The Boyd Venture Fund is seeking students who are interested in applying for grants to grow their businesses.
The grant application deadline for the spring 2013 semester is Wednesday, March 13.
All UT students, regardless of academic discipline or degree program (undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral), are eligible to apply. The grant is administered by UT’s Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
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. The information should be sent to ACEI@utk.edu with the subject line “The Boyd Venture Fund.”
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.
Those businesses invited to pitch to the grant award committee will be notified by Monday, March 18, with presentations to the committee scheduled for Friday, April 5. 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 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.