Crowdfunding | Training | Mentorship
Table of Contents
Forward
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SPURstartup
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Case Study : SPUR on Campus
Funding Portal
About Startup Funding
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Crowdfunding Lingo Explained
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Startup School
About Startup School
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Crowdfunding Incubator
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9
FirstGear
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Brand Partners
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Campus Workshops
Virtual Summer Accelerator
Community
Mentorship Network
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Student Ambassador Program
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Local Meetups
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Summary Contact
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Forward Hi! I’m Maggie Barton, the CEO of SPURstartup. SPUR is an engine for college startups that prepares students to make the transition outside of school into the startup world. I graduated with a degree in Entrepreneurship from one of the most accredited entrepreneurship programs in the country with a 3.9 GPA and a massive lack of understanding what it is like to be an entrepreneur. I spent years building and refining my idea without ever really testing my assumptions in the marketplace. It wasn’t until I was a senior that I had the opportunity to seek capital in a business plan competition (which I didn’t win, by the way). I had already graduated when the competition took place and was advised to go get a ‘real job’. Bummer, right? I left school with an idea, not a new business. As great as ideas are, they don’t make money. Having talked to students from schools around the country, I discovered that my experience was not unique. 65% of millennials want to start a business. Like me, they are discouraged to move forward and lack the resources they needed to believe differently. Despite the efforts made by even the top entrepreneurship programs, students are not quite ready to start their own companies when they graduate.
SPURstartup is a place for students with ideas to turn them into something more, regardless of their access to resources. I built SPUR for schools of any size and for Art and Business majors alike. Students startups crowdfund for free, fulfilling our mission to make starting a business more affordable for students. We work with schools to unite student entrepreneurs of all majors with their alumni, campus, and community. Our Startup School and mentorship network fills the gaps between learning academic theory and implementation. SPURstartup was created by students, for students. We understand what student entrepreneurs need better than anyone else. SPUR is opening doors for more bright minds to innovate by bringing people together. Universities, students, alumni, and corporations are working together to spur college startups in a more powerful way than ever before. Here’s to the future of entrepreneurship. Cheers-
Maggie Barton Founder & CEO
Forward: A note from our CEO
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SPURstartup : About Funding Portal Crowdfunding. Students get to utilize our commission-free funding portal.
Co-branded Page. Within the SPUR community, your school will have a dedicated page for your student’s campaigns. A custom URL makes it easy to promote your page. (spurstartup.com/yourschool) Alumni Engagement. Crowdfunding appeals to young alumni who crave a sense of connection beyond just writing a check. Alumni can be involved with your college startup scene without the barriers of being on campus.
Startup School Online Learning Platform. Virtual incubators, accelerators, and courses enable students to execute on their ideas and test assumptions. Student Discounts. Students get exclusive offers for startup services and tools from SPUR and our brand partners. Campus Workshops. Workshops bring students offline to learn new skills and network.
Community Mentorship Network. Our community platform connects students with mentors and other startup junkies. Students always have a team to rely on. Student Ambassador Program. Students can intern for SPUR as a Student Ambassador. Ambassadors represent their school or program and work with SPUR to host events on campus. Local Meetups. Work hard, play hard. Meetups, like getting together over coffee or playing ultimate frisbee, are coordinated by our Student Ambassadors.
About
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Case Study : SPUR on Campus The School :
The Results : The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Texas, Dallas (UTD)
Our beta test at UTD had both business and non-business students, representing a wide spectrum of the student market. Concepts were in various stages of development, from ideas just getting started to high tech patent-holding gadgets. “It is been exciting for our entrepreneurship program to pilot campaigns with SPUR. The opportunity [for students] to take their ideas outside of the classroom is just one way [we’re] changing the way colleges teach innovation” - Jeremy Vickers, Executive Director of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UTD
$28,614 Cash raised by 7 student startups in April, 2016.
60% Success rate of all campaigns on SPURstartup.
3 x ^|
success rate
Our success rate is 3X higher than our competitors, compared to the industry average of 20%.
What Our Students Have To Say... “SPURstartup has been extremely wonderful… providing constant accessibility to answers. I never felt unsure or discouraged about continuing [my startup] because SPUR was there every step of the way!”- Tram-Anh Le, student & founder of IcingAid
100%
of our students said that SPUR...
• Made them more prepared for their startup journey. • Helped them discover new insights about their ideas. • Made them more driven to pursue my startup. • Helped them uncover new strengths as an entrepreneur.
“[The SPUR team] helped us refine our campaign messaging and purpose to get our initial seed funding. The platform has been a great tool in getting the word out about what we’re trying to achieve, as well as a huge motivator in diving head first into defining our company and producing our first content and products.”- Ashton Kennedy, student & founder of ConverseVR
Case Study : SPUR on Campus
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Funding Portal : About As an affiliate, your students will be able to crowdfund. Your school’s customized page gives you the benefits of having your very own funding portal without the hefty development and upkeep costs.
