Startup Grants

 The University of Washington hosts an event called dubpitch which happens twice a year and allows groups to give a 10 minute pitch. As of now they have raised over 1 billion in funding and it looks like 50% of the pitches lead to meetings with investors. Another grant is the Venmo Small Business Grant which gives 10,000 dollars to 20 different companies every year. The minimum requirements are that the company has less then 10 employees and done $500 in revenue in the last 3 months. It also requires that you have a Venmo business account in good standing. 

I think that the best way for me to use a grant is if I want to avoid giving up equity early on in the development and financing stages. They are also a great way raise capital because they are less stressful than borrowing money from friends or family or taking a loan from the bank. I think the entrepreneurship program at the Seattle campus should set up a deal with the state where each entrepreneur team or project is guaranteed a small grant to start and even get another one if their proof of concept works. If I were to use a grant for my window washing business I would use the money to acquire other small businesses. A good return rate for window cleaning business is anywhere from 15% to 30% and since I do not have to pay that grant back to anyone I would essentially be acquiring another company at zero cost to myself. 

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