Student-run organization Tufts Student Resources (TSR) is starting an initiative to support and encourage entrepreneurship on the Tufts campus this semester.
The initiative, known as the TSR Venture Fund, will allow students to apply for funding to start a new business on campus. The fund aims to support one or two business ventures each semester, granting as much as $10,000 of TSR money to each, TSR President Adam Russman, a senior, said.
Applications for funding will be accepted by a three-person board comprised of Russman, TSR Manager Evan Lacher, a senior, and an as-yet unknown third member. After reviewing, the board will select one or two ventures for which they will oversee the lending process, according to Russman.
Russman hopes that the Venture Fund will provide a medium for student business leadership at Tufts. "One of TSR's missions is to increase entrepreneurial opportunities on campus," he said.
He added that the businesses they choose to fund will be required to employ Tufts students, a tactic they hope will further strengthen TSR. Russman and Lacher said that because entrepreneurs would become TSR employees and receive a salary, all profits from new businesses would go to TSR and be re-invested in new businesses, helping TSR continue to be self-sustaining.
TSR's ultimate goal is to reach a million dollars in annual revenue, establishing a path to grow TSR by a minimum of 10 percent per year, according to Russman. TSR's current revenue is over $200,000 per year, Russman said.
Students seeking to obtain funding for their venture are required to submit a business proposal via e-mail by Friday describing their projected investment needs, annual costs, annual revenues and the anticipated time until the investment is returned.
Once a business venture is chosen, the selected entrepreneurs will work with the Venture Fund board as a salaried TSR employee to implement the business plan and incorporate the new business into TSR, according to Lacher and Russman.
Through this system, Lacher explained, businesses will be able to continue to operate even after their founding members have graduated.
"Because there is a larger structure, [graduation] won't really affect venture ideas that much," Lacher said.
Russman added that an advantage of this system is that it gives students the opportunity to start a business with little personal risk.
"Students with venture ideas will have ownership with regard to implementing and managing [the business]," Lacher said. He added students would be willing to give up the potential for the personal profits that might come from "traditional ownership" of their business in exchange not being at any financial risk.
Russman said that the Venture Fund hopes to support businesses that offer services that are not already offered at Tufts. He emphasized that the businesses must be compatible with the aims of TSR.
"The key thing is how will their business integrate within TSR, as well as operate within the Tufts environment," Russman said.
Junior Chris Park, a member of the student group Young Entrepreneurs at Tufts who plans to submit a business proposal to the Venture Fund, agreed. Park said he altered his business idea to better fit a Tufts operational model.
"[The business] will have to maximize the pool of resources that's currently available while minimizing the cost," Park said.
He added that the greatest advantage of starting a business through the TSR Venture Fund is the availability of TSR's resources, which include staff, marketing resources and general connections on campus.
"This is a good incubated environment where [businesses] can be sheltered by the institution and have less financial risk," Park said.
