 10 new software startups with its Summer Accelerator program. Each team receives up to $20,000, mentoring, office space, and a wide array of services and support in exchange for equity.<br><br>“A recent Gallup poll indicated that 45 percent of U.S. high school students planned to be entrepreneurs after college. Last decade, colleges attracted students with elaborate athletic facilities. Today’s students are attracted to schools with great entrepreneurship programs,” said Charles Stack, FlashStarts founder and CEO.<br>“Startup Accelerators can be the capstone of university entrepreneurship programs, but they require critical mass that only the largest universities can achieve,” said Stack. “FlashStarts is partnering with top northeast Ohio universities to provide a world-class startup accelerator for their recent graduates. We are thrilled that �鶹��Ƶ’s superb ground-breaking entrepreneurship program will be our first partner.”<br><br>FlashStarts partners Charles Stack and Jennifer Neundorfer will work with �鶹��Ƶ’s existing entrepreneur program throughout the year to provide additional guidance and mentoring to students. At the end of the program, one team will be selected for the �鶹��Ƶ Entrepreneurship Fellowship at the FlashStarts Accelerator.<br><br>“Our Creativity and Leadership (C&L) Fellowship program, now in its sixth year, provides students with venture funding upon graduation. The additional mentoring and financial resources that FlashStarts provides will prove invaluable to our graduates and dramatically increase the likelihood that our �鶹��Ƶ Fellowship graduates will build great, sustainable businesses during their fellowship year,” said Andrea Kalyn, Associate Dean and C&L Program Director.<br><br>FlashStarts’ relationship with �鶹��Ƶ entrepreneurs dates back to 2009 when Charles Stack invested in �鶹��Ƶ Fellowship winner Skritter — a highly successful Chinese/Japanese writing educational application. “Successful entrepreneurs are necessarily out-of-the-box, multi-disciplinary thinkers who are also able to ‘get-stuff-done’. I think that description applies equally well to �鶹��Ƶ students and explains in no small part why �鶹��Ƶ generates more than its fair share of successful entrepreneurs,” added Stack.</p> <h4>About FlashStarts</h4> <p>FlashStarts is a Cleveland-based business startup accelerator and consultancy focused on unique and innovative uses of software and technology. FlashStarts aims to accelerate the growth of the IT ecosystem in northeast Ohio by providing the resources, capital and guidance necessary to support the earliest stage entrepreneurs in the area. We have deep expertise in startups, Enterprise and Healthcare IT, mobile, digital publishing and media, and high-bandwidth applications. Our model relies on rapid cycles of feedback and iteration, customized guidance from dedicated coaches, and an extensive network of top-tier, experienced mentors. We are continuously seeking like-minded entrepreneurs, technologists, mentors, and investors. Our Summer 2013 Accelerator program starts June 3, 2013 and will be limited to ten startups with truly unique, breakthrough ideas with the potential to change the world. For more information, visit www.flashstarts.com.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Releases</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2013-06-03T12:00:00Z">Mon, 06/03/2013 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2406">Innovation and Impact</a></div> </div> </article> </main></body></html>