Startups
Education / Entrepreneurs

Drexel Ventures: Drexel’s seed fund hopes to fight brain drain

The program, modeled after similar initiatives at schools like Stanford University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is part of a strategy to fight brain drain and boost Philly's economy, Drexel president John Fry told the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The entrance to Drexel University's Baiada Institute incubator. Drexel's new seed fund and incubator will be in addition to the Baiada Institute.

Drexel University is launching a seed fund and business incubator for faculty and student startups, according to a release. The program, called Drexel Ventures, aims to fight brain drain, Drexel president John Fry told the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Modeled after similar initiatives at schools like Stanford University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the tech transfer program will help bring Drexel inventions to market. It’ll also connect startups to investors.

The announcement comes at a time when the university is making a big innovation and entrepreneurship push.

Not through policy alone, but public relations as well. It’s recently marketed student startups (see: “EZ-Pass for parking” startup Hot Spot Parking and scholarship app Scholly) from Drexel’s communications office. But as spokesman Britt Faulstick puts it, there hasn’t been a concerted effort to publicize student startups. Rather, Drexel pitches “good student stories” to the media and they just happen to be startup-centric right now. Regardless, it’s a sign of the times: even without a university seed fund, student entrepreneurship is flourishing.

As per the release, Drexel’s innovation push includes:

And don’t forget Drexel’s incubator four-year-old incubator the Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship.

Read more on the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Companies: Drexel University / ExCITe Center
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