Auburn University’s New Venture Accelerator will expand support for new and growing businesses under a $1.3 million Venture Challenge grant. 

The entrepreneurship ecosystem at Auburn University provides education and programming to students and employees through the New Venture Accelerator. This grant expands these entrepreneurship services to members of the local community. 

Venture Challenge encourages entrepreneurship by increasing access to business support and startup capital. The grant is jointly funded from federal and local sources and administered by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

“Working together, the Harbert College of Business, the New Venture Accelerator, the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation, the City of Auburn and others have created a vibrant, supportive entrepreneurial environment,” said Lou Bifano, director of the New Venture Accelerator.  “Fully funded and supported by the Harbert College of Business, the New Venture Accelerator has a unique combination of resources to offer the local business community including education, skills development, mentoring, collaborative workspace, networking opportunities and consulting expertise.”

“The New Venture Accelerator and its predecessors have successfully launched over 50 businesses from student and faculty entrepreneurs. These businesses have received over $32.5 million of venture investment and have created over 370 jobs,” said Cary Chandler, senior director at the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation. “This expertise and track record of success has us well positioned to foster robust economic growth in the Auburn-Opelika area.”

The grant is part of the Build to Scale Program, which is administered annually by the EDA. The program aims to accelerate entrepreneurship by increasing inclusive access to business support and startup capital.
Bifano and Chandler are co-principal investigators for the grant. The amount awarded to Auburn is a $657,622 federal share and a $657,622 local match. The Venture Challenge awards grants to intermediary organizations such as accelerators, universities, community colleges and nonprofits to support new business ventures that are scalable by nature, challenge the status quo of markets, commercialize technologies and further job creation. 

Notable success stories from the New Venture Accelerator include Flashtract and Yellow Card, which have received substantial support from investors. Each has secured $15 million in Series A financing from venture capital firms. 

Series A financing is a type of equity-based financing in which a company secures capital from investors by selling shares in the company.

Flashtract serves the construction industry in sending, receiving and managing payments among contractors, subcontractors and suppliers.

Yellow Card is now the leading cryptocurrency exchange on the African continent, where its operations facilitate the flow of money to, from and within nations.