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Students with an interest in starting their own companies are on the rise at MSU. In the past year, 214 startup teams joined the Hatch, that’s an increase of over 52% since last year.
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Hundreds of students from 14 colleges and 80 majors enroll in the entrepreneurship minor in addition to their existing course work each year.
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Competitive events to pitch and earn support have earned students more than $326,500 to help launch and grow their companies.
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With five student organizations devoted to startup support, a suite of on-and off-campus spaces, growing grant programs, the Conquer Accelerator, new programming in social entrepreneurship and competitive events around the world to gain financial and programmatic support, student startups are a growing part of the student experience at Michigan State University. Below, read about how exciting new programs in the Hatch, Student Startup Seed Funding, Endowed Faculty, the Conquer Accelerator, Competition and Education Travel Funding and Social Entrepreneurship will change the way Spartans meet the challenges of tomorrow.
The Hatch The Hatch at MSU is a business brainstorm environment designed to allow and encourage student entrepreneur’s wildest ideas in a mentored, creative and collaborative environment. Members gain access to a community handmade to grow their own venture’s success, with full access to a network of experienced inventors from the regional community, MSU alumni, and the professional staff of Spartan Innovations. Real students, Real Spaces: Click here to read a story about Dean Meisner, a Hatch member and entrepreneurship student at MSU. The Hatch needs include a range of support areas, such as general infrastructure funding, student commercialization and research grants, and operating expenses. Those support areas are encapsulated in a named endowment/annual expendable giving gift to this dynamic student space. To learn more about how your support can help this space grow, contact Chris Sell (hyperlinked contact info)
Student Startup Seed Funds Undergraduate students interested in startups and seeking seed funding support can look to two funds at MSU. Prospective startups interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields are the focus of the Gerstacker Foundation Entrepreneurial Grant Program. Students interested in receiving a grant must submit a proposal to an advisory board which is then reviewed to receive seed funding. Alternately, the Forest Akers Trust Entrepreneurial Grant Program is another opportunity for undergraduate students to compete for funding on a research concept with entrepreneurial potential. This program focuses on, but is not restricted to, non-STEM disciplines. While now restricted to undergraduate endeavors, with your support, these funds could expand to include the remarkable researchof graduate students at MSU as well. Support could come in the form of expendable gifts, or a named endowment to grow the reach of these grants to include all Spartans. To learn more about how your support can help this grant duo grow, contact Chris Sell (hyperlinked contact info)
Professorships in Entrepreneurship – Endowed faculty Studies predict that nearly 50% of students graduating in 2020 will be self-employed at some point in their careers. Traditional careers no longer exist and so academic programs need to change as well to properly prepare students with the variety of skills they will need to succeed. Those students who see themselves as social change agents and want to help the world also need entrepreneurship skills to be successful. Repeatedly employers tell us that, all else being equal, students who have had entrepreneurship experiences are more competitive candidates. One of the most important ways Michigan State University can help students stay competitive in academic areas such as entrepreneurship, business, integrated communication and more is to invest in faculty who teach those very courses. Spotlight on remarkable Faculty: Click here to meet Professor Forrest Sam Carter Facing the retirement of a key faculty member currently teaching five key courses, as well as seeing strong demand for a number of Professors of Practice, MSU’s need is significant. Your support could come in the form of expendable gifts, or a named college endowment to grow our academic ability to teach more Spartans. To learn more about how your support can help learning grow, contact Chris Sell (hyperlinked contact info)
Conquer Accelerator Built with a strong bench of more than forty entrepreneur and business leader mentors, the Conquer Accelerator provides selected teams with ten weeks of intensive programming, focusing on completing tailored, goal-driven benchmarks. Teams work with instructors and mentors on topics like fundraising, technology, and longevity. The Conquer Accelerator is a collaborative effort at Michigan State University, made possible through generous partnerships with the Michigan State University Foundation,
MSU Innovation Center, and Michigan State University Federal Credit Union. Any qualifying business may apply to the Conquer Accelerator. An existing affiliation with Michigan State University is not a prerequisite. For those startups from within the Michigan State University system, the Conquer Accelerator fills a crucial gap in the development cycle of new companies within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Spotlight on Conquer: Click here to read how we take startup companies to the next level at Conquer Accelerator. Support could come in the form of seed money funding for startup teams or a $250k annual account for operating expenses, to broaden the depth and breadth of startups who join the MSU family. To learn more about how your support can help Conquer, contact Chris Sell (hyperlinked contact info)
Entrepreneurship Education Entrepreneurship programming at MSU does not stop in the lecture hall. To foster and cultivate the culture of entrepreneurship already happening within MSU, support is needed to keep the lines of learning open, in the form of external lecture series speakers and travel support for field trips and conferences. Existing events on campus and critical, including summertime entrepreneurship Bootcamp, the statewide GreenLight Business Plan Competition hosted at MSU and the local chapter of internationally-successful Startup Weekend. Real People, real programs: To read more about the Women in Entrepreneurship student group made possible with the support of Alum Carrie Ann Roquemore. Support could come in the form of programming support for any of the events and opportunities listed above. To learn more about how your support can help students do more with their education at MSU, contact Chris Sell (hyperlinked contact info)
Social Entrepreneurship Program What is social entrepreneurship? Put simply, it’s the use of new approaches to solve old social problems. Throughout history there have been social change agents and activists who have put their societies on a better path. But over the past couple of decades, a distinct, more entrepreneurial approach to alleviating the problems associated with poverty has emerged. That path-breaking generation of social entrepreneurs broke free of the false dichotomy between “it’s a business” or “it’s a charity” to experiment with business models, innovate new distribution and replication methods, and hold themselves accountable for results. With the start of the MSU chapter of optiMize, the statewide student-led social innovation movement in fall 2017, MSU is ready to take action on passion projects that may have lacked the business support to be made a reality. Real People, Real Programs: Click here to read more about Land Grant Goods, a student organic farm endeavor that is creating jobs, and paving the way for healthy choices. Support could come in the form of program directors (a full time employee at MSU) to direct social entrepreneurship (SE), as well as seed money funding for SE startup teams, an annual account for operating expenses, or a named endowment. To learn more about how your support can help Spartans help the world, contact Chris Sell (hyperlinked contact info)
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