From his background as an entrepreneur, Joe Petsick, knew startup accelerators help businesses attain success. He also recognized Nebraska startups, as well as student-athletes, would benefit from mentorship, advice, curriculum and resources provided within a startup accelerator.

“There are incredible assets within the College of Business that many companies would likely find useful in helping strengthen their internal managers and leaders. Ultimately, while I could see how these internal resources could certainly help any established business, I believed they would have a profound effect on a startup business,” Petsick said. “After discussing many ways to deploy the potential content, curriculum and programming, the idea of creating our own accelerator program seemed the most appropriate.”

Petsick shared how the Startup Accelerator Program’s focus would be on the “very early stages” of established startups. He plans to include programming and access to leadership teams who can help “dramatically ramp up” growth.

“If a student or student-athlete has already started a business, they could qualify for the Startup Accelerator Program. Also, when the Husker Venture Fund provides investment to a startup, it is likely we’ll include access to our accelerator program as well,” he said.

Petsick continues to build new partnerships to help expand offerings and strengthen programs.

“The Startup Accelerator will help fill an existing gap in the state’s startup ecosystem by leveraging existing programming within the college. This programming is focused on helping startup founders and leaders unlock the growth potential within their business,” said Petsick.

To read more about programs available to student entrepreneurs, visit https://business.unl.edu/entrepreneurship.