The BEST Start Fund - An Evergreen Fund

The BEST Start Fund is an evergreen (self-perpetuating) Rutgers-owned venture fund capitalized by donations to Rutgers University. It focuses on funding the initial step of innovation commercialization by identifying promising Rutgers University Intellectual Property (IP), helping to establish start-ups, and then advising and nurturing the start-ups until they mature into viable enterprises. BEST Start Fund profits will be largely reinvested, thereby sustaining the innovation commercialization cycle.

The BEST Start Fund is the first step in the commercialization of Rutgers University IP by providing the requisite funding needed to enable select student/faculty teams to start small commercial enterprises. The teams will compete for resources by writing proposals that contain detailed business plans based on specific Rutgers IP. Formal evaluations based on set criteria will be conducted under the auspices of the BEST Advisory Board.

The initial capitalization of the BEST Start Fund will be raised through donations to create and sustain new start-up companies, thereby bridging the "Innovation Gap" between University research and the marketplace. The start-up capital will enable the student/faculty teams to conduct market research and business development activities. Frequent evaluations will be conducted by the BEST Advisory Board to assure adherence to the BEST market driven focus. As part of their exit strategy, the most promising start-up companies will be candidates for purchase by the BEST Growth Fund.