Teams of entrepreneurial undergraduate Penn State students can apply for microgrants of up to $500 in seed money to help get their ideas off the ground.

The microgrants are provided through Lion LaunchPad and in cooperation with the Penn State College of Engineering and its School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs’ (SEDTAPP) engineering entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) program. The funding can help student teams during the very early stages of their idea development and help prepare them to later compete in business competitions at Penn State, as well as enter programs such as the Happy Valley Launchbox FastTrack Accelerator, Summer Founder Program from Invent Penn State and TechCelerator through Ben Franklin Technology Partners.

To qualify, one team member should have a SEDTAPP or intercollege minor in entrepreneurship and innovation minor (ENTI) affiliation.

The application, found here, requires that teams:

• Describe the product or service
• State the customer value proposition
• Describe the target customer and target market
• Discuss any customer discovery
• Outline the path to revenue feasibility and how the idea will financially support a business
• List any specific items to purchase, as purchases must be made on behalf of the team because funds cannot be directly distributed

Lion LaunchPad, the co-curricular branch of the Center for Penn State Student Entrepreneurship, is supported by the Penn State Office of Undergraduate Education, the academic administrative unit that provides leadership and coordination for University-wide programs and initiatives in support of undergraduate teaching and learning at Penn State. Learn more about Undergraduate Education at undergrad.psu.edu.