CSU Institute for Entrepreneurship Now Taking Applications for New Venture Accelerator Program

The application for CSU’s New Economy Venture Accelerator in now available online. Managed by the College of Business’s Institute for Entrepreneurship, NEVA is open to students from across campus who are encouraged to apply by Oct. 31.

NEVA’s mission is to educate students and to be an integral part of the entrepreneurship ecosystem by providing students with real-life experiences, mentoring, advising, connection to resources, and funding, with the ultimate goal of creating self-sustaining, funding-ready ventures.

“Our hope is that our venture accelerator program will attract the best and the brightest entrepreneurs from all over campus,” said Charisse McAuliffe, director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship. “The accelerator promises to make a large impact on the number of ventures successfully launched from within the university. Additionally we will serve as an excellent opportunity for collaboration from the outside business community whose engagement we depend on for a successful program.”

NEVA provides entrepreneurship training, advising, coaching, and work space for student-run ventures. A select group of entrepreneurs and their teams (when applicable) are incubated for a 12 month period to develop the idea and to better position it for a successful launch.

If selected by the accelerator, students will receive 16 weeks of hands-on training. NEVA offers a system to take entrepreneurs through all the necessary steps leading to a successful launch and, ultimately, funding. Selected participants also will gain access to up to $2000 per entrepreneur or venture team to invest in their businesses as well as a dedicated coach and an adviser from both inside and outside the university.

Twelve of the best entrepreneurs and their partners will be selected for the program. Finalists will be notified in mid-November and the winners will be selected by the first week in December. If selected as a finalist, applicants will be asked to create a three-minute elevator pitch video. In order to apply, students must:

• Be a current undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D. student at CSU, or have graduated within 12 months of January 2013.
• Have a valid idea for a business about which they are passionate and plan to pursue or are currently working on.

Teams or partners may apply, but the Institute for Entrepreneurship asks that one of the partners be the lead applicant. 

Visit the Institute for Entrepreneurship website for more information, http://biz.colostate.edu/EntrepreneurshipCenter/Programs/Pages/VentureAccelerator.aspx. For questions, contact Charisse McAuliffe at 970-491-2737 or charisse.mcauliffe@business.colostate.edu.

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