Northeastern's venture accelerator, called Idea, hits $500,000 milestone after only five years.
Northeastern University’s student-run venture accelerator, Idea, has reached a milestone of $500,000 invested. Founded in 2009, Idea has since funded 35 student and alumni ventures, and has grown its portfolio to 150 companies, 14 of which have launched from the programme. The accelerator awards up to $10,000 every two months.
Idea ventures have collectively raised $6.4m in external funding, and the accelerator has recently joined forces with the university’s Entrepreneurs Club, which counts over 1,000 student members. Both Idea and the Entrepreneurs Club were recognised by Mitx, the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange, as the state’s top contributors to innovation in higher education. The non-profit Mitx should not be confused with MITx, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s platform for online courses.
Idea’s advisory board is made up entirely of members who have made financial contributions to the fund. The board decide who is awarded funding after the ventures have been vetted by both the coaching and investment teams. The accelerator however also offers mentoring, networking opportunities and coaching from fellow students, and before a funding request is made a venture is paired with a coach who assists with the business plan.
Shivangi Shah, co-founder of genius.box, a start-up delivering a monthly science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects themed box to users’ doors, noted that Idea’s strength is being student-run: “They’ll do everything in their power to help you get to where you want to be. The fact that Northeastern has this kind of support system has been so helpful.”
