Investing in Tommie Entrepreneurs
Schulze Innovation Fund
Supporting Innovative Businesses Founded by St. Thomas Alumni and Students
The Schulze Innovation Fund originated in 2017 to help entrepreneurial St. Thomas students and alumni launch and grow their businesses. This multi-bottom line fund invests in new ventures and supports entrepreneurs. It also helps connect recipients of the Schulze Innovation Fund to valuable mentors and advisors to help them plan for sustainable success.
Students from the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship, the School of Engineering and all of St. Thomas programs are encouraged to apply by submitting their business plan. At least one of the new venture founders needs to be a student or alumni of the University of St. Thomas.
Selected ventures can receive up to $100,000 as equity or a convertible note with possible follow on investment.
Contact
Bruce W. Nordin
Founded in 2018. We love oat milk as much as you. But when we took a closer look at other oat milks-- their artificial ingredients, wasteful processes and dishonest marketing-- we knew there had to be a better way. A more whole & wholesome way. We created Willa's with a simple mission: to create oat milk that tastes as good as it is for people and the planet.
Founded in 2021. Black-owned, Minnesota-based TurnSignl is an on-demand, real-time service that provides 24/7 legal guidance from an attorney to drivers while their camera records the interaction. When drivers are stopped by law enforcement officers or involved in a car accident, they can access live video chat with an attorney at the press of a button or voice command. TurnSignl attorneys are vetted and trained to de-escalate interactions between police, drivers, and passengers.
BetterYou, based in St. Paul, is an AI coach that helps people make better wellness decisions by linking how they spend time back to their goals (social, physical, learning, mindfulness). This enables them to provide redirection at the opportune moment (help people get a walk in when they've been stuck at their desk all day, or to sleep and get off email at 2 a.m.), and improve overall health in the process.
About Richard M. Schulze
How to Apply
We invite all St. Thomas students and alumni to apply for the Schulze Innovation Fund by submitting an original business plan. Not all business plans will lead to funding, yet each student and alumni can benefit from input and advice from the investment team, mentors and advisors.
Several key criteria are used to screen investment opportunities. The fund may:
- Call on a network of volunteer consultants in cases where specific technical expertise or additional business perspective as required
- Invite entrepreneurs to meet with selected members of the network during the review process, and
- Involve graduate and undergraduate students in the Opus College of Business in the review and due diligence process
Return on equity invested will be deposited for re-investment into new ventures. The long-term goal of the fund is to preserve donated capital and maximize returns that ensure its longevity.