UB Media Advisory: Final exam for 12 student entrepreneurs: pitch startups for chance at $8,000 in funding

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Earning an A at the end of a college course is nice. But $8,000 is better.

A dozen University at Buffalo classmates enrolled in Entrepreneurship Lab (eLab), a small business boot camp for students, will pitch their startups to a panel of local business leaders and investors today (Friday, Jan. 24). The winners will receive $5,000 to $8,000 in seed funding, mentorship and shared space in the UB Technology Incubator.

The presentations will be held starting at 9 a.m. at Jacobs Management Center, room 106, on the North Campus.

Winners will be announced at 12:45 p.m.

The student entrepreneurs will pitch products and services that include:

• Shoes made of recycled taxi tires
• Software that allows users to view their location-based data over Google Maps
• Customizable and sound-activated light-up stickers for laptops
• A mobile application that connects students with peers for academics
• Software that estimates the damage costs and risks of natural disasters
• A student employment agency

eLab is not your traditional course. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, the class accelerates the startup process for participants who already have promising entrepreneurial ideas. Students spend three weeks during UB’s Winter Session fine-tuning their business pitches, engaging potential customers and sizing up target markets.

The course is a joint effort among UB's Entrepreneurship Academy, School of Management and Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR).