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MSUFCU to Host Startup Challenge Pitch Day on November 5, Winner Will Receive up to $25,000 to Start up Business
Michigan State University Federal Credit Union’s (MSUFCU’s) startup Challenge will award up to $25,000 to an entrepreneur looking to start a business in the tri-county area.
EAST LANSING, MI—Media representatives and the general public are invited to attend MSUFCU’s startUP Challenge Pitch Day, to be held November 5, 2012, at MSUFCU’s Headquarters located at 3777 West Road in East Lansing. Introductions and refreshments will begin at 8:00 a.m. with the first pitch beginning at 8:30 a.m. The startUP Challenge is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to start their businesses in the tri-county area: Ingham, Clinton, and Eaton Counties. The winner of the MSUFCU startUP challenge will be awarded up to $25,000 to jump-start his or her business.
Thirty-five entrepreneurs entered the startUP Challenge by submitting applications, business plans, and video pitches in September and early October 2012. Five entrepreneurs have been selected to present their business ideas to the startUP Challenge selection committee on November 5. The committee will be comprised of Greater Lansing business professionals including experts from Michigan State University, MSUFCU, and the Lansing Area Economic Partnership (LEAP).
In addition to the startUP Challenge, MSUFCU also recently introduced the startUP Loan Fund. Entrepreneurs in the tri-county area may now apply for loans up to $15,000 to aid in the development of their businesses. MSUFCU’s new loan fund has $250,000 to lend to local entrepreneurs.
Patrick McPharlin, MSUFCU’s President and CEO, commented, “MSUFCU is excited to provide entrepreneurs with the means to start their own businesses, and we’re thrilled with the response we’ve already received for the startUP Challenge. We hope the startUP Challenge and startUP Loan Fund will attract more businesses to the area to help grow the local economy.”
MSU Federal Credit Union, the world’s largest university-based credit union, serves Michigan State University and Oakland University faculty, staff, students, alumni association members and their families worldwide and offers a full range of personal and business related financial services. Founded in 1937 by a handful of MSU professors and employees, MSUFCU now has 169,000 members, over $2.3 billion in assets, and more than 475 employees. MSUFCU was named the Michigan Credit Union League Credit Union of the Year in 2010.