Seed For Startups

Seed For Startups is a pitch event for UVU students seeking seed funding for their ventures. With resources available from the Ross Seed Fund, the Zinn Starter Fund, and the UVU Entrepreneurship Institute, UVU has the resources and tools to help start and fund your new business! The event is exclusively for current UVU students of any discipline and provides them an opportunity to present a brief pitch followed by a Q&A session.

Get funds for your website, a logo, prototyping, Kickstarter videos, email marketing, legal assistance, licenses and registration, and more.

The program consists of three phases:

1. Phase 1: Initial elevator/concept pitch
2. Phase 2: Video pitch & funding request
3. Phase 3: ZinnStarter funding pitch

Criteria and Submission Requirements

Phase I – Initial elevator/concept pitch
Sponsored by TBA

Format: 

60-second elevator pitch outlining the problem you’re trying to solve, your solution, your target market, and how you plan to make money.

How to Submit Your Project:

Come to the Entrepreneurship Institute and present your concept pitch to our Director or one of our student consultants.

-or-

Present your pitch on the Entrepreneurship Institute’s Volley Elevator Pitch! channel.

Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Awards: 

Each first-time pitch submitted is eligible for a $5 food or drink voucher.

Teams wishing to continue to the next phases of the competition will revise their pitch utilizing the feedback provided on Volley and by our EI team, and draft a one-page executive summary for Phase II.

 

Phase II – Revised video submission
Sponsored by the Ross Fund

Format: 

5 minute video pitch outlining your business concept, business model, and your funding request (up to $1,000) submitted to the Entrepreneurship Institute’s Volley Elevator Pitch! channel and a one-page executive summary.

Get the Executive summary template

Awards: 

Pitches may be awarded up to $1,000 for business-related expenses.

Presenters will be asked to revise and resubmit or will be invited to participate in the final phase:  the ZinnStarter Program. 

Awardees will be required to submit a Use of Funds report for any funding they receive from the Entrepreneurship Institute.

How to Submit Your Pitch:

• Join the UVU Entrepreneurship Institute’s Volley space.
• Record or upload your video pitch of 5 minutes or less in the Elevator Pitch! channel.
• Submit your one-page executive summary via this form.

     Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

To be eligible for Phase III: The ZinnStarter Program, you will be required to meet with a GA/Peer Consultant AND Breanna Hale at the UVU Entrepreneurship Institute or virtually.

 

Phase III – ZinnStarter Pitch Event
Sponsored by ZinnStarter

About the UVU ZinnStarter Program

ZinnStarter exists to ignite the next generation of entrepreneurs. 

ZinnStarter’s mission is to:

• Inculcate the next generation of entrepreneurs to create enduring businesses
• Provide seed money for promising business plans
• Provide students with Ray Zinn’s leadership, management and entrepreneurship knowledge

Ray Zinn’s book Tough Things First is his leadership, management and business ethics manifesto. It is required reading for the ZinnStarter program. This program is exclusively for current UVU students from any discipline.

This round of the program is invite-only, so the form for submitting your materials will be emailed to you upon acceptance.

Format:

1. Pitch: 5-minute pitch outlining your business concept, business model, and your funding request (up to $2,500), followed by 3 minutes of Q&A by our student judging panel at the ZinnStarter event (held in the Fall and Spring semesters).
2. An accompanying Pitch Deck.
3. An updated executive summary. 

Awards: 

Up to $2,500 per business. Awardees will be required to submit a Use of Funds report for any funding they receive from the Entrepreneurship Institute.

Seed for Startups Evaluation Criteria

1. Demonstrated understanding of the problem to be solved
2. Clear presentation of a solution (concept-stage is okay)
3. Deep understanding of the market
4. Reasonable revenue model and pathway to profitability
5. Well-outlined competitive advantage and value proposition

Requirements

1. At least one primary member of the team must be a current student (enrolled in a course of 6 months or longer in pursuit of an endorsement, diploma, associates, bachelors, or graduate degree at Utah Valley University). 
2. The team must read Ray Zinn's book, Tough Things First (by the time they receive funding for ZinnStarter).
3. The team, with help from the Entrepreneurship Institute, must find a mentor. ​
4. The team must submit a monthly report on their progress to student consultants at the Entrepreneurship Institute.
5. The team must submit  a final Use of Funds report.                                          

Resources

Executive summary template

One-on-one coaching 

Use of Funds report form

UVU Entrepreneurship Institute’s Volley space

Tough Things First (we also have copies in our office you may borrow)

How to Build a Pitch Deck 

Prizes

Phase I

• $5 food or drink voucher for initial concept/elevator pitch

Sponsor to be announced.

Phase II

• Up to $1000 seed funding

Sponsored by The Ross Fund.

Phase III

• Up to $2500 seed funding

Sponsored by The ZinnStarter Program.

Student Services Fund

Need some cash to hire someone to help you with things like:

• Photography of your products for your e-commerce site
• Wireframing or developing your app
• Designing a logo
• Getting your social media pages off the ground
• Creating your prototype
• Doing a voiceover for a crowdfunding campaign or explainer video
• Conducting market research
• Something else?

The Utah Valley University Entrepreneurship Institute is proud to present the Student Services Fund, designed to help UVU students with business needs hire other UVU students to perform those services.

 

Are you a student who would like to hire another student? Follow these simple steps:

1. Identify a student using our Student Business Directory who can perform a service for your business
2. Receive a quote for the services you need
3. Fill out this brief application to apply for funds
4. Submit a Use of Funds report within 90 days of receiving funding

 

Are you a student who would like to be hired by another student? Follow these simple steps:

1. Create a directory listing for your business on our Student Business Directory
2. The student applicant will request an itemized quote. Once approved by the Entrepreneurship Institute, funding will be awarded to the student applicant to hire you for your services.

Apply today—funding is limited and will be awarded based on need, merit, and availability.

Apply For Student Services Funding

 

Thank you to our generous donors!

Interested in supporting a student funding opportunity? Please contact Breanna Hale.