The Auburn University KickStart Fund, a designated fund within the Auburn University Foundation, has received a grant from Truist Foundation that will help provide direct, non-dilutive funding to select Auburn-affiliated companies exhibiting best-in-class potential for success.

The Truist Foundation grant marks the first corporate donation to the AU KickStart Fund, which is designed to bridge the gap between new business formation by students, faculty and local area residents and initial seed or Series A funding. The AU KickStart Fund will be administered under the governance and oversight of the Harbert College of Business and the New Venture Accelerator. 

Dan O’Keefe, entrepreneur-in-residence at Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator (NVA), who is leading the establishment of the AU KickStart Fund, highlighted the importance of this commitment by Truist Foundation to keeping the initial momentum going strong, especially during the traditional holiday and end-of-the-year giving season.  

“We’ve made great progress since announcing the AU KickStart Fund in June,” says O’Keefe, “with Auburn alumni stepping up in a big way. Truist Foundation’s recognition of the opportunity to support Auburn entrepreneurs and the alignment between our vision and their mission in the community is a great example of how partnering with the AU KickStart Fund can help young entrepreneurs launch their businesses.” 

 “We are proud to support Auburn University’s KickStart Fund,” said Alex Bumpers, Truist market president for Auburn and Montgomery. “Our purpose at Truist is to inspire and build better lives and communities and we look forward to working closely with Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator to help support entrepreneurship.” 

Expanding the Auburn entrepreneurship ecosystem 

Auburn’s NVA has established itself as the go-to source of new business idea formation, start-up business education and new business pitch competition training for Auburn students and faculty. The growth of Auburn’s Tiger Cage Pitch Competition and the success of many of the companies the NVA has supported is proof of the tremendously promising investment opportunities being created by aspiring entrepreneurs at Auburn. 

Several startup businesses mentored at the NVA have successfully progressed to secure seed, early stage and A, B and even C Series investors to commit more than $110 million in next-stage funding to stand-out start-up businesses—but the NVA decided it could do more.  

So, the NVA conducted a detailed assessment of how its pitch competition training and business formation advisory services might be expanded through direct, grant-based capital infusions, and the findings were clear—the availability of non-dilutive grants for the most promising prospects will help grow the list of successful Auburn University-based start-ups.

The AU Kickstart Fund is a new element in the NVA’s strategy to help finance Auburn-based start-up teams, including enlisting strategic partners, generating pro forma financial projections and assisting with the creation of a formal business plan as required for consideration by early-stage investors. The financial support provided through the AU KickStart Fund, coupled with the expanded hands-on mentoring from the NVA’s team of entrepreneurs-in-residence, will help propel best-in-class new ventures at Auburn to the next level. 

A record of success 

The list of Auburn-affiliated companies that have grown well beyond the initial start-up phase includes Yellow Card, XO Armor, Flashtract, and Vulcan Line Tools, to name just a few. Others, like Heatstream Solutions, Archangel Industries and NanoPrintek, are poised to join this list.  

According to O’Keefe, while these achievements are certainly noteworthy, what excites him and the alumni contributing to the AU KickStart Fund even more is the impact this critical financing infusion will have in fulfilling the entrepreneurial dreams of even more Auburn students, faculty and local area residents. 

“When I talk to Auburn alumni—especially those who are regular, generous donors to Auburn University—what they want to know about most is the impact their money will have on the success of students and faculty at Auburn. It really is that simple, as it should be, when you think about it. We have a proven record. With more financial resources we can do even more.” 

Lou Bifano, NVA director, focuses on the role corporate grants from the greater Auburn Family can have on encouraging others to donate to AU KickStart.

“Funding by philanthropic donations from Auburn alumni and other individuals, public and private sector grants and corporate partnerships are key to these entrepreneurs’ success,” says Bifano, “as is the additional coaching and mentoring support provided to the AU Kickstart grant recipients by New Venture Accelerator entrepreneurs-in-residence.” 

The Auburn entrepreneurial ecosystem 

Auburn University’s NVA is the focal point of the extensive Auburn entrepreneurial ecosystem that also includes the Harbert College of Business, the Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship, the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation, the Intellectual Property Exchange, as well as a portfolio of classroom curricula and student-led groups focused on entrepreneurship and new business development.

Recently, Auburn University’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem has been recognized for the first time in the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine rankings of the Top Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies. 

Interested donors to the AU Kickstart fund are encouraged to contact Daniel O’Keefe.

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About Truist Foundation  

Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. The Foundation, an endowed private foundation established in 2020 whose operating budget is independent of Truist Financial Corporation, makes strategic investments in a wide variety of nonprofit organizations centered around two focus areas: building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses to ensure all communities have an equal opportunity to thrive. Embodying these focus areas are the Foundation’s leading initiatives – the Inspire Awards and Where It Starts. Learn more at Truist.com/Foundation.