Stories & Updates

Horn Entrepreneurship held its 2022 Spring Pitch Party on Wednesday, March 23. Students got the chance to pitch ideas for business and social ventures, in hopes of winning various awards and prizes.

The participants of VentureOn gather every Wednesday night in Horn’s Venture Development Center.

See the winners, their prizes and their next steps from EntreX 2022.

On March 4, teams of high school entrepreneurs met up at Clayton Hall, University of Delaware to participate in a head to head pitch event. These dedicated students got to pitch their startup ideas in front of a group of accomplished judges in the field of entrepreneurship. The 2022 EntreX Delaware Venture Showcase drew 12 teams of budding entrepreneurs from seven high schools from all around the state of Delaware. These teens pitched their concepts ranging from hot tea delivery services to new and improved braces designed to improve ACL tear recovery. 

The teams of highly motivated students competed for a seat in the semifinal round of the 2022 Diamond Challenge, a top ranked high school entrepreneurship competition powered by University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship. Along with that, the teams were vying for the $1000 first place prize or $500 for second place in one of two respective tracks being a business or social focus.

Horn Entrepreneurship recognizes entrepreneurial students through awards and scholarships totaling almost $10,000 in cash and Venture Development Center credit. Undergraduate students from all majors are invited to apply now through Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.

VDC Community Sessions Mentor, Mike Meola explains why everyone should stop by on Wednesday nights!

For anyone at University of Delaware who is interested in entrepreneurship, the Community Sessions at Horn’s Venture Development Center should be the number one stop on Wednesday nights. VDC Community Sessions are for students looking to develop their entrepreneurial skills, join a community of like minded creators, get feedback on a current idea or even to get inspiration for their next. The meetings are designed to promote growth by allowing students to give and receive feedback on their ideas, as well as share with each other some lessons that have pushed them in the right direction. Exercises such as idea creation, goal planning, and constant feedback help to blossom creative energy and innovative thinking. Meetings occur every Wednesday night from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at the Horn Entrepreneurship’s Venture Development Center during the semester. 

Horn Entrepreneurship and eClub will host the 2022 Spring Pitch Party. A hybrid format will take place, with the event as in-person for those registering as presenters.  The larger audience of spectators will remain virtual. It all takes place on March 23, from 6 - 8 p.m.

Three alumni dish on their experience in a NYC startup

A few years ago, the startup company Stadium was delivering dishes from different restaurants together as a single delivery to businesses all across New York City. The company was growing quickly and had endless possibilities ahead of them. Out of nowhere, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and New York shut down in an instant. Suddenly, people were working from home with no need for in office lunch delivery. The team put their heads together and created SnackMagic, which saved their business and was the best pivot response to the pandemic.

University of Delaware’s Devin Landers, Entrepreneurship ‘23 transitioned from a small town in Maryland, and never seeing a palm tree until the age of 19, to traveling across the world to places like the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait during his military service as a Marine Sergeant.

How bias affects pitching competitions

Dr. Daniel Lee is one of the newest and most intriguing professors at Horn Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware. Professor Lee earned his B.A. in math and economics from Emory University, as well as his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Georgia State University. His economics start led him to entrepreneurship because he wanted to see how economic theory would translate into the real world, where people were actually starting up businesses and requesting funding. Dr. Lee saw a lack of public data and focused on finding results to help future entrepreneurs. Dr. Lee is currently studying the effects of free time on entrepreneurship.

This article is part of a series describing how UD Horn Entrepreneurship assists teams in moving their inventions and innovations into the marketplace, a process known as commercialization. Each team receives a customized blend of resources, including training, mentorship, and funding, through the Blue Hen Proof of Concept Program.  Mentorship and support is also provided by Horn Entrepreneurship partners, including the Office of Economic, Innovations and Partnerships and Delaware’s Small Business Development Center.

Lan Wang was a UD graduate student and postdoc, now Versogen’s Director of New Chemistry and Cofounder, who led the effort to scale the world’s leading polymer membrane technologies for converting water into green hydrogen.