Auburn University Entrepreneurship

Accelerating New Ventures at Auburn University. More than 50 active businesses have benefited from the mentorship and support services provided by Auburn's New Venture Accelerator, with more coming on board regularly as new student-, faculty- and local area-based?entrepreneurial?dreams begin to take flight. Of these, a number of have successfully progressed beyond our?Tiger Cage competitions?to convince seed, early stage and Series A/B/C investors to commit more than $110 million in next-stage funding to NVA-fostered companies. Among them: Cryptocurrency exchange firm?Yellow Card recently closed a $33 million Series C round, bring the total raised to date to $88 million. Customizable protective device maker?XO Armor?closed a $2 million seed round in April 2023. Construction payment and compliance technology company?Flashtract secured $15 million in Series A funding in February 2022. For more about the impact Auburn University’s Entrepreneurship Program is having on students, faculty and local community-based new business formation, see our 2023-2024 Impact Report https://lnkd.in/g7H8EU2M and follow us for more to come. #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneurs #NewVentures #Auburn #Business #Harbert #Engineering #StartUps #Investors #SeedCapital

Six Reasons Why Auburn University’s Entrepreneurship Program is Ranked Among the Nation’s Best. 1.????Comprehensive Curriculum: Auburn offers a robust academic curriculum that covers the full spectrum of entrepreneurship, including ideation, business planning, funding, scaling, and managing startups. Students gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to launch and sustain new ventures. 2.????Ties to Innovation & Research: Backed by resources like the?Auburn Research and Technology Foundation, Auburn’s strong focus on innovation creates an entrepreneurial ecosystem where students can leverage cutting-edge research expertise to develop new business ideas. 3.????Entrepreneurial Support: Through Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator, Auburn provides students access to mentorship, networking opportunities, and entrepreneurial events such as the flagship Tiger Cage?business pitch competition initiative where students get the chance to present their ideas to potential investors and compete for over $100,000 in prize money. 4.????Experiential Learning: Auburn’s Entrepreneurship Program emphasizes hands-on experience. Through internships, real-world consulting projects and opportunities to work with small businesses, students can apply classroom knowledge in practical settings. 5.????Cross-Disciplinary Opportunities: Auburn’s program encourages students to collaborate across different disciplines, including engineering, business, and agriculture. This interdisciplinary approach fosters creativity and innovation, equipping students to tackle diverse business challenges. 6.????Alumni and Industry Connections: Auburn has a large network of successful alumni entrepreneurs who actively support Auburn students. The program’s partnerships with businesses and entrepreneurs in various industries provide students with access to valuable connections and myriad opportunities for internships and potential new venture funding. For more about the impact Auburn University’s Entrepreneurship Program is having on students, faculty and local community-based new business formation, see our 2023-2024 Impact Report https://lnkd.in/g7H8EU2M and follow us for more to come. #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneurs #Business #Auburn #Alabama #Auburn #NewVentures #Engineering #StartUps #Investors #SeedCapital #VentureCapital #WarEagle #HigherEducation #Colleges #Universities #Academia #AuburnAlumni

Where Cryptocurrency is Vital to Everyday Life. The co-founder of Yellow Card, a flagship New Venture Accelerator (NVA) company, argues that stablecoin exchanges and cryptocurrency-based payment rails on the African continent deliver real world benefits that enable essential financial transactions and empower economic growth. Since its inception, the cryptocurrency industry has been beset with wild price volatility, rampant regulatory uncertainty and predatory investment schemes that create the impression of a fickle, erratic marketplace – that cryptocurrency is a speculative, risky technology. “That impression misses a lot,” says Yellow Card co-founder Chris Maurice. “It is simply not an accurate depiction of the tremendously powerful value cryptocurrency offers businesses and individuals in emerging economies on the African continent and across other underserved – underbanked – countries and regions.” Yellow Card recently reported the closing of a $33 million Series C round of financing led by existing and new investors. To date, Yellow Card has secured equity financing totaling $85 million, thanks in part to Auburn’s NVA. Read all about how Yellow Card is transforming the international payments market here https://lnkd.in/etv3zZjS and follow us for more to come. #Cryptocurrency #Crypto #Africa #Payments #Finance #Auburn #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneurs #NewVentures #Investors #Business #Money #Currencies #SEC #Securities #Exchange #Technology

Auburn?Ranked #1 Entrepreneurship Program in Alabama.? According to?the?Princeton Review?and?Entrepreneur Magazine?rankings?of the Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies, Auburn University is ranked #1 in the State of Alabama. The only Alabama school to make the top 50, Auburn was also ranked second among Southeastern Conference schools and #8 in the South. Overall, Auburn’s undergraduate entrepreneurship program came in at number 24 among all public universities out of the nearly 300 schools in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe surveyed. From our New Venture Accelerator mentoring, coaching, and business counseling to our new business idea pitch competitions,?the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation, the Intellectual Property Exchange, and the Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship, Auburn has developed a reputation?for?having one of the best entrepreneurship programs in the country. For more information on how to get your own new business idea off the ground, see here?https://nva.auburn.edu/?and follow us for more to come. #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneurs #Business #Auburn #SEC #Alabama #Auburn #NewVentures #Engineering #StartUps #Investors #SeedCapital #VentureCapital

Auburn ranked among top schools for entrepreneurship. The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine rankings of the Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies has included Auburn University among the top 50 out of nearly 300 schools in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. Auburn came in at number 43 overall, and among public universities, Auburn ranked number 24. Auburn was the only Alabama school to make the top 50, and was also ranked second among Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools. “As Alabama’s premier land grant institution committed to driving economic growth, we are honored to receive this national recognition for the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship efforts,” noted Jennifer Mueller-Phillips, Harbert College dean and Wells Fargo professor. Read all about it here https://lnkd.in/ej__rVY6, including more about the role Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator plays in support of the Auburn Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneurs #PrincetonReview #EntrepreneurMagazine #Business #StartUps #NewVentures #VentureCapital #Auburn #Engineering #Technology #Innovation #Harbert ?

