For the fourth consecutive semester, the Boyd Venture Fund is soliciting applications from student-owned companies for seed-funding grants. The fund is administered by the UT Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The grant application submission deadline for the fall 2012 semester is Friday, November 9.
All UT students, regardless of academic discipline or degree program (undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral), are eligible to apply.
To qualify for the grant money, each business must be legally established. It must have a federal tax ID, business license, or similar designation. The student owners must be enrolled in a UT degree program at the time of application. However, meeting with the grant evaluation committee after graduation is acceptable.
The Anderson Center will work with any business that receives a grant to connect it with a volunteer mentor, an experienced individual with interest in the type of business being awarded a grant.
To apply for the grant, the student owner(s) representing the company should submit an executive summary of the business, a pro forma budget, and a statement detailing how the grant funds would be spent to move the business forward. This information should be sent to ACEI@utk.edu with the subject line, “The Boyd Venture Fund.”
Those businesses invited to pitch to the grant award committee will be notified by Monday, November 12, with presentations to the committee scheduled for Friday, November 16. For management teams not on campus, pitches may be done by Skype or video conferencing.
Up to $20,000 is available to be awarded. The money may be allocated to one company or among several worthy companies. All available funds may not be awarded in this round. Grant funds will be paid out against confirmed purchase orders or invoices.
The grant award committee will consider viability of a business concept, growth potential, and need for capital.
The Boyd Venture Fund is made possible by the generosity of Randy Boyd, president and CEO of Radio Systems Corporation, makers of PetSafe, Invisible Fence, and SportDog brands.