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NEOSVF is a 501(c)(3) student run organization that funds high-growth potential, startups in Northeast Ohio in the areas of
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TESTIMONIALS
"As a founder, you need people that understand entrepreneurship and are willing to support the winding road. NEOSVF gets it! Their early support kept us alive, helped us attract other investment, and their line of questioning has helped me advance the business to places I only dreamed imaginable."
- ELIJAH STAMBAUGH, CEO OF THE LEARNING EGG
"Wastebits would like to thank NEOSVF for their investment in our future. The NEOSVF provided us the needed funding to be able to accelerate our growth in 2014. Without their help, Wastebits would not be where we are today. While the financial assistance was critical, NEOSVF and the University of Akron Research Foundation have provided valuable resources that have greatly contributed to our success thus far.”
- DAN COLLINS, FOUNDER AND CEO OF WASTEBITs
“NEOSVF has been a tremendous asset for us in launching our controls product line. The financial and networking assistance from the Student Venture Fund and other NE Ohio organizations are great resources that should be used by all early stage companies in the area.”
- JULIAN LAMB, PRESIDENT OF PARAGON ROBOTICS, LLC
"NEOSVF is a great experience for students and a valuable resource for entrepreneurs. The debates were lively, the companies were innovative and the collective intelligence of the group was impressive. I wouldn't be on my current career path but for NEOSVF and I'm thankful for the great opportunity."
- DANN BRUNO, VENTURE ANALYST AT REV1 VENTURES
MEDIA
NEOSVF ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN APOLLO MEDICAL DEVICES
The Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund (NEOSVF) Board of Directors has approved an investment of $25,000 in Apollo Medical Devices, a rapid testing method for blood analysis. Apollo Medical Devices is developing technology designed to provide physicians with information about a patient’s condition from a single drop of blood. The rapid testing method takes blood directly without needing a vein, and is cheaper, faster, and requires less testing material than current diagnostics.
investment fund provides learning experience for students
Students benefit most from real-world experience in the startup process. The Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund (NEOSVF) is a prime example of an experiential model that is working for graduate students. Acting as investors, students participating in the NEOSVF learn what venture capitalists and industry investors look for when making investment decisions. As students take companies through an intensive due diligence process, they learn to appreciate the perspective from “the other side of the table” and apply this first-hand experience to their own future companies or startups.
- Burton D. Morgan Foundation February 2015
NEOSVF sees early returns at university of akron: the mix
After investing in a handful of early-stage companies, a student startup booster at the University of Akron is seeing the first fruits of due diligence.
On Wednesday, the Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund accepted a check for $25,000 from Wastebits, an Akron company that designs software for the waste management industry. The check was presented with some fanfare at a meeting of the ARCHAngels Network at Quaker Square. It heralded the first return on a NEOSVF investment.
On Wednesday, the Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund accepted a check for $25,000 from Wastebits, an Akron company that designs software for the waste management industry. The check was presented with some fanfare at a meeting of the ARCHAngels Network at Quaker Square. It heralded the first return on a NEOSVF investment.
- Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com, February 2015
fun is just starting for venture fund
The Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund has generated its first profit: $833.33. For the first time, the fund — which is run by graduate students at six local colleges — received a check from one of the companies in its investment portfolio last week. A waste management software company called Wastebits borrowed $25,000 from the Student Venture Fund in April. If the Akron-based company had held on to the money, it would have eventually converted into equity, giving the fund an ownership stake in Wastebits. Instead, the company decided to pay it back early, with interest.
- Chuck Soder, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 2015
students get paid back for smart investment
"If it weren’t for the $25,000 loan Wastebits received last year from the Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund (NEOSVF), the burgeoning local startup might not exist. Instead, the 18-employee company, which produces software that organizes waste disposal for generators, transporters and waste management, is turning profits. Wastebits is even able to pay back its $25,000 NEOSVF loan, and did so at the ARCHAngels Investment Network meeting Feb. 18 at Quaker Station on The University of Akron campus.
“The NEOSVF provided us the needed funding to be able to accelerate our growth in 2014. Without their help, Wastebits would not be where we are today,” says Dan Collins, its founder and CEO.
“The NEOSVF provided us the needed funding to be able to accelerate our growth in 2014. Without their help, Wastebits would not be where we are today,” says Dan Collins, its founder and CEO.
- University of Akron Press Release, February 2015
notre dame college students win startup funds for high tech business competition
The Student Venture Fund at Notre Dame College, also known as NDC Shark Tank, a chapter of the Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund (NEOSVF), has won $25,000 in startup funds for its selection: GiveNext LCC. The winning presentation team from Notre Dame is comprised of seniors Vanessa Matthes and Jamie Robinson, and supported in-person by fellow "Senior Sharks" Tawnia Almaraz, Suzanne Morris, Sarah Weyer and Ian Dawson. The students won support for GiveNext from the College’s Student Venture Fund and entrepreneurship club, called NDCe, and endorsed GiveNext before NEOSVF as part of the accelerator’s spring funding cycle.
- Notre Dame College Press Release, January 2015
tech czar talk: schools could learn a lesson from this new technology (lightning grader spotlight)
After Stambaugh developed the software, he then began to raise capital. To date, he has received the Innovation Fund Grant A ($25,000) from Glide (www.glideit.org) based at Lorain County Community College, University of Akron Student Ventures Fund ($25,000), an additional Innovation Fund Grant B ($100,000) also from Glide and an additional investment by Hatch (www.hatch.us.com), a Cleveland-based technology coaching and investment fund headed by Christopher Celeste and Blake Squires.
