Supporting Student Innovation: Dyer Center’s Inaugural Venture Grants

Aligned with the aims of supporting Lafayette student innovation and fostering entrepreneurial opportunities, this fall semester the Dyer Center launched its inaugural series of student Venture Grants. These grants were made possible through the generous support of Asela Gunawardana ’95.

Three distinct grant opportunities were offered to current Lafayette students:
– Innovate Lafayette Grant (up to $500)
– Dyer Innovation Spark Grant (up to $500)
– Dyer Innovation Grant (up to $3,000)

We received 11 applications: one for the Innovate Lafayette Grant, three for Spark Grants, and seven for Innovation Grants. From these, three grants were awarded:

Sports Scents ($500)
Sports Scents is developing a scent-infused sticker that athletes can use to refresh their senses during games. The funding will support the development and testing of their second prototype, allowing them to conduct additional customer validation.

Orion Project ($1,500)
The Orion Project is creating a mobile app using Convolutional Neural Networks to diagnose eye conditions from retinal images. In addition, they are developing a low-cost hardware product capable of producing retinal images suitable for diagnosis. The grant will fund the development of the physical prototype and mobile application.

Voltage Fitness ($3,000)
Voltage Fitness is an inclusive, sustainable activewear brand offering high-quality, eco-friendly apparel at affordable prices. With this grant, they will enter the U.S. market by testing their brand at the Lafayette College Store, which has placed an order for approximately 150 items. This initial wholesale order will enable Voltage Fitness to test the U.S. college student market to offer licensed college apparel at significantly lower costs.

If you’d like to offer mentorship to any of these three student ventures, or have interest in providing mentorship for future recipients, please reach out to us.