Stories & Updates

Nicholai Williamson is a senior majoring in Entrepreneurship and Management, with a minor in Professional Selling and Sales Management. As one of the winners of Hen Hatch, the University of Delaware’s premier startup competition that provides resources, networking opportunities, and support for entrepreneurial ventures, he is also the founder of BonaFyde. BonaFyde Inc. is a startup dedicated to helping international prospective students select the right university by offering detailed admissions information and facilitating one-on-one Zoom calls with current college students.

At the Hen Hatch 2023 event, a gathering of outstanding young entrepreneurs demonstrated their dedication and willingness to put in the work to compete for funding based on their ventures. Amongst the other entrepreneurs participating in the innovation showcase and the finalist round, Samantha McGhee shined bright. She was able to pitch Miss Boulevard with grace and charisma that engaged the crowd and judges. Landing her some crucial funding for her entrepreneurial journey.

Another celebratory night in the books where innovative students and professionals came together to embrace the true essence of entrepreneurship at one of our biggest events of the year.  On Thursday, Nov. 16th at The Tower Audion at UD’s STAR Campus, Horn Entrepreneurship’s premier startup funding competition Hen Hatch, officially concluded after the third and final round. After months and months of passionate hard work from teams striving for a spot in the final pitching round, four young innovators secured their finalist position and a chance to pitch for the top spot plus a piece of the prize pool at 2023 Hen Hatch.  

After careful consideration, Horn Entrepreneurship has selected the finalists for Hen Hatch, the University of Delaware’s premier startup competition held annually.  The entries this year show a wide array of students passionate about entrepreneurship, coming from a variety of colleges, majors, and interests. As difficult as the teams made it for our judges to come to a decision, we have successfully narrowed it down to a few especially promising innovators that we are excited to highlight in the final round. Students, alumni, and other community members interested in watching the Hen Hatch final round can register for the event to reserve a seat or watch from home via a live stream.

When it comes to nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit, few programs can rival Horn Entrepreneurship’s prestigious startup funding competition known as Hen Hatch. For years, Hen Hatch has been the launchpad for countless innovative ideas and fledgling businesses, transforming them into thriving ventures. With the Hen Hatch application period open from now until September 20th, if you're a UD student with entrepreneurial aspirations, here's why you should consider applying for this remarkable opportunity.

As the world tries to move in the direction of a more sustainable future, renewable forms of energy like wind, hydrogen, and solar have become increasingly relevant, especially right here at the University of Delaware. We recently launched a multi-million dollar Center for Clean Hydrogen, and have been a leader in solar energy research for almost a half-century, hosting a state-of-the-art working photovoltaic array as well as the state of Delaware’s largest solar panel installation.Capturing energy from the rays of sunshine that shine down on UD’s Field House and converting them into electricity, the solar project produces an estimated 1,035,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually and reduces the University’s carbon footprint by an estimated 1.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide every year. But how can the average person who can’t afford to install panels leverage solar power to meet their energy needs?

Hen Hatch, Horn Entrepreneurship’s premier startup funding competition, has finally come to a close after the third and final round was held on Thursday, Dec. 1 at The Tower Audion at UD’s STAR Campus. The final round marks the culmination of a months-long competition, with many of our teams having worked for years on their startups. The six teams that moved on from the semifinal round showcased their most persuasive pitches for the event, each vying for 1st place spot in their respective tracks and the prizes that come with it. 

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.

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.