January 11, 2022

Many businesses start with a great idea, innovative thinking, and a passionate entrepreneurial spirit - but it takes more than that to make a startup work. It takes funding. 

Funding helps startups scale, gain access to better talent and resources, and grow to the point where they can begin to attract venture capital as well as more knowledgeable investors. Programs like the Drexel Startups Fund help young entrepreneurs by not only giving them access to funding but provide other important benefits such as mentoring, incubator space, and introductions to angel and venture capital funding from the university’s alumni network.

For many startups, lack of funding is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when starting a business. There are many vital factors to the successful development of a young startup that are often overlooked, including:

• Hiring employees
• Finding a space to work from
• Acquiring the correct business licenses
• Product development Market research

These are just a few things that require funding or resources in order to get started. To many incubating startups receiving proper funding is a challenge, but with programs like the Drexel Startups Fund, young entrepreneurs have a unique opportunity to not only perfect their startup pitch, but also receive funding for their entrepreneurial venture. Drexel students have the opportunity to compete for up to $50,000 - which will be awarded to one or more competitors through the Drexel Startups Fund.

Since its inception, the Drexel Startup Fund has helped many entrepreneurs at the University get their businesses up and running. 

“The Drexel Startup Fund has helped us tremendously as first time founders. Not only did presenting our idea and pitching it in-front of established individuals give us much needed experience, the entire process itself helped prepare us for where we are now. The fund gave us the confidence to keep pushing and enabled us both educationally and financially to do more.” - Jonathan Bierig, the founder of Ultimate Odds

Jonathan and his team used the funding they received to help develop and build their company's app. His team also received office space at the Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship where they are currently continuing to work and develop their business. 

Another entrepreneur who received funding is Harrison Hertzberg, the founder of AeroPest and winner of the 2019 Baiada Incubator Competition. Harrison speaks highly of the Drexel Startup Fund stating, “The funding allowed AeroPest to pursue international patent protection, attend the premier pest control industry trade show in Las Vegas, and to build out a working prototype… I’d recommend any eligible entrepreneur apply for this valuable resource”.

Students can now submit an application to participate in the competition through February 18th by clicking here. There will also be a workshop for applicants taking place on January 27th entitled, “How to Best Prepare for Drexel Startups Fund” with a special guest speaker, Vijay Ullal.