Entrepreneurship Resources Across Campus

from State of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at UMass Amherst

Community Connections

Maroon Venture

Maroon Venture Partners Fund I, LP, is a for-profit venture fund that invests in early stage companies linked to UMass Amherst. Investments are typically in the range of $50,000 to $200,000 and are often a venture’s initial outside equity funding. Maroon Venture Partners looks for companies that can use its funds to accomplish significant milestones toward commercial success. Its broader goal is to foster the growing spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the UMass Amherst community.

The following are the fund’s current portfolio companies:

88 Acres: nutrition powered by seeds (88acres.com) Theromics: radiofrequency and microwave medical device technology to optimize ablations of lesions and soft tissue (theromicsinc.com) HomeBinder: management platform for homeowners (homebinder.com) Aclarity: electrochemical water treatment solutions (aclaritywater.com) TOP The Organic Project: 100 percent cotton organic tampons (toporganicproject.com) QSM Diagnostics: rapid animal testing (qsmdiagnostics.com) Adelante Shoes: men’s and women’s footwear (adelanteshoes.com) Ompractice: online yoga and meditation (ompractice.com)

TedX Amherst

A local, independently organized event following guidance from the TED Conference, TEDx Amherst takes advantage of a community brimming with intellectual promise. The 2021 event was held online in May and featured speakers Kavya Krishna ’16 (pictured), cofounder of the Society of Women coders; Erin Baker, UMass professor of industrial engineering and operations research; and seventh-generation dairy farmer Denise Barstow, among others.

Since the last State of Innovation and Entrepreneurship report was published in 2019, UMass Amherst’s entrepreneurship ecosystem has grown and evolved—crosscampus partnerships have strengthened and our collaborations with community organizations have matured. We at the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship developed this updated report to help all the students, potential students, faculty members, neighbors, friends, educators, and financial supporters who want to participate in creating and nurturing new businesses navigate this complex ecosystem.

Our mission is to connect the right people and catalyze the creation of ventures that bring the university’s bright ideas to the world. If you’re interested in participating, we hope you’ll find guidance in these pages. If you need more direction, give us a call.