Stories & Updates

After a record number of team submissions, the finalists for Hen Hatch 2021, University of Delaware’s much-anticipated premier startup competition, have been announced. The submissions this year have been from a wide range of industries, colleges, and interests. 

Although the first winter frost hasn’t blanketed the ground, it is time to plan for summer 2022. For many student entrepreneurs, the summer presents an opportunity to work on your startup unencumbered by class work. But the summer presents a problem: work on your startup, get a job that pays or try to manage both. And what if you need the summer to earn course credits or an internship?

Horn Entrepreneurship held its 2021 Fall Pitch Party virtually this past Wednesday. In this event, students are able to pitch ideas for business ventures with the possibility of winning awards and prizes.

Horn Entrepreneurship’s Venture Development Center (VDC) serves as a resource for inventors, technologists and creatives working on entrepreneurial projects. It is known for bringing entrepreneurs’ startup dreams to reality, as a gathering spot for problem solvers & out-of-the-box thinkers and a place where a lot of fun stuff just happens. 

While the summer heat leads many to long lazy days, two University of Delaware students and one alumna spent the summer of 2021 working diligently to advance social justice and equality of opportunity through their startups. The three changemakers participated in the inaugural Advancing Equity Thru Entrepreneurship Summer Internship Program (ETE), a program designed to support mission-driven social innovators and entrepreneurs as they develop projects and ventures supporting underrepresented and under-resourced groups.

The Blue Hen Proof of Concept program (POC), Horn’s startup incubator, was awarded $50,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC). 

Horn Entrepreneurship and E-Club will be hosting the 2021 Fall Pitch Party virtually on October 20 from 6-7:30 p.m. The Pitch Party is an event hosted each semester in which undergraduate students pitch a startup idea in 90 seconds for a new business, innovation or invention in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.

Meet John Cusick. Joining the Horn Team as a Lead Mentor, John plans to utilize his love for coaching young entrepreneurs and his Gore experience in bringing technology to the market.

University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and Horn Entrepreneurship are proud to announce the 37 2021 Blue Hen 17&43 Award winners.

This article is part of a series describing how UD Horn Entrepreneurship assists teams in moving their inventions and innovations into the marketplace, a process known as commercialization. A customized blend of resources, including training, mentorship, and funding, is provided to each team through the Blue Hen Proof of Concept Program. Additional mentorship and support is provided by Horn Entrepreneurship partners including the Office of Economic, Innovations and Partnerships and Delaware’s Small Business Development Center.