Stories & Updates

This year’s Startup302 competition attracted 125 startups from Delaware, the Philadelphia region, the United States and countries including Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Nigeria, Uganda and Bangladesh. These teams competed for a prize pool totaling $170,000. 

This article first appeared on the blog for Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics on May 24, 2022.  Lavar Thomas's graduate studies include an M.S. in International Studies and his work on his social startup, Leaders of the Free World with the opportunities available through UD's Horn Entrepreneurship.

Members of VentureON take a moment before beginning earlier this spring semester.

This semester brings a brand new opportunity for VentureOn teams to expand their viewability and grow their own support network for their startup!

An online voting event will be held from May 9 and will remain open until May 20. Founders will fully promote themselves and their startups to gain the most votes.

UD Entrepreneurship students posing for a photo on the beach at Waikiki

A select group of UD entrepreneurship students attended  Horn Entrepreneurship's study abroad program in January ‘22 to Hawaii. The students described the program as “an experience of a lifetime.” The students completed course work that focused on entrepreneurship & workplace culture, while being immersed in Hawaiian culture and history. The group took time to visit historic landmarks, networked with entrepreneurs across the islands, attended lectures from accomplished industry professionals, and worked on their own research-based projects, while exploring specific workplace culture issues. 

Meet Bryce Fender, a University of Delaware alumnus, real estate agent, marketing consultant, and most importantly an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Fender has two main goals: to end homelessness and to provide quality, sustainable jobs through art. To reach those goals, he has helped co-found two startups, WilmInvest and Better Puzzles, each helping make his visions a reality.

Horn Entrepreneurship held its 2022 Spring Pitch Party on Wednesday, March 23. Students got the chance to pitch ideas for business and social ventures, in hopes of winning various awards and prizes.

See the winners, their prizes and their next steps from EntreX 2022.

On March 4, teams of high school entrepreneurs met up at Clayton Hall, University of Delaware to participate in a head to head pitch event. These dedicated students got to pitch their startup ideas in front of a group of accomplished judges in the field of entrepreneurship. The 2022 EntreX Delaware Venture Showcase drew 12 teams of budding entrepreneurs from seven high schools from all around the state of Delaware. These teens pitched their concepts ranging from hot tea delivery services to new and improved braces designed to improve ACL tear recovery. 

The teams of highly motivated students competed for a seat in the semifinal round of the 2022 Diamond Challenge, a top ranked high school entrepreneurship competition powered by University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship. Along with that, the teams were vying for the $1000 first place prize or $500 for second place in one of two respective tracks being a business or social focus.

Horn Entrepreneurship and eClub will host the 2022 Spring Pitch Party. A hybrid format will take place, with the event as in-person for those registering as presenters.  The larger audience of spectators will remain virtual. It all takes place on March 23, from 6 - 8 p.m.

Three alumni dish on their experience in a NYC startup

A few years ago, the startup company Stadium was delivering dishes from different restaurants together as a single delivery to businesses all across New York City. The company was growing quickly and had endless possibilities ahead of them. Out of nowhere, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and New York shut down in an instant. Suddenly, people were working from home with no need for in office lunch delivery. The team put their heads together and created SnackMagic, which saved their business and was the best pivot response to the pandemic.