Applications for the NC State Acceleration Fund will be open until April 20. Qualified applicants must have a minimum of one Undergraduate (Junior/Senior standing), Graduate student or alumnus (within two years of graduation) of NC State as a team member.
Selection Process
Five finalists will be selected and interviewed by the NC State Acceleration Fund Selection Committee during the week of May 1. After the interview process, the Selection Committee will determine the awards amount for each grant recipient. Grants per recipient may range from $5,000 and $50,000 to be paid out in traunches based on milestone achievements.
Recipient Requirements
All grant recipients are required to agree to the following:
– Present at Demo Day
– Provide quarterly updates for five years post-grant award
– Agree to participate in Entrepreneurship Clinic research collection for at least a five year period after award of the grant
– Data Collected: revenue, number of employees, funding, salaries, etc.
– If the recipient moves the business outside of NC within two years, the amount awarded must be repaid
– Extra weight is added for cross-disciplinary teams
Use of Funds
Funds must be used for the following:
– Business-related expenses (e.g. business development, marketing, market research, startup expenses, prototyping)
– No more than 10% of the grant funds can be used for founders’ salaries
Philanthropic Pledge
Grant recipients agree to a philanthropic pledge to donate to the NC State Acceleration Fund a minimum of 25% of their original grant if and when their company revenues reach $1 million.
