Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business‘ Venture Accelerator, IDEA, reached a 500k milestone in gap funding this month. IDEA was founded by Northeastern students in 2009 as a means to support entrepreneurial endeavors within the university, and since then has funded 35 ventures with grants of up to $10,000.
Over the past five years, IDEA’s Gap Fund has helped 35 ventures—many of them Northeastern students or alumni—jumpstart or continue their journey to success. IDEA ventures have collectively raised $6.4 million in external funding and 14 ventures have “launched” from IDEA.
“It means a lot,” said IDEA CEO Max Kaye, DMSB’14. “Half a million is a big number, and it’s a milestone for IDEA. But more importantly, the outcomes show that the model is working and we’ve helped 35 ventures reach their own significant milestones.”
Each venture is paired with a coach who works on their business plan, introducing them to their network, and offers their services to ventures. Those ventures looking to receive funding through IDEA are put through a rigorous vetting process by both the coaching and investment teams.
The members of the investment team examine each business plan they receive and select those they think are ready to be sent to IDEA’s Advisory Board, which is comprised of members who have made financial contributions to the fund. The selected ventures then prepare a presentation of their company, their projections and an explanation of the milestones they plan to accomplish with the grant.
Collectively IDEA ventures have raised $6.4 million in external funding and 14 have effectively launched their businesses into the market. The gap funding process is one of the most exciting aspects of IDEA because it helps entrepreneurs learn how to recognize critical milestones in the development of a venture, how to articulate them to boards of their peers, and to have a better chance to bring what was once a dream to fruition.
