Leider and his team are testing the product now. To promote the app, the team, with support from the Associated Students of MSU, will hold a 5K charity run on April 21, with funds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
TempoRun received support from Spartan Innovations, which provided $5,000 in funding from two MSU endowments, Gerstacker and Forest Akers, said Paul Jaques, director of student and community engagement for Spartan Innovations. Spartan Innovations provides startup resources to companies created within MSU. Jeff Smith from the Lansing Economic Area Partnership also provided support. And the students did much of their brainstorming at The Hatch, a student business incubator in East Lansing.
"We look forward to having several other MSU teams compete at Student Startup Madness at SXSW, along with many other events around the country, as the entrepreneurial spirit is growing in Michigan," Jaques said.
The Student Startup Madness began in November with 64 teams from around the nation, including five from MSU. The field was narrowed in December to 32; and in January, TempoRun was selected to go on to the Entrepreneurial Eight. In December, TempoRun won first place at the Broad Business Pitch Competition.
The other seven finalists to compete were Stanford University, Emory University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Illinois at Chicago, St. Louis University, University of California at Berkeley and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
"It's nice to know there are other entrepreneurs in the community, and we've learned that through Spartan Innovations and The Hatch," Leider said. "We're around them every day, which makes us well-rounded entrepreneurs and business people."
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| Contact: Kristen Parker 517-353-8942 Michigan State University Source:Eurekalert |