Student Venture Lab grows, gets new website
Student Venture Lab grows, gets new website
Posted: Wednesday, January 1, 2014 1:22 pm | Updated: 1:26 pm, Wed Jan 1, 2014.
The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center has launched a new website for its Student Venture Lab and welcomed three new student ventures to the six that already were operating there.
The lab is in the Innovation Center complex at the northeast corner of Stellhorn and Hobson roads. Its website, StudentVentureLab.com, has new tools to facilitate collaboration and help young entrepreneurs plan the development of their business and track its progress.
New ventures at the lab are involved in public restroom products, personalized golf equipment and online tools for teacher-student-administration collaboration.
Ventures in the lab exchange a small amount of equity in return for six months of space and services there and some startup funding. The services include one-on-one coaching from Mike Fritsch, the center’s entrepreneur-in-residence.
Depending on the performance of the ventures, they can be invited to stay for second and third development phases, each lasting six months. Over three phases, the investment in the student venture could amount to $11,500 in startup funding and office space and services valued at $9,000.
“We are very happy to be able to expand this wonderful program,” Fritsch said in a prepared statement. “The new website and new collaboration tools will really help expand the program.”
Any proceeds from the equity investments are reinvested in the lab, which also receives financial support from theLincoln Financial Foundation, IAB Financial Bank, theEdward M. & Mary McCrea Wilson Foundation and other individual and corporate contributors.
“We invest in the entrepreneurial potential of young people who want to make their own cool jobs and companies of the future, Karl LaPan, president and chief executive officer, said in the statement.
“Now, students can apply on a rolling basis into our program. We encourage young people with ideas to apply. We are accepting spots now for new student ventures.”
