Stories & Updates

Hen Hatch, Horn Entrepreneurship’s premier startup funding competition, has finally come to a close after the third and final round was held on Thursday, Dec. 1 at The Tower Audion at UD’s STAR Campus. The final round marks the culmination of a months-long competition, with many of our teams having worked for years on their startups. The six teams that moved on from the semifinal round showcased their most persuasive pitches for the event, each vying for 1st place spot in their respective tracks and the prizes that come with it. 

This article is part of a series celebrating the 10^th anniversary of Horn Entrepreneurship by highlighting alumni, their stories and accomplishments.

When James Massaquoi was attending Caesar Rodney High School and working at Taco Bell, he didn’t have a clear path for college. In fact, he would later be turned down in his first two choices in majors, finance and accounting.

On a daily basis Annabelle Camp is considering and researching the varied facets of art conservation. She is about to begin a post-graduate Kress Fellowship at Balboa Art Conservation Center in San Diego, CA. This new opportunity requires a big move from her last position as a graduate intern in the Textile Conservation Studio of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

On November 10, Horn Entrepreneurship and The Siegfried Group hosted the 2022 Siegfried Award for Entrepreneurship Leadership Event to recognize individuals for demonstrating excellence in leadership and outstanding contributions to the understanding and practice of entrepreneurial leadership.

12 student teams spent Saturday, October 22, presenting possible solutions to ecological challenges in the Fall 2022 Eco Design Sprint, sponsored by the Ratcliffe Eco-Entrepreneurship Fellows program (REEF@UD), Horn Entrepreneurship, and the Gerard J. Mangone Climate Change Science and Policy Hub at the University of Delaware. Winning proposals ranged from enhanced artificial turf to non-heat absorbing sidewalks to delayed-release nitrogen fertilizers.

Following much deliberation, the finalists for Hen Hatch 2022, the University of Delaware’s much-anticipated premier startup competition, have been selected. The submissions this year have been from a wide range of industries, colleges, and interests, truly showing that the spirit of entrepreneurship can be found anywhere. This year’s teams made it hard on our semifinal judges, but we have managed to narrow it down to a few particularly promising and innovative startups we are proud to showcase in the final round.

VentureOn is a semester-long application-based program that offers students a chance to validate a problem and build a viable solution in resolving a chosen area of personal interest. Ventures range from social, to business, to product ideas. This semester we had a significant uptick in applicants, with a total of 54 students applying as 48 teams, up from 29 teams in Spring 2022. These 54 students represent six colleges and 23 college departments or areas of study, bringing together a diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students to form a rich network of sharing. The teams will gather at the Venture Development Center, which acts as the hub for Horn Entrepreneurship activities including VentureOn.

The Horn Hen of the month article series is a brand new series dedicated to highlighting Horn students that are inspiring others and impacting their community. One nominated Horn student will be chosen each month and a written feature will document their hard work and progress as they go through their time at Horn.

Horn Entrepreneurship and E-club welcomed our amazing student entrepreneurs and innovators to the VDC once again for our semi-annual pitch party, back to in-person at the VDC for the first time since pre-Covid. We had a full house, with 11 students joining us to pitch and a flock of spectators coming in to watch and support their peers as they pitched their best ideas. 

University of Delaware 2022 graduate and former Horn Ambassador Lilly Checkoff began her start in entrepreneurship at a very young age. With her non-profit Tools For School, she provided thousands of backpacks and school supplies for underprivileged children. This non-profit guided and inspired her to surround herself with all things business once accepted as a University of Delaware freshman. Through her time at UD, she became heavily involved with Horn's different programs and excelled as a responsible student of entrepreneurial leadership. Now, as a 2022 graduate, Lilly aims to make the world her own and use her background in entrepreneurship to guide her.