Stories & Updates

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.

By Tracey Bryant and Catherine Zandonella, Princeton • August 25, 2021

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.