ANN ARBOR – The Samuel Zell &
Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of
Michigan Ross School of Business announced the recipients of the Fall
2010 Dare to Dream Grant Program, where students apply for funding to
advance their innovative, high-potential business concepts toward launch.
Grant recipients were awarded funding totaling $40,000 based on business
concepts and feasibility studies submitted to panels of judges made up of
Dare to Dream alumni and other members of the entrepreneurial and venture
capital communities.
In addition to the financial awards, 12 companies
received tenancy at TechArb, the student accelerator co-managed by the Zell
Lurie Institute and the College of Engineering’s Center for
Entrepreneurship.
“Dare to Dream and TechArb are two prime examples of our action-based
learning approach in practice. These programs provide the funding, support,
and access students need to develop their own businesses while earning
their degrees,” said Tom Kinnear, executive director of the Samuel Zell &
Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. “The depth of the
innovations and the breadth of the industries represented by this year’s
teams reflect the unique, environment the University offers to aspiring
entrepreneurs.”
The Dare to Dream program, a hallmark of the Zell Lurie Institute,
distributes up to $100,000 per academic year to students at the Ross School
of Business and their teammates from around the University and has awarded
over $700,000 to over 1,000 student entrepreneurs since the program’s
inception in 2002. It benefits students, as well as the local and
university community, by stimulating entrepreneurial efforts and starting
new businesses. Grants are administered in two funding levels. Assessment
grants of $1,500 enable recipients to conduct a feasibility study and
Integration grants of up to $10,000 to complete a full business plan and
develop an investor pitch. The following student teams received grants in
October 2010:
Integration Grants
— AME Outdoors ($5,000) – Collective reservation services for sport
fishing industry
— Bebaroo ($10,000) – Subscription-based rental service for infant and
toddler clothes
— OWN ($10,000) – Point of sale system for coffee houses and related
targeted businesses
Assessment Grants ($1,500 each)
— @Fingertips – Smart phone accessories to allow visually impaired users
access to modern technologies
— Briese Capital Management – Proprietary approach to managing financial
portfolios, focusing on futures trading
— Chinese American Institute – Provides underserved Chinese youth with
opportunities to study at U.S. colleges and universities
— Finasic – Hardware-based solution for simulating risk profiles for
financial institutions
— Impact Secret – Comprehensive resource center for social and public
sector career opportunities
— Morph Innovations – Novel sole for shoes that can transform between flat
and high heel profiles
— PPX Solutions – Piezoelectric treatment for deep vein thrombosis
— Specialized Designs – Designs toys that engage and appeal to
visually-impaired and sighted children
— Stigma Free – Designs device for private, in-home testing for sexually
transmitted diseases
— Syncronizer – Provides social media platform that congregates users
around topics of interest
TechArb, which is funded by the Zell Lurie Institute, the Center for
Entrepreneurship at the College of Engineering and the Office for Vice
President for Research, offers businesses associated with the University a
place to launch and grow their businesses. Teams that received tenancy
include:
— Get Fresh Detroit – Provides fresh produce to underserved markets in
Detroit
— Heart Graffiti – Silver commemorative jewelry for female college
Students
— June Energy – Portable solar energy products for electricity and
lighting in rural Africa and Asia
— Node Out – Smart-phone applications that utilize crowd-sourced decision
Engine
— Sentient Wings – Adds intelligence and functionality to unmanned aerial
Vehicles
— SurveyBroker – Online brokerage to match professional marketing
surveyors with small- to medium-sized business clients
— terraOS – Mobile geo-location services to integrate with smart vehicles
and infrastructure
— WebWise – Service that enables customers to maintain contact relevancy
across any number of communication channels
The next application cycle for Dare to Dream Grants and TechArb tenancy
will be January 2011.
For application materials, click on Zil.Bus.Umich.Edu
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