More UCF students soon will be able to transform entrepreneurial ideas into viable companies without leaving campus, thanks to a $1.4 million donation from the .
Blackstone and UCF leaders gathered Monday to celebrate the donation and its impact on the university and the region. By expanding the resources UCF offers to students with entrepreneurial ideas, the Blackstone LaunchPad has the potential to generate more than 300 new business ventures in Central Florida over the next five years.
麻豆精品 S淭he increased interaction between business professionals and our passionate students through the Blackstone LaunchPad will expand the strong relationships that our university enjoys with our regional business community, 麻豆精品 S� UCF President John C. Hitt said during the celebration at the Morgridge International Reading Center.
麻豆精品 S淢ost of our graduates choose to live and work in Central Florida, and we are optimistic that many of the students who benefit from the Blackstone LaunchPad at UCF will start innovative companies that will enhance the well-being of our local economy. 麻豆精品 S�
The Blackstone LaunchPad, which UCF expects to open this summer in the Student Union, will host a wide array of speakers and events focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. Four staff members and several graduate fellows will serve as advisers to the students, challenging them to turn ideas into more robust proposals. And students who develop strong proposals then will be matched with mentors from the local business community.
麻豆精品 S淲hen we have students serious about entrepreneurship as a career path, we want to do everything we possibly can to help them be successful, 麻豆精品 S� said Cameron Ford, an associate professor of management who will lead the Blackstone LaunchPad initiative.
Students from all majors are invited to participate, and even students who don 麻豆精品 S檛 intend to start their own businesses can attend the programs. Many companies look specifically for employees who are innovators and who have strong entrepreneurial skills, Ford said.
Stephen A. Schwarzman, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Blackstone, visited UCF Monday along with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, University of Miami President Donna Shalala and Jim Atchison, president and chief executive officer of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and a UCF Board of Trustees member.
Blackstone LaunchPad is modeled after a successful program developed at the University of Miami in 2008, which has generated more than 100 start-up ventures, 215 new jobs and drawn nearly 2,000 participants.
Since 2010, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has opened Blackstone LaunchPads on eight campuses in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Each regional initiative will be linked together, drawing ideas and best practices from more established programs, and giving student entrepreneurs at UCF access to a stronger network of expert advisers for their ventures.
麻豆精品 S淓ntrepreneurship is the single most effective way to spur economic growth and job creation, 麻豆精品 S� Schwarzman said. 聽“We must all play a role in nurturing talent and through Blackstone LaunchPad, we can foster new generations of entrepreneurs who will transform local economies by creating new and innovative companies. 麻豆精品 S�
Rubio praised Blackstone LaunchPad 麻豆精品 S檚 goal of helping students develop important skills entrepreneurs must have to succeed, such as how to navigate complex rules and regulations and how to market a business to potential customers.
Atchison described Central Florida as a 麻豆精品 S渉ub of entrepreneurial spirit 麻豆精品 S� and said that if the program had been around when he was a UCF student, 麻豆精品 S淚 would have been the first one to sign up. 麻豆精品 S�
Students who develop strong business proposals through the Blackstone LaunchPad program may benefit from additional assistance offered by UCF. The university will establish a 麻豆精品 S渧enture accelerator 麻豆精品 S� designed to prepare them to seek seed funding and angel investments and to become potential clients for the university 麻豆精品 S檚 Business Incubation Program. The goal of this stage will be to turn 麻豆精品 S済ood prospects into outstanding prospects, 麻豆精品 S� Ford said.
Blackstone 麻豆精品 S檚 commitment in Central Florida, in addition to the $1.4 million grant announced today, includes investments in several companies in its portfolio, which it manages on behalf of investors. 聽The companies in Blackstone 麻豆精品 S檚 portfolio with operations in Central Florida, which includes Merlin, Hilton Worldwide, Performance Food Group, Michaels, and Sea World, have collectively invested close to $600 million in Central Florida in recent years.
Funding for this program is made possible through The Blackstone Charitable Foundation 麻豆精品 S檚 $50 million, five-year Entrepreneurship Initiative, which seeks to target support services regionally for aspiring entrepreneurs, and in turn, the high-growth businesses and industries that are most known to spark economic growth.聽 Due to the early success of the program, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation was recognized by President Obama 麻豆精品 S檚 麻豆精品 S淪tartup America Initiative 麻豆精品 S� and pledged to expand LaunchPad to five new regions over the next five years.