Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management has launched a program that offers students a hands-on startup investment experience.
The Orange Business Angel Network will connect students with angel investors who have a history with Syracuse University. Classes begin this semester for students who are part of the program.
"The students who are taking a class will get to go through and do a lot of the evaluation and assessment and due diligence as to whether this is, you know, high potential, low potential, do some market research, some industry research," said Whitman Dean Alex McKelvie. "Then the angel investors who come in will then look to support the students doing their work and get pitched those ideas, and then decide whether they want to invest or not."
McKelvie said finding these investors can often be difficult.
"A lot of the time they have a hard time finding angels," he said. "You can't just say, Google 'Angel Investor.' It's really hard to find the right people. And so what this does is it helps to facilitate entrepreneurs looking to bring in angel investors by applying to this program."
The angel investors have connections to Syracuse University and are SEC-accredited. McKelvie said they will not only offer investments, but also act as mentors to students. They’ll focus on companies that have growth potential.
"There tends to be some tech, there tends to be some health care, there tends to be some personal services. But these are ideas, these are our young ventures that have the opportunity to grow. Grow with profitability, grow, prove that there's a customer market, that there's demand for the product, that the companies themselves can establish themselves."
McKelvie says while other universities have programs like this, Syracuse’s is the only one that has angels connected to the school.
