Alumni Ventures Announces 10KE Winners
Winners received $2,000 to pursue entrepreneurial education and startup endeavors
MANCHESTER, NH, MAY 31, 2022 — Alumni Ventures’ 10,000 Entrepreneurs Program (10KE) has announced its 2022 winners. The 10KE initiative provides scholarships to undergraduate college students for summer internships at fast-growing startups or to finance their own startups. This year, 10KE awarded 25 recipients a $2,000 scholarship to support their pursuit of entrepreneurial endeavors.
10KE received its largest application pool to date this year with over 100 candidates from 49 universities across North America. “It was very difficult to make a decision this year,” said Kathleen Leonard, Program Manager. “We received impressive applications from students interning with innovative startups and from student founders whose ventures address a wide range of issues, from decontaminating medical equipment to a permanent anti-smudge eyeglass lens coating.”
The 10KE program is part of Alumni Ventures’ VC Career On-Ramps initiative, with the mission of increasing access and opportunities to traditionally underrepresented groups in VC and entrepreneurship. Of this year’s award winners, 64% identify as women and 88% are traditionally underrepresented races or ethnicities.
10KE is a nonprofit founded by Alumni Ventures in 2019 to ignite and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of future generations.. Since its inaugural year, the program has awarded grants ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 to undergraduate students from North American colleges and universities.
“We’re so proud to be able to support these promising and talented undergraduates,” said Program Director, Lindsey Nicholson. “Their creativity, drive, and commitment to making a meaningful and positive impact are remarkable, and we’re thrilled to be part of their journey.”
Previous award winners have demonstrated the ability to be bold and innovative thinkers, bringing fresh perspectives to conventional markets historically taken for granted. Winners also demonstrate excellent leadership potential, a desire to learn new skills, and a measured approach to risk-taking.
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About 10,000 Entrepreneurs
The nonprofit 10,000 Entrepreneurs (10KE) was founded in 2019 by Alumni Ventures to foster the development of a deeper entrepreneurial ecosystem. 10KE helps students pursue entrepreneurial projects and careers through the annual 10KE Scholarship Award. The program’s goal is to encourage undergrads to explore entrepreneurship, in its broadest form, regardless of their ultimate career choices.
About Alumni Ventures
Alumni Ventures offers accredited individuals access to network-powered venture capital — a key asset class missing from the portfolios of many sophisticated investors. Since launching its first venture fund in 2015, AV has raised more than $1 billion across two dozen Alumni and Focused Funds, serving a growing network of 8,000 investors and 600,000 community members and subscribers. AV evaluates hundreds of opportunities every year and has invested in 1,000+ unique portfolio companies. In 2021, PitchBook ranked AV as the third most active VC firm in the world. AV funds are private, for-profit, and not affiliated with or sanctioned by any school. For more information, visit av.vc.
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