Grand Rapids, Michigan – Calvin University helps students turn entrepreneurial ideas into real businesses with a new startup incubator that helps connect students with the funding and mentorship they need to get their companies off the ground. is supporting the
The new Calvin Startup Garage was created by Calvin alumni Jon VerLee, who donated $500,000 to the university to launch a new business incubator, the university announced this week. VerLee will volunteer for the next four years as he serves as Director of the Startup Garage and as his Entrepreneur in Residence.
The incubator is only available to Calvin students for the first few years. Ultimately, though, VerLee wants to open up her Startup Garage to the wider West Michigan community, giving people the chance to market her business ideas and get advice from Calvin faculty and alumni.
Related: Calvin University unveils $11 million state-of-the-art business school building
“The objective is to create 100 Christ-centered companies over the next 10 years,” Burley said in a prepared statement.
Jim Rudema, dean of the Calvin School of Business, said the school’s leaders provide mentorship to students looking to start their own businesses by inviting other Calvin alumni and local business owners into the program. I said that I would like to offer
“(VerLee) will meet with these students regularly to help guide their business. We will also bring in another entrepreneur every Wednesday to talk to the students and hear their ideas.” ‘” Ludema told MLive on Wednesday. September 14th.
Ludema envisions Calvin’s alumni community being actively involved in the Startup Garage and hopes other alumni will build a fund for the program to fund business incubators for years to come. Said he was.
Students participating in the program can apply for up to $2,000 in startup funding for their businesses, Ludema said. The university also connects students with potential investors and helps companies grow.
The incubator will host pitch-up contests and shark tanks where students can compete for business seed funding, and will also be able to participate in local and regional competitions, according to a university news release.
The Startup Garage will be open to students of all Calvin majors, not just business students, Ludema said.
“The idea is that students can start and grow businesses that provide real value in the market and also serve as agents of community regeneration,” he said.
VerLee is a 2008 Calvin alumnus and former youth pastor who founded an easy-to-use church management software company in 2014. As he grew his business he served 9,000 churches and sold it in 2021. In a statement provided by Calvin, VerLee said he did not disclose the amount.
When selling the company, Jon VerLee and his wife, Kerrie VerLee, said they wanted to help spread their God-given success. That’s how they came up with the idea for his Startup Garage.
Calvin school leaders touted the new Startup Garage Wednesday at the dedication of the university’s new School of Business building, which officially opened last week after more than a year of construction.
Calvin’s Wiebe Boer, dean of Calvin, said the business incubator is one of many new and exciting programs the university is launching at a new business school that will open in 2021, thanks to a $22.25 million donation from an anonymous donor. said to be one.
“This business school teaches young people how to be the best leaders in business, how to think beyond profit alone, and what the social and social positive impact they are having on society. Media at Wednesday’s ceremony.
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