Stories & Updates

Like a connoisseur of fine art, Christina Pellicane both understands and enjoys the details, technique and principles of commercialization. She’s spent most of her career on just that - making an impact through innovation. Her work is reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock painting - drips and splashes dotting the canvas - it is purposeful and groundbreaking.

David Breyla and Noah Lux have been in the vinyl car wrapping industry for years. Working for University of Delaware alumni Greg Star and Mac Macleod at Carvertise since late high school, the pair gained unparalleled experience overseeing vinyl installations at the nation’s largest rideshare advertising company. They also spent time at several other vinyl wrapping businesses over the years, combining for over 12 years of hands-work. With a mass of experience behind them, Breyla and Lux saw a gap in the market where they could fill a need no one else could.

Meet Glen Gaddy joining the Horn Entrepreneurship Team in a new role as Managing Director of the University Launch Fund. Gaddy plans to utilize his extensive experiences as an entrepreneur and innovator from both his corporate and academic roles. He comes to Horn as the Managing Member of long standing angel investor group, Robin Hood Ventures, and serves as chair of Mid Atlantic Diamond Ventures, the leading quarterly early stage pitch forum in the Mid Atlantic.

Photo by Evan Krape

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.

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 was awarded a sizable grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s SPRINT (Scaling Pandemic Resilience Through Innovation and Technology) Challenge to expand a signature offering, the Proof-of-Concept (POC) program.

Read the full story on UDaily.

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 MakerGym got off to a quiet but impactful start this past spring semester with the introduction of the Make It Happen Challenge. The inaugural cohort successfully completed work that further advanced their innovative product ideas. The challenge is designed to assist those students with design, funding or fabrication help and to gain access to the training, tools, materials and mentoring needed. The Make It Happen Challenge is co-presented by the UD MakerGym and Horn Entrepreneurship in both spring and fall semesters.