Frankel Commercialization Fund - Application
for Funding
Overview | Student
Participation | Application for Funding | Portfolio
| Advisors
Benefits for University Inventors
Teams will seek opportunities where they can work closely with
inventors to help identify the key milestones necessary to demonstrate
the idea’s utility and market potential and position the
idea to receive investment capital in the future.
Frankel Fund teams will apply their skills and wealth of experience
to analyzing the commercialization potential of each project.
They will then share their research and conclusions with selected
inventors who have high-potential ideas to assist them in the
development of their plan for commercialization. Finalists (one
or two per sector) will, in addition to being considered for
an investment, get the benefit of the Frankel Fund team's recommendation
on the optimal path to commercialization and have the opportunity
to present their business plan to the FCF team and its advisory
board, which includes a number of successful angel investors
and venture capitalists.
Investment Criteria/Process
In order to be considered by the Fund, projects will need to
meet the Fund's criteria for investment. Primarily, projects
must:
- Address an unmet market need, or provide at least an order
of magnitude performance improvement compared to existing
solutions.
- Support products or technology that are advanced, proprietary
(depending on the market served), scalable, and that benefit
from a sustainable competitive advantage.
- Be driven by founders who are committed to building a successful
enterprise and recruiting managers with the skills to do so.
- Have a U-M or local area connection and benefit the University,
if successful. To satisfy this requirement, the team should
include at least one U-M student, staff member, faculty or
alum, or make use of technology developed within the University.
Technology or products owned by the University need to be
disclosed to the University's Technology Transfer Office prior
to submitting an application.
Commercialization Applications
Interested companies/projects will need to submit a short
application on or before December 15, 2007, to be considered
for investment by May 2008. Applications submitted after December
15 may be considered for investment in the fall of 2008.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the size of the typical Frankel Fund
investment?
The fund typically initially invests $60,000-$80,000, with the
possibility for a follow on investment for a total of $100,000
in funding. Each investment opportunity will be evaluated individually
to determine the appropriate investment amount.
2. What is the Frankel Fund Application Process?
The Frankel Fund application process is outlined below:
December 15th: Application Submission Deadline
January: Applications to be evaluated. Applicants will be contacted
to set up a meeting to clarify details on the application form.
January-March: The screening/evaluation process continues. Frankel
Fund initiates the due diligence process to evaluate the firms
commercial viability. The Fund will conduct 2-3 more meetings
with each company.
March: Frankel Fund presents selected investment opportunities
to the board.
April: Frankel Fund presents each investment opportunity to
board for final approval.
Due to limited resources, we are unable to fund all Frankel
Fund applicants. Nonetheless, companies in which we choose not
to invest are encouraged to reapply next year.
3. Is the information shared with the Frankel Fund kept
confidential?
All Frankel Fellows have signed umbrella non-disclosure agreements
with the University of Michigan that prevents transfer of university
information to outsides side sources. For entrepreneurs with
ideas not under the university umbrella, the Frankel Fellows
will make our best effort to keep confidential all information
shared during evaluation.
4. What value does the Frankel Fund student team bring to
the company?
The Frankel Fund team will be actively involved in due diligence,
which will include assessing business risks and the IP landscape,
conducting a market size assessment, speaking to customers,
etc. The fund will provide the company their findings and feedback.
The Frankel Fund Fellows will reserve the option to attend
company board meetings for up to one year after investment.
If needed, Frankel Fellows will be available to provide strategic
business expertise.
5. What is the role of the Frankel Fund advisory board?
The Frankel Fund advisory board consists of successful local
entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and business consultants.
The board serves as advisors, providing the Fellows with guidance
and feedback during the due-diligence and firm evaluation process.
6. How is the Frankel Fund different from the Wolverine
Fund?
While both the Frankel Fund and the Wolverine Venture Fund are
student-run, the Frankel Fund differs in a few important ways.
a. The Frankel Fund is focused on commercializing technologies
and supporting business opportunities affiliated with the University
of Michigan whereas the Wolverine Venture Fund will invest in
companies from around the country.
b. The Frankel Fund invests in early stage companies
c. The Frankel Fund typically invests alone whereas the Wolverine
Venture Fund almost always invests in a syndicate with other
venture funds.
7. What are the terms of the Frankel Fund investment? Does
the Frankel Fund take an equity stake in the company?
The Frankel Fund makes investment in exchange for equity in
the opportunity. The preferred investment instrument is convertible
debt. Convertible debt is commonly used in early stage investments.
Simply put, the dollar amount invested will convert to equity
on the next round of funding.
This
article is where you can learn more about convertible debt.
We would be happy to discuss the nature and specifics of convertible
debt with any prospective investment.
8. How can I learn more about the Frankel Fund?
The Frankel Fund is available to speak to inventors/entrepreneurs
through out the year. At any time, please feel free to contact
us at ffquestions@umich.edu.
Please send questions to ffquestions@umich.edu
and completed applications to frankelproposal@umich.edu.
The Frankel Fund investment teams will review and respond to
submissions within three weeks of receipt of the application.
The final investment decision for Winter Term will be made by
April 25, 2007.
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