Co-Branded Page A fraction of the cost of a six-figure platform development. Leave all the technical stuff to SPUR. Here’s what’s included: • • • • •
Development of co-branded page Safe payment processing Custom URL (spurstartup.com/yourschoolhere) Full tech support for your students and backers Dedicated customer service representative Set up and your first semester start at:
$2,000 A Powerful Engagement Tool Your customized page acts as a window to your startup activity on campus. Visitors can navigate through all of your student’s ideas in one place and become an official backer by contributing to a campaign. Students can post public updates on their project page and message their backers.
Safe Funding We use Stripe as our payment provider. Stripe is one of the most popular and safest payment providers in the world. Stripe takes most major credit cards, has full customer support, and ensures that backers sensitive information is safe. Stripe charges (2.9%+$0.30) per transaction.
Funding Portal
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Crowdfunding Lingo Explained • SPURstartup is a donation- and rewards-based platform, meaning backers contribute funds in exchange for a variety of rewards. • A project is a 15-60 day campaign with a clear goal to raise enough funds to reach a milestone in the startup process such as building a prototype, contracting a graphic designer, or developing an app. • The funding goal is the amount of money the entrepreneur needs to accomplish their project and fulfill rewards. • A project owner is the entrepreneur who is the main point of contact and representative for the startup. • Backers are supporters who pledge money to help the startup succeed and get rewards. • Rewards are ways for the startup to show their appreciation for their backer’s support and get backers involved in their journey. • Funding on SPURstartup is all-or-nothing, meaning no one will be charged for a pledge towards a project unless it reaches the funding goal. This ensures the project has enough funds to meet their goals and follow through on rewards.
Funding Portal
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Startup School : About Startup School immerses students in courses, incubators, and accelerators designed by SPUR and our brand partners. Our services bridge the gap between learning theory and implementation. Our online courses can be integrated easily into any class curriculum if a teacher wants to include crowdfunding as a part of their course. We are happy to provide any teacher with lesson outlines and best practices. Students will also receive exclusive discounts from our brand partners, making launching a business more affordable than ever.
Startup School
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80% Success rate of student campaigns that participated in the Crowdfunding Incubator
Crowdfunding Incubator SPUR’s 60-day crowdfunding incubator takes students through every step of the crowdfunding process. Students spend one month preparing for their campaign and one month running it, ensuring they have direction for every day of the process. The incubator took over a year to develop, refine, and test. In our beta test at UTD, a group of students went through the incubator experience. The results were astounding, leading to a success rate 400% higher than our competitors and an overwhelmingly positive experience for students.
FirstGear FirstGear is SPUR’s course for concept generation and feasibility, with an emphasis on market research. It’s great for non-business students that want to monetize their passions or students that are contemplating launching a business.
Startup School
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Brand Partners Brand partners supply students with top-of-the-line training, tools, and student discounts. Students learn practical skills taught by experts, from coding to money management.
Campus Workshops SPUR works with our Student Ambassadors to coordinate workshops and meetups to get offline and tap into the campus community. Wrokshops provide training from the SPUR team and our brand partners for a variety of topics.
Virtual Summer Accelerator Our virtual accelerator makes sure innovation keeps moving over the summer and combats student disengagement. Workshops are taught live via webinars hosted by the SPUR team. Students can participate in a live Q&A with our guest speakers ranging from entrepreneurs, to VC’s, to marketing gurus. The accelerator concludes with a 30-day campaign.
Startup School
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Community Mentorship & Network SPUR’s community platform is a space for students to meet and interact with other entrepreneurs, mentors, and startup junkies across the globe. Students can ask questions, chat with experts late into off hours, and share their ideas.
Attend events and webinars
Get questions answered
Share stories & articles or write your own
Follow topics of interest
Meet mentors and other students in your area
Community
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Student Ambassador Progam Students can apply for an internship as a SPUR Ambassador to represent their campus or program and help us serve your startup community. We provide one-on-one training and work with them to get their input and feedback. Ambassadors enable SPUR to work hands-on with your community and adapt to each program’s cultures and unique needs. The Ambassador Program also gives students the opportunity to get experience in a leadership role and gain new skills.
Local Meetups Get togethers over coffee, lunch in the quad, and other meetups give student a well-deserved break to have fun and build relationships with other entrepreneurs. SPUR works with our Ambassadors to coordinate meetups that tap into the campus community.
Community
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SPURstartup : What’s Included Funding Page
Startup School
Customized page
Unlimited enrollment*
Dedicated url (spurstartup.com/ yourschool)
Webinars
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding incubator
Web development
Student discounts
Hosting
Mentor & community platform
Tech support Safe funding
Online courses
Ambassador Program Campus workshops Local meetups
Summary
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Contact Info Maggie Barton Founder & CEO maggie@spurstartup.com 214.957.0947
Contact
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