- Cleveland.com, July 2014
kent state center for entrepreneurship partners with Neosvf
“We are excited to establish the Kent State University chapter of the Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund,” said Sergey Anokhin, Ph.D., interim director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation at Kent State’s College of Business Administration. “This offers unique educational opportunities to students interested in entrepreneurship and venture financing."
"The opportunity to host a Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund chapter at the College of Business Administration fits with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation’s outreach mission and benefits both Kent State students and entrepreneurs in our region,” said Deborah F. Spake, Ph.D., dean of Kent State’s College of Business Administration.
"The opportunity to host a Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund chapter at the College of Business Administration fits with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation’s outreach mission and benefits both Kent State students and entrepreneurs in our region,” said Deborah F. Spake, Ph.D., dean of Kent State’s College of Business Administration.
- Kent State University Press Release, April 2014
neosvf is awarder burton D. Morgan foundation grant
The Burton D. Morgan Foundation Board of Trustees awarded a grant of $125,000 to the Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund (NEOSVF) to continue to help grow technology companies in the region. The funding matches $125,000 provided through the Ohio Third Frontier Commission’s Pre-seed Fund Capitalization Program, giving the NEOSVF access to a total of $250,000 to be invested in high-tech, high-growth companies that meet the State of Ohio’s definition of its primary industry focus. Deborah Hoover, President of The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, noted “The Foundation is excited to support this innovative means of engaging talented students in the startup process while simultaneously providing funds to help fledgling businesses grow. We expect NEOSVF to be a win-win for students and startups.”
- Burton D. Morgan Pipeline Newsletter, March 2014
student run venture fund receives $250,000 for investments
"Student-run venture fund located at the University of Akron now has $250,000 to invest in start-up businesses and plans to add chapters from other universities. The Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund has received a $125,000 grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation in Hudson. That provided the necessary match for the fund to receive a $125,000 grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Commission."
- The Plain Dealer, February 2014
students get experiences with startup investing through student venture fund
"Student-run venture fund located at the University of Akron now has $250,000 to invest in start-up businesses and plans to add chapters from other universities. The Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund has received a $125,000 grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation in Hudson. That provided the necessary match for the fund to receive a $125,000 grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Commission."
- Burton D. Morgan Foundation, February 2013
building the ohio innovation economy: early stage finance and entrepreneurship in ohio
"A Strong Interest From Students: An interesting development of ARCHAngel is the strong interest it has drawn from students. About 125 people attend the quarterly meetings, and of those typically about 50 are students from across northeast Ohio. “The educational experience these students get is quite important,” Dr. Rosenbaum said. “We’ve even spun off a student venture fund which is now expanding beyond the University of Akron into northeast Ohio.”"
- National Research Council, 2013 Publication
support for akron/canton entrepreneurs
The University of Akron is one of the biggest proponents of local entrepreneurs. The University of Akron’s Research Foundation (UARF) undergoes cutting edge research and invests time and money to build, attract, and retain high tech companies locally, including sponsoring technological research. The Akron Regional Change Angels (ARCHAngels) helps to present technologies and ideas from local start-up companies to investors and business professionals who can help to fund those ideas and take them to the next level. The Student Venture Fund at the University of Akron conducts due diligence of early stage companies, provides some micro funding, and helps connect those companies to additional funding resources.
- Office Space Working.com, August 2012
university park alliance announces winner of start up! business plan competition
A fine art printmaking studio and gallery and a state-of-the-art indoor climbing facility have earned top honors among six finalists in the University Park Alliance (UPA) Start UP! Business Plan Competition. Charter One Foundation, through its Growing Communities Initiative, is presenting sponsor of the contest. Each of the two winners will receive $17,500, assistance locating a suitable site within University Park and ongoing consulting support as they bring their business ideas to fruition from in-kind sponsors Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease LLC, and Meaden & Moore. Presented by Charter One Foundation through its Growing Communities Initiative, the competition also receives support from University of Akron Research Foundation; The Student Venture Fund at The University of Akron; Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease LLC; and Meaden & Moore.
- Akron Citizen Journalist, May 2012
UA Student venture fund selects adap nanotech for start-up help
The Student Venture Fund at The University of Akron (UA), a chapter of the Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund, selected student-run, technology-spin-off company ADAP Nanotech LCC to receive $25,000 in student-raised start-up funds. ADAP, an advanced materials company centered on microprocessor heat management, was one of two finalists competing to receive the award. The other finalist was Stockl.y, a real-time financial news and research website.
- West Side Leader, February 2011
oxford survey examines student-run VC funds
More universities have begun to establish investment vehicles using endowments and donations, and the University of Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation released a report recently on some of the university student-led venture capital funds. The report, based on a survey of 13 VC funds in which students manage, administer, and make investment decisions, aims to provide an overview of the student-led venture investing community - its goals as well as its returns. Universities participating include the Penn State's Garber Venture Fund, Miami University's Student Venture Fund, New York University's Student Social Venture Fund, and The University of Akron's Hop-On Student Venture Fund. "The complete survey is available here."
- Audrey Watters, ReadWrite.com Contributor/Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, July 2010
grad students jump at opportunity
Every journey begins with a single hop. A group of graduate students at the University of Akron have raised the first chunk of capital for the new Hop-On Student Venture Fund, which will invest in technology companies in Northeast Ohio, focusing mainly on the biomedical, polymer, and green technology industries. The group earlier this year received a $10,000 donation from Richard Pogue, senior adviser at Cleveland law firm Jones Day. It now aims to raise a total of $100,000 for the nonprofit fund, the name of which plays off the university's kangaroo mascot.
- Chuck Soder, Crain's Cleveland Business, July 2010
