Open Call for E-Team Program (US)

They help you advance your invention through a powerful mix of grant funding, entrepreneurship training, mentorship by dedicated staff, national recognition, and networking with peers and industry experts.

Every year, they award non-dilutive E-Team grants to early-stage innovator teams that develop scalable innovations which aim to solve a large social, health, or environmental challenge.

Focus Areas

• Social/Environmental Impact: Inventions that will scale to address a pressing social, health, or environmental need. They fund innovations that can solve challenges in areas including health, food security, energy, and climate change.
• Science- and Engineering-Based Inventions: An innovation that is different from other competing technologies.
• Intent To Commercialize: A strong commitment to exploring commercialization of your innovation.
• Student Team Identified: Teams that include two or more students and a faculty advisor.

Benefits

• Sponsored Training
  • Attend their fully funded training workshops with their early-stage innovator teaching team and explore possible pathways for your venture. They have a bank of innovation curricula that combine lean startup principles with company building, professional development, and individual cultivation.
• Networking & Mentorship
  • Tap into the VentureWell mentor and E-Team network, with the potential to connect with investors and strategic partners who can transform your venture.
• National Exposure & Recognition
  • E-Team Program participants have been named to the Time Magazine “Best Inventions” list and Forbes’ “30 Under 30”; appointed as an AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador; and appeared in many other publications.

Funding Information

• Up to $25,000 in Grant Funding: Unlock up to $25,000 to launch your venture. Their grants are competitive, recognized nationally as a source of non-dilutive funding, and empower innovators to explore commercialization.

Eligibility Criteria

• Minimum requirements to apply:
  • You need to have:
    • A student-led team of at least two active and enrolled students at a college or university who are committed to development/commercialization of the technology
    • A technology innovation that benefits society (people or the environment)
    • A Principal Investigator who supports and oversees the project
    • Support of your university (Administrative Contact, most often in the Office of Sponsored Programs) and department (Chair)
• If your project or product is a science/engineering-based innovation that will benefit people or the planet and your intention is to get it to the market, you’re a fit! Competitive proposals demonstrate the following:
  • Your team is solving a big problem (or addressing a big opportunity)
  • Your product has a positive impact on society
  • What your team is doing is scalable
• Students need to be actively enrolled in school at the beginning of the grant period (when their university disburses the funds). However, this varies from school to school, so it’s best to discuss this with your administrative contact.
• VentureWell awards grants to U.S.-based colleges and universities only, but they do fund U.S.-based teams serving international markets and U.S.-based teams with international student members.
• VentureWell grants are awarded to colleges and universities, not directly to individuals and/or ventures. If you are a student with an innovation, you need a team, consisting of other students, a Principal Investigator, advisors, mentors, etc., in order to qualify for the E-Team Program. Individuals do not qualify.
• Teams working on technologies invented by faculty (or other students) may apply for the program if the intent of the university is to further develop the product for commercialization AND if the current student team members are playing meaningful roles in the process.

For more information, visit VentureWell.