Stories & Updates

The Diamond Challenge is seeking mentors to guide its participants for the 2018 competition season. Created in 2012 by the University of Delaware’s Horn Entrepreneurship, and sponsored by Capital One, the Diamond Challenge is an entrepreneurship competition for high school students that allows teens to learn about entrepreneurship while putting their ideas into action.

Snoop, an ambitious new tech student team in University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship VentureOn program, is led by freshman Entrepreneurship & Technology Innovation major Andrew Cercena. The Delaware native graduated from Tower Hill and has used his own experience transitioning from high school to college to inspire entrepreneurial creativity.

University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship alum Zack Jones, class of 2017, has officially taken on the role of interim director for Dual School. Dual School is a student idea incubator that runs a free, 10-week program for local high school students to practice putting their ideas into action. Students go to downtown Wilmington’s co-working space, 1313 Innovation, and take advantage of mentorship, resources and connections to a wide array of networks.

University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship VentureOn program has officially accepted Savvy Sisters Media into its Fall 2017 semester cohort. Savvy Sisters Media is a digital agency that specializes in social media marketing and is spearheaded by senior Integrated Communications major Jamie Levy.

Senior in chemical engineering major Matt Criscuolo and recent University of Delaware honors graduate Zachary Jones were chosen by the University Innovation Fellows (UIF) program as one of 23 student event leaders for the program’s Silicon Valley Meetup, which took place Nov. 16-21, 2017.

The Diamond Challenge is seeking judges for its 2018 competition. Created in 2012 by the University of Delaware’s Horn Entrepreneurship, and sponsored by Capital One, the Diamond Challenge is an entrepreneurship competition for high school students that allows teens to learn about entrepreneurship while putting their ideas into action.

Color Coded is a startup searching for a way to increase diversity in the tech industry. Color Coded is one of many participating teams in University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship VentureOn, a program led by seasoned entrepreneur Vince DiFelice, and is spearheaded by graduate student Garry Johnson and sophomore James Massaquoi.

Be[MAN]Kind, a socially conscious streetwear startup, is working to provide a form of expression through clothing in response to the current political climate. The apparel startup is one of several participating teams in University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship VentureOn and is spearheaded by Adam Polansky, a senior Entrepreneurship & Technology Innovation major, and Keith Obiero.

University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship is now accepting high school student registrations for the Diamond Challenge youth entrepreneurship program for 2018. A link to the application is here. The Diamond Challenge has already accepted more than  400 students with 192 concepts from over 34 countries. The program was started by Horn Entrepreneurship in 2012 and is backed by the Paul and Linda McConnell Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative. Students learn how to turn their ideas into action by participating in the competition and engaging with students globally. The innovative competition offers $100,000 in rewards and is built for the innovative, creative, motivated student who wants to change the world.

University of Delaware faculty are invited to the UD IDEA Network Third Thursday Faculty Social from 4 to 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Venture Development Center (VDC).