Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center selected to join Microsoft BizSpark program
Global program to foster the success of Brandeis University startups
Waltham, Massachusetts — May 6, 2016 — Brandeis University’s Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center (HFIC) announced today that
it has been selected to join the Microsoft BizSpark Program as a Network Partner. BizSpark is a global program designed to accelerate
the success of early-stage startups by connecting them with active members of the global software ecosystem who can provide
mentorship, guidance and resources to eligible university startups. BizSpark creates an ongoing, mutually beneficial relationship
between Microsoft Corp., startups and the innovation center.
“The Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center was established to support the deeply diverse entrepreneurial spirit at Brandeis,” says
Rebecca Menapace, associate provost for innovation and executive director of the center and the Brandeis Office of Technology
Licensing. “We are excited to partner with Microsoft in order to complement our current initiatives and deliver our students, faculty and
staff additional opportunities to accelerate their innovative endeavors and help scale our community’s novel ideas to have far-reaching,
real-world impact.”
Microsoft and the university’s innovation center are committed to helping entrepreneurs transform their ambitions into sustainable,
dynamic businesses and to foster innovation and entrepreneurialism across the Brandeis community. To this end, the BizSpark
program provides startups with leading technology, business and technical support, and market and networking opportunities at a time
when they are most valuable and least affordable — during their first three years, with absolutely no upfront costs and
minimal requirements.
Steve Ramsay, director of developer, student and startup evangelism at Microsoft, praised the current programming focused around
innovation and entrepreneurship at the university. “Whether through the MakerLab, the rapid 3 Day Startup Challenge at Brandeis
International Business School (IBS), or the SPARK and SPROUT programs, students are encouraged to think and press for an
innovative set of ideas while leveraging the assets that Brandeis can offer,” Ramsay said. “The partnership approach taken at Brandeis
as a part of the startup ecosystem is critical, and Microsoft is happy to support the university’s startup activity to ensure that startups get
the very best technology they can to build successful ventures.”
The center currently offers enrollment to qualified teams and participants from their highly successful SPARK and SPROUT seedfunding competitions, as well as Brandeis IBS’s 3 Day Startup event. It hopes to expand on the opportunity and welcomes potential
startups to submit requests for codes.
To be eligible for the Microsoft BizSpark Program, startups must be actively engaged in development of a software-based product or
service that is a core piece of their business model, have been in business less than three years at the time of enrollment and have less
than US$1 million in annual revenue. Startups may enroll in the program by obtaining an enrollment code from the Hassenfeld Family
Innovation Center.
About the Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center
The Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center’s mission is to create a hub for campus-wide collaboration on a wide range of activities
including new technologies, scientific breakthroughs, patenting and licensing. It also supports commercialization of faculty discoveries
and research, corporate outreach to leading-edge firms as well as new education and employment opportunities for students. The
partnership between Brandeis University’s Office of Technology Licensing and Brandeis International Business School was created in
2015 through funding from Hassenfeld Family Initiatives.
Christina Moores
Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center
781-736-8563
cmoores@brandeis.edu
#########
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.