Summary
The Spartan Fund is a venture fund, funded by CWRU and managed by the CWRU Technology Transfer Office (TTO). We focus on very early stage CWRU startup companies, and are often the first money in to a company, giving them resources and funds to get an early boost in capital and improve their chances for success.
For any questions about the Spartan Fund, contact Michael Haag, Executive Director of Technology Management, at mxh124@case.edu, or Tyler Gray, Licensing Manager, at tjg47@case.edu
Catalyst Program
The Spartan Fund distinguishes itself from other venture funds in the area by partnering with Wave Strategy, LLC to provide CWRU startups with access to the Catalyst Program, which is X hours of consulting work paid for by CWRU. Companies in the Catalyst Program work with Wave Strategy to develop a Statement of Work around any of the following activities:
- Startup “Boilerplate services”
- Pitch deck review
- Value proposition and unmet need pressure test including IP strategy review
- Competitive landscape and market research validity analysis
- Stage of development and channel hypothesis review and recommendations
- Regulatory strategy review
- Marketing Support
- Creation of platform content and one pager executive summaries
- Content ideation
- Project Management
- Identifying Strategic Alliances
For questions about the Catalyst Program, contact Matt McBride or Jamie Longacre.
Process
CWRU startups apply for the Spartan Fund, and those who meet the outlined criteria enter the diligence phase. In this stage, Wave Strategy assembles business diligence packets on each company to determine which should move forward and present to the Funding Committee. These packets are available to the CWRU startups to provide to potential funding partners.
The Funding Committee meeting consists of the selected companies delivering a pitch presentation as well as a short Q&A session. Wave Strategy assists each company with presentation preparation ahead of the Funding Committee Meeting. All CWRU startups that present to the Funding Committee also have the opportunity to work with Wave Strategy in the Catalyst Program, which is a program that provides mentorship and advice on a wide range of services (e.g. introduction to funding sources, pitch deck refinements, identification of potential markets).
CWRU startups which present to the Committee and are selected for funding have received up to $300,000 in funding, either fully funded or subject to a matching requirement. These funds are used directly to support development of each startup's product and bring it to commercialization.