Investor network East Carolina Angels (ECA) has launched a new fund to invest in start-ups with direct ties to East Carolina University (ECU).
The Pirate Entrepreneurship Fund is a private, multimillion dollar investment fund that will provide critical capital for ECU start-ups to succeed. The fund will be accessible to students, faculty, physicians, clinicians, alumni, IP licensees, and industrial research partners of the university.
Overall, the Pirate Entrepreneurship Fund will fill a gap that exists in the ECU start-up community, which has received support from the university’s Office of Innovation and New Ventures but is missing a dedicated source of capital, as there are no VC firms in Greenville, NC, where the university is located.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Pirates to help other Pirates, by providing the much-needed capital support for great ideas coming out of the Miller School, Isley Innovation Hub and the entire university,” says Kel Normann, founder and managing director of the Normann Financial Group in Sanford, NC.
“Students don’t typically have the network and relationships to obtain early-stage funding, and this fund meets that need,” Normann adds. “While all funds seek ROI for its members, the real return on investment is the support for ECU and its growing entrepreneurship assets, programs, people and successes.”
Source: Triangle Inno
