Stories & Updates

Aidan Kutch’s first sneaker flip started with a pair of shoes, a disappointing store offer and an eBay listing. Years later, the University of Delaware senior has turned that early lesson in value into Kutch’s Kicks, where the student founder turns sneaker restoration into a serious business by making high-end sneaker culture more accessible.

From sustainable fashion and food waste reduction to coastal restoration and eco-friendly products, University of Delaware students showcased bold ideas for a healthier planet at the fifth annual REEF@UD Demo Day on Monday, May 4, at the Venture Development Center.

The University of Delaware Board of Trustees unanimously voted to establish the Neil Book School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship within the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at its semiannual meeting on Monday, May 11.  

Spring is bringing the energy, and Pitch Party is bringing the ideas! On Wednesday, April 29, at 6 p.m. the Spring Pitch Party will transform the Venture Development Center into a Start Up Farmer’s Market of fresh ideas and fresh pitches. With student ventures showcased around the perimeter of the Co-Lab and live pitches taking center stage, this year’s event will feel like a farmers market for entrepreneurship: full of fresh thinking, creative concepts, and founders ready to put their ideas out into the world. Register to attend by April 26.

From housing to fightwear to agricultural robotics, UD Summer Founders alumni share how 12 weeks of mentoring and customer discovery changed everything.

Powered by a social entrepreneur’s mindset and a global perspective shaped in northern Ghana, Yakubu Adam brings purpose-driven energy to Horn. At the heart of his work is real care for people, whether he’s welcoming others with a good meal, engaging with researchers as they explore entrepreneurship, or building ventures that create meaningful jobs for young people. In this Q&A, Yakubu shares his path to Horn, what he’s working on now, and what keeps him inspired.

Long before teaching entrepreneurship, Dr. Charis Asante-Agyei was living it. He founded an undergraduate student council at his university, organized a science camp for kids in Burkina Faso, and launched a tour venture in Korea. Today, he brings that same curious, build-and-test energy to Horn as the instructor of ENTR 356: Creativity and Design Thinking.

Alec Boyd is a fall 2025 entrepreneurship grad with a minor in professional selling and sales management and a familiar face in the Venture Development Center. When he tried to transfer a few community college courses back to the University of Delaware to save time and tuition, he hit a wall of PDFs, emails, and outdated processes. Alec leveraged his coursework plus VentureOn, Pitch Party, and Hen Hatch to turn a personal frustration into a tool that can save students real time and real money: Equivly.

From growing up in a STEM-driven household to becoming a New York Fashion Week designer at age 23, University of Delaware alumna Annabelle Brame has always moved at the intersection of creativity, sustainability, and bold vision. A 2024 graduate with a BS in Fashion Design & Product Innovation and a minor in Entrepreneurship, Annabelle built the foundation of her fashion label, Brame, through Horn Entrepreneurship programs including Summer Founders, REEF, and VentureOn. Today, she’s crafting an entirely new conversation around ethical design, adaptable apparel, and what it means to build a fashion house rooted in purpose.