KNOXVILLE — The Boyd Venture Fund, administered by the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Business Administration, is soliciting applications from student companies for its inaugural seed-funding grants.
All UT Knoxville, students, regardless of academic discipline or degree program (PhD, master-level, or undergraduate) are eligible to apply. Solicitations will be made each fall and spring semester.
To qualify for the grant money, each business must be legally established (federal tax ID, state business license, LLC, etc.). The student owners must be enrolled in a UT Knoxville 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 “use of funds” statement detailing how the grant funds would be spent to move the business forward.
This information should be sent to:
CEI@utk.edu
Subject Line: The Boyd Venture Fund
Deadline for grant-application submissions is May 13.
Those businesses invited to “pitch” to the grant-award committee will be notified by May 20 with presentations to the committee scheduled for the week of May 23. Pitches may be done by Skype, video conferencing, and the like, for management teams not on campus.
Up to $10,000 is available to be awarded; the money may be allocated to one company or among several worthy companies. It is not necessary that all available funds be awarded this round. Grant funds will be paid out against invoices.
The grant-award committee will consider:
• Need for capital
• Viability of the business concept
• Growth potential
The Boyd Venture Fund is made possible by the generosity of Randy Boyd, president and CEO of Pet Safe Corporation, a business built on the knowledge that pets are members of the family. PetSafe’s 400 worldwide employees produce the industry’s most popular and innovative products in pet training, containment, safety, and lifestyle for an audience dear to their hearts: their own pets.