Auburn Students Named Best in Class at “Servin’ the South” Business Model Competition. On Nov. 7, 2024, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Mississippi hosted the “Servin’ the South” Business Model Competition where two Auburn students were awarded best-in-class honors. Thomas Lester, founder of HeatStream Solutions https://lnkd.in/g72FpWeB and a student in Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, won $4,000 as Best Technology Application. Olkaris Marandu, founder of Glory EV Charging Solutions https://lnkd.in/etRH63Ye and a student in Auburn’s Harbert College of Business, won $3,000 as Best Visiting Team. Congratulations Thomas and Olkaris and thank you for representing Auburn University so well. Find out more about how Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator is supporting the entrepreneurial dreams of students, faculty and local area residents here https://lnkd.in/eSUMvSBz and follow us for more to come. #Engineering #Auburn #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneurs #Business #VentureCapital #NewBusiness #VentureCapital #NewVentures #Investors #SeedCapital #PrivateEquity

NanoPrintek Marks Critical Commercial Delivery Milestone. Developing a working prototype of a new invention is a monumental step in the journey from promising entrepreneurial idea to commercial business success – a defining achievement in the progression from initial start-up to sustainable business operation. Necessary, yes, but not sufficient, says?Masoud Mahjouri-Samani, the Godbold Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Auburn’s?Samuel Ginn College of Engineering?and founder of?NanoPrintek.?? According to Masoud, while an engineering prototype is fundamental and noteworthy, the challenge of turning an initial prototype into a minimum viable product that can be cost-effectively manufactured in volume and sold commercially is an even better measure of progress and success.? And that’s exactly what Masoud and his team have accomplished in a record 18 months, thanks in part to Auburn's New Venture Accelerator! Read all about the progress NanoPrintek is making to transform the way a wide range of electronics components and other next-generation materials and objects are designed and produced. Read all about it here https://lnkd.in/eUWjDHtv and follow us for more to come. #Engineering #Auburn #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneurs #Business #Prototype #3DPrinting #AdditiveManufacturing #Innovation #VentureCapital #Electronics #Manufacturing #Aerospace #Defense

There’s No Stopping Shay Pilcher. The first thing to understand about Shay Pilcher, founder of Auburn New Venture Accelerator company Archangel Industries, LLC and a research engineer at Auburn’s?Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, is that she is utterly undeterred by the word “no” when it comes to “helping protect those whose job it is to protect us.” Shay’s mission – to create lightweight electronic power assist systems that provide carefully calibrated muscle strength and endurance for military combatants – is taking off. The powerful capabilities of the company’s integrated kinetic and biomechanical technology design simply can’t be delivered by the kind of rigid, exoskeleton-based robotic systems used in commercial applications, and the United States Special Operations Command agrees. Read all about the progress Shay and her team are making here https://lnkd.in/eWdaMaMq and follow us for more to come. #Auburn #SpecialForces #USSOC #Military #Engineering #NewVentures #Business #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneurs #AuburnEngineering #Combat #Warfare?

XO Armor Advances Coach-to-Player Communications on the Gridiron. Auburn New Venture Accelerator company XO Armor is once again expanding applications for its custom-fit, 3D-printed orthotics that help prevent injuries and improve performance for members of college and professional football teams. This time, however, they have developed noise-dampening ear hole covers designed to enhance the effectiveness of the in-helmet coach-to-player (C2P) communication systems used in the NFL and now allowed in the NCAA. The new devices are already being used at Auburn and by the Houston Texans to help reduce the number of delay-of-game penalties by making it clearer to hear wireless instructions from the bench. Read all about it here https://lnkd.in/edHMaVDD and follow us for more to come. #Athletics #NFL #CollegeFootball #Orthotics #Football #WirelessCommunications #Helmets #Auburn #NewVentures #Entrepreneurship #Entrpreneurs #AuburnFootball

COSAM Sophomore Wins Halloween Business Idea Pitch Competition. Farm Hub, led by?Moises Gonzales, who is in his second year majoring in?Applied Discreet Mathematics at?Auburn University’s?College of Science and Mathematics,?is an online farmers market connecting farmers and consumers eager to buy fresh, locally sourced product. Farm Hub offers a unique and scalable solution to modern agricultural challenges by connecting local farmers to consumers, leveraging technology for efficiency, and fostering community-driven growth. Second place went to Bandit Duck Calls,?led by Simon Worley, a senior majoring in management with a minor in Entrepreneurship & Family Business at the?Harbert College of Business.?Their new product is a redesigned and improved duck call that also helps support waterfowl conservation by releasing a duck for each duck call sold.? We are thankful for the support Regions Bank provides to Auburn University Entrepreneurship, and offer special thanks to Bart Aldridge https://lnkd.in/emzmGRny and Eric Smith https://lnkd.in/eSV_n8NP from Regions Bank who gave so much of their time to serve as judges and mentors for our student teams. Read all about it here https://lnkd.in/ek9eAjs9 and follow us for more to come. #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneurs #Business #NewBusiness #NewVentures #Auburn #Faming #Agriculture #Science #COSAM #Harbert #Growth #Innovation