Stories & Updates

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

Horn Entrepreneurship offers many opportunities for you to make the most of your tuition! Its home, the Venture Development Center (VDC), is open to anyone at UD. Whether you have an idea or not, you can participate, network, be inspired and learn.

Calling all Blue Hen student entrepreneurs: apply to University of Delaware’s premier startup funding competition, Hen Hatch. This program is a once-a-year opportunity for UD students to put their best ideas forward and compete for a portion of a $50,000 prize pool. The submission deadline is September 16.

“I bet you twenty bucks I can beat you in this game.” Playing video games and involving money in the equation is a situation which tends to occur regularly among gamers. Alex Pickett and Dan Goodman had a goal to create a platform where gamers can play for money. 

The last six months might have flown by for you, but the last six months these students, alumni, faculty and staff were building their businesses, becoming better students and professors, and more. Take inspiration from their achievements in this article. 

Horn Entrepreneurship reaches far beyond the confines of the University of Delaware and through an unexpected lens - the Diamond Challenge. This global youth entrepreneurship competition engages more than 1800 teens annually from more than 30 countries. Leading the Diamond Challenge is a new team member at Horn, Maggie Nelson.