Kansas venture fund receives alumni support

Kansas University (KU), which is in the process of raising its own university venture fund, has received $100,000 towards its goal from one of its alumni.

Alumnus Clay Blair, a businessman based in Kansas City, made the donation to the KU Venture Fund. Kansas is targeting $1m in total for the fund, with $500,000 provided by the university and the remainder made up from other contributions, such as Blair’s.

The fund will be used to support start-ups and spin-outs coming out of the university, with any returns reinvested back into the fund.

Julie Goonewardene, president of KU Innovation and Collaboration, said: “One of the challenges we face is that so many of the companies we are starting at KU are really, really early and often don’t have revenue. It’s very difficult to get investment into the company because the risk profile is so high.”