Innovation & Job News

U-M student start-ups score $50K in Dare to Dream grants

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Ann Arbor

$5,000 means a lot to Drew Leahy and his co-workers at Mybandstock. The start-up made up almost entirely of college students and recent college graduates needs every dollar it can get to push its company forward.

It's why the Ann Arbor-based firm is pretty excited about winning one of the "Dare to Dream" grants from the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. The money will help the firm develop its business plan, cover some travel expenses and even pay a few of its web programmers. But more importantly it will help the start-up's 15-member team keep its focus.

"It keeps us away from part-time jobs so we can focus on our business," says Leahy, the president of Mybandstock. "It definitely really, really helps us out."

The Dare to Dream program offers $500-$10,000 grants to help student entrepreneurs jump start their businesses. About $50,000 in grants were awarded this fall to the likes of Mybandstock, which is a web-based fundraiser for local musicians. The business allows people to invest in the development of the bands they enjoy.

Source: Drew Leahy, president of Mybandstock
Writer: Jon Zemke

Innovation & Job News

U-M student start-ups score $50K in Dare to Dream grants

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