For High School and University Students Who Want to Start Their Own Business
NIIC offers two programs for Northeast Indiana's student entrepreneurs.
- Student Venture Lab - for selected student-owned technology ventures.
- BizWiz - for any student interested in owning, launching, and operating a business.
Student Venture Lab - seed investment for student tech ventures
Student Venture Lab
Based upon the model used by highly successful tech startup incubators like TechStars, the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center’s Student Venture Lab now offers seed investment to selected student-owned technology ventures.
Those applicants that are admitted will receive a cash investment (typically $2,500) and six months office space at NIIC’s premiere Stellhorn Road campus (an in-kind investment valued at $3,000) in exchange for a small amount of equity (typically 3%) in the student venture. NIIC will also provide the founders a small stipend for personal expenses.
Qualifying ventures should have:
- 2 to 4 owners, at least one of which must be a Northeast Indiana high school or university student
- Low capital needs and a quick path to revenue
- A “portable” venture (one that may be taken to college and the moved backed to Northeast Indiana)
- A sincere intent to locate long term in Northeast Indiana
- A technology venture or a highly innovative, game changing non-tech venture.
During the six month period, ventures will be expected to create a product demonstration, a business model, and validate both of those with prospective customers. Ventures will receive mentoring from a variety of local CEOs, bankers, investors, and others in a series of meetings during Speakers Month. They will receive one-on-one coaching from the same people who have worked with local successes such as Schwartz Biomedical, Trustbearer Labs, and recent Innovator of the Year Award winner Honor Education. At the end of the six month term, each venture will demonstrate their product and their customer-validated business model at Demo Day to investors, bankers, and other leaders of the region’s business and technology community.
Ventures that have shown tangible progress during the first six months may receive a follow-on cash and office space investment, along with a continued founder stipend.
Applications are due by midnight on July 15, 2011 for the cohort starting August 1, 2011. Applications are due by midnight on January 15, 2012 for the cohort starting February 1, 2012.
To receive an application, contact Student Venture Lab Program Manager Steve Franks at 260-407-1754 or sfranks@niic.net.
The BizWiz Program - free for any NE Indiana student
BizWiz is a free program that gives serious student entrepreneurs what they need to plan and launch their own new business ventures. Unlike the Student Venture Lab, there is no requirement to be working on a technology venture. We welcome any kind of venture, at any stage from idea to full operation, for any student in Northeast Indiana.
- At group cohort meetings you share experiences peer to peer.
- During one-on-one coaching sessions, a business coach will guide you.
- You can schedule business meetings in conference rooms at the Innovation Center.
- You have access to the Innovation Center's network of service providers, many of whom offer discounts or free services to BizWiz entrepreneurs.
For more information contact Student Venture Lab Program Manager Steve Franks at 260-407-1754 or sfranks@niic.net.
NIIC’s Student Venture Lab and BizWiz are made possible by generous contributions from The Lincoln Financial Foundation, Grabill Bank, and The Edward M. & Mary McCrea Wilson Foundation. Contributions from Best Buy support the BizWiz Program and NIIC's Youth Entrepreneurship Symposiums.