Cornell University
Location |
Ithaca, NY |
|
---|---|---|
Build to Scale Program |
Capital Challenge |
|
Project Name |
BRV Investor Network |
|
Award Amount |
Federal Share |
Local Match |
$400,000 |
$424,603 |
Big Red Ventures (BRV) is Cornell’s student-run venture fund. Twenty years of BRV alumni have gone on to found and lead venture funds, and BRV is a key component of a statewide innovation ecosystem that includes EDA Build to Scale Venture Challenge-funded programs, New York state-funded business incubators and innovation competitions, and an active National Science Foundation I-Corps network that helps university innovators launch deep tech startups. The BRV Investor Network (Network) will serve as an upstate-downstate bridge for scalable startups that will attract investors from the global VC community.
The Network increases the flow of capital to seed- and early-stage startups in New York by screening seed- and early-stage companies looking to raise capital, cultivating a network of investors to receive these pitches and increase the flow of capital to these companies and the formation of new investor syndicates; and deploying Cornell’s strengths in investor education and distance learning statewide to increase the number of seed and early-stage investors active in New York state.