MCCC Pilot ‘Start-Up Accelerator Fund’ Provides Cash Awards For Aspiring Entrepreneurs‏

Blue Bell, Pa.—This spring, the Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) Foundation and the College’s Division of Business and Entrepreneurial Initiatives will pilot an exciting program designed to support and mentor aspiring entrepreneurs.

The Karen A. Stout Start-Up Accelerator Fund, named after MCCC President Emerita Karen Stout, will allow qualifying entrepreneurs to compete for cash awards to help them launch or grow their business ventures. The pilot is funded by a generous, anonymous donation up to $100,000, which will be used to fund cash awards in May and October.

“The Start-Up Accelerator Fund is designed to assist those entrepreneurs who are ready to launch their ventures, but who don’t have viable access to other funding sources,” explained Philip Needles, interim vice president of student affairs, who is overseeing the program. “It’s open to all entrepreneurs in the region, and we especially invite military veterans and participants from MCCC’s Women-Owned Business Network and Certificate in Entrepreneurship program to apply.”

Interested entrepreneurs should submit their business plans online at mc3.edu/startup by March 30, 2016. Qualifying applicants will then be invited pitch their business concepts to a review team at MCCC’s Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, in May.

Select entrepreneurs will be awarded between $1,000 and $20,000 to help launch their business ventures. Those recipients will work with MCCC’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and community mentors to set key milestones and deliverables and to monitor progress and outcomes.

MCCC will offer second round of funding in October to complete the pilot year. For information, visit mc3.edu/startup.

Naturi Startup Of Pittsburgh Created Out Of Desire For Better Yogurt

Aditya Dhere and Anes Dracic got their idea for a yogurt company when they couldn’t find what they wanted on supermarket shelves.

The recent MBA graduates of Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business ate a lot of yogurt and enjoyed making up recipes with fruit and nuts, but they wanted an organic, high-protein option.

“By being both active and engaged in physical activities … (we) thought, ‘Hey, why not give food a try and change the landscape a bit?’ ” Dracic said. “So we came up with our own brand.”

Naturi, based in the Strip District, was incorporated in February. The pair envision their yogurt as an artisanal alternative to Stonyfield, Chobani, Fage and Yoplait Greek yogurts filling grocery shelves. It tastes better, they said, because it is made with milk from grass-fed cows.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/7894091-74/yogurt-naturi-company#ixzz3UfoQBUi1
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