Stories & Updates

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. 

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

Back in 2012, when Ben Rapkin took his first entrepreneurship class, instructor Dan Freeman, the founding director of Horn Entrepreneurship, asked him to restart the Entrepreneurship Club. 

Horn Entrepreneurship and E-club will host the Fall Pitch Party on Wednesday, October 26, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the Venture Development Center. The Fall Pitch Party is designed for those new to pitching an idea, with students sharing startup concepts to an audience of their peers and a panel of judges composed of recent entrepreneurial alumni. This year's event is particularly special, as we return to an in-person format for the first time in years. Advance registration is required for both spectators and presenters. Register by October 19. 

Fourteen teams advanced to the semifinal round of Hen Hatch, UD’s premiere startup funding competition. Three semifinalists from each track (pre- and post-revenue) will advance to the 2022 Hen Hatch Final Round which will take place on Dec. 1 at the Audion. Rewards of startup cash and prizes will total $50,000 with additional in-kind gifts. 

Entrepreneurs change the world. 

That is the heart of Charlie Horn’s philosophy on teaching, thinking and approaching solutions to societal challenges.

This article was originally published on UDaily.