Stories & Updates

Horn Entrepreneurship’s Summer Founders Pre-accelerator came to an end with Demo Day on August 19, 2021. However, the founders continued progress towards more successful startups never ends. The unique experience of Summer Founders increases the possibility of students launching viable startups and social ventures, all while gaining valuable advice that will provide dividends in the coming years. Summer Founders includes all aspects of an accelerator except a financial investment, with cohort members receiving guidance from experienced entrepreneurs, advisors and mentors. The founders are also paid stipends to allow them to fully focus on their startup pursuits as long as they continue to demonstrate progress, much like how they might need to sell an investor on progress to get a next round of funding.

University of Delaware startups GetPotluck and TheraV won a total of $40,000 at the 2021 Startup302 competition, a Delaware-based funding competition for technology-enabled startups led by underrepresented founders.

The 2020 Siegfried Entrepreneurial Leadership Award Event took place virtually on Oct. 13, as the online event honored two prominent award recipients and also featured workshop opportunities.

Daphne Vantine is an account executive at Wistia, a Massachusetts company that helps marketers make business more human by harnessing the power of video. She earned a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship and technology innovation and integrated design in 2018. While at the University of Delaware, she was a member of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority and participated in Horn Entrepreneurship’s VentureOn program.

Early June, we found out that University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship will welcome its largest cohort of students to Summer Founders 2020 virtually. This group of students was composed of twenty-two startup teams totaling 34 students in the 12-week virtual pre-accelerator. During these virtual summer weeks, our founders have been receiving mentorship, education, and resources to develop and advance their concepts. Since going virtual, the groups have seen their fair share of ups and downs. The biggest include how to advance their concepts and build relationships with their teams all through a computer screen. 

Editor's Note: Snoop was a startup by Andrew Cercena and Nick Novoa that sought to help high school students find the right college. This guest article is the first in a two-part series that explores how one team's startup journey ultimately led to new pathways in entrepreneurship and interest discovery.

When I started Snoop, I was determined to solve the problem that many high school students face before entering college: That they do not know what the college student experience is truly like until they arrive and live on campus for the first time.

It’s not everyday that you find yourself pitching in the presence of the “Tiger King” himself. But for participants of VentureOn’s most recent spring pitch party, the Joe Exotic cameo was just one of the quirks that came with having to pitch virtually.