TEC - News

IllinoisVENTURES wants you to be the next internet billionaire!	January 23, 2008

From PayPal to YouTube, from Yelp to Netscape, Illinois computer science and engineering students and alumni have a reputation for launching new technologies and web services that change the way we all think about computing. The New York Times and Fortune Magazine have both recently proclaimed many of our young alumni as some of the most influential players in the industry today. Do you have the next great idea? Want to follow the same path? The iVentures10 program is a new kind of summer intern program computer science and engineering students with a great idea for a software or web based start-up company. During the 10 summer weeks, student teams will develop their idea into a working prototype and lay the groundwork to launch their start-up. The program will provide working capital, plus any office resources and management guidance you might need to create a prototype of your product/service and pitch your idea to investors. iVentures10 will award up to 4 teams of 2-4 students with this 10 week internship and up to $25,000 in funding. The internship is structured to allow you maximum flexibility in creating your prototype, while providing a solid foundation in the skills you need to start a company, develop a valuation and capitalization structure, plan the launch of your product/service, and attract investors. At the conclusion of your 10-week internship, you will present your company and product idea to potential investors to attract additional capital to continue your venture. Three teams of computer science and engineering students participated last year, the first year that the program was offered. Projects the students developed ranged from social networking and bookmarking sites to a service that enables consumers to compare product prices and offers by snapping a photo of a product’s bar code in store. "It's pleasant to see something you learn working in real life," says CS PhD student and Snap & Buy team member Ali Farhadi. Information Session with free food. IllinoisVENTURES is holding an information session in Siebel 2405 on January 29th at 5:30pm. Free food is included. Attend and learn more about More information about capitalizing on your own unbeatable deal through iVentures10 is available at www.iventures10.com. Applications are due by February 21, 2007. Contact Amit Sudharshan at asudharshan@illinoisventures.com with any questions about this program. iVentures10 is sponsored by IllinoisVENTURES, a seed and early-stage technology venture capital firm focused on research-derived companies in information technologies, physical sciences and life sciences, with a particular emphasis on those deriving from research conducted at the University of Illinois and other regional research institutions. IllinoisVENTURES works closely with inventors and entrepreneurs to mold concepts, vision, intellectual property, sweat and passion into breakthrough, high-growth companies. Located in Champaign, they have started over 25 companies and have recently been named by Entrepreneur magazine to its 2005 list of the top 100 venture capital firms nationally for entrepreneurs.