Michigan State University – Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

What Michigan State University – Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation does

The Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is an academic department within Michigan State University (a public research university), headquartered at the MSU Union, 49 Abbot Road, Suite 200, in East Lansing, Michigan. Founded in 2012 and operating with a staff of 48, it delivers entrepreneurship education and venture creation support to MSU undergraduates across all majors, drawing on 5,000+ course-taking students spanning 154 unique majors and nearly 800 students enrolled in the Minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. The institute operates as part of MSU's academic mission and is funded through institutional university allocations and donor/endowment contributions rather than commercial revenue.

The institute's core offerings are structured as a sequential pipeline: the Minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation (undergraduate coursework across all majors); the Venture Creation Program with Discovery (business plan development) and Launch (market-entry with concentrated mentorship and funding access) phases; the MOMENTUM Pre-Accelerator (a six-week summer program with $5,000-per-team scholarships); the MSU Hatch co-working incubator hosting 200+ student teams annually; the Venture Kitchen for food and cosmetics startups; the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence mentorship program; and recurring competitions including the Burgess New Venture Challenge (prizes up to $15,000 for first place) and 2 Day Venture. Distribution is direct-to-student through MSU's campus infrastructure, with marketing through Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Eventbrite, email newsletter, and earned media.

Measured program outcomes include 915 student-led startups launched and $57.9 million in follow-on funding raised over the five years through 2022; since 2016, more than 1,000 students have engaged with MSU Hatch programming and launched over 800 companies that subsequently raised $25.8 million. The institute has held five consecutive years on The Princeton Review's Top 25 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs (ranked #3 Midwest / #8 worldwide in 2022 and #21 nationally). Notable downstream alumni ventures include Remind (classroom app connecting 30M+ users), VADE Nutrition (Shark Tank deal with Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez), Bon Bon Bon, and CAPNOS. The institute's go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven, anchored on signature gatherings such as the Venture Summit, Burgess New Venture Challenge, and Startup Weekend.

Name

Michigan State University – Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Legal name

Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Website

https://entrepreneurship.msu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is Michigan State University's nationally ranked entrepreneurship education program, serving MSU undergraduates across all majors through a Minor, sequential venture creation programs (Discovery, Launch), the MOMENTUM Pre-Accelerator, an on-campus Hatch incubator, and pitch competitions, supported by an alumni entrepreneur network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship, Startup Incubation & Pitch Programs (EDAMAKAK), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)

Keywords

• Entrepreneurship education
• Venture creation programs
• Startup incubator services
• Student accelerator programs
• Innovation mentorship

Headquarters

HQ city

East Lansing

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. University Funding & Institutional Support: As an institute within Michigan State University, the Burgess Institute receives institutional funding from the university and operates as part of MSU's academic mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation delivers academic and experiential programs that equip Michigan State University students with entrepreneurial skills through the Minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation and a venture creation program structured around Discovery and Launch phases. It supplements this education with the MOMENTUM six-week pre-accelerator, an Entrepreneurs-in-Residence mentorship network, annual pitch competitions (Burgess New Venture Challenge, 2 Day Venture), and physical incubator infrastructure including the MSU Hatch co-working space and Venture Kitchen. Programs are funded through institutional university support and donor contributions and are open primarily to MSU undergraduates and alumni.

Product overview

The Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is a nationally recognized leader in entrepreneurship education at Michigan State University, ranked #3 in the Midwest and #8 worldwide in undergraduate entrepreneurship by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneurship Magazine. The institute operates a comprehensive platform centered on its Venture Creation Program, which progresses students through Discovery and Launch phases, supported by the MOMENTUM Pre-Accelerator. Key offerings include the Minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation (serving nearly 800 students), the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Program, the Burgess New Venture Challenge pitch competition, 2 Day Venture, and Venture Summit. The institute provides physical infrastructure including the MSU Hatch incubator and Venture Kitchen. Since 2016, over 1,000 students have engaged with programming, starting more than 800 companies that have raised over $25.8 million in funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Discovery Program: First phase of the venture creation program where students build business plans through research, testing, and strategic planning
• Launch Program
• MOMENTUM Pre-Accelerator
• Burgess New Venture Challenge
• Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
• Venture Kitchen
• Venture Summit
• 2 Day Venture
• Spartan Founders Club

Products and services

• Minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation An undergraduate minor program open to all MSU majors that emphasizes both the entrepreneurial mindset and the process for launching and growing a startup through coursework and experiential learning.
• Discovery Program The first phase of the venture creation program, designed to give Spartan venturers the tools and resources to build firm foundations for their ideas and early startups through research, testing, and strategic planning.
• Launch Program An advanced venture creation program for MSU entrepreneurs ready to take their startups to market, offering greater access to tailored services, concentrated mentorship, and funding opportunities. Approximately 50 teams are accepted per year.
• MOMENTUM Pre-Accelerator A six-week summer pre-accelerator program providing $5,000 scholarships to accepted MSU-based student startup teams, with additional financial and mentorship resources to prepare them for more intensive accelerators.
• Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Program A mentorship program where accomplished Spartan entrepreneurs provide mentorship, coaching, and professional networking to student founders over a two-year commitment.
• Burgess New Venture Challenge MSU's premier annual pitch competition that highlights top student entrepreneurs and celebrates the venture creation ecosystem, offering scholarship prizes from $500 (semifinalist seed) up to $15,000 (first place), plus a $1,000 People's Choice Award.
• 2 Day Venture A two-day intensive startup competition where students form teams, develop ideas, and pitch to judges in a compressed weekend format.
• MSU Hatch A co-working and startup incubator space located at 325 E. Grand River Avenue, Suite 345, East Lansing, hosting over 200 student teams annually; since 2016, over 1,000 students have engaged with programming and started more than 800 companies at the MSU Hatch.
• Venture Kitchen A commercially licensed kitchen space in the MSU Union for students launching food-based and cosmetics startups.

Quantifiable outcome

• 915 startups launched by student venturers over five years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Central Michigan University Isabella Bank Institute for EntrepreneurshipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2022Co-host of Michigan Collegiate Startup Challenge (MCSC) - a collaboration between 10 Michigan universities to foster student entrepreneurship across the state. The event was co-hosted by MSU's Burgess Institute and CMU, with MEDC as sponsor.
• The Graduate Hotel East LansingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for Burgess New Venture Challenge events, hosting the 2022 competition at their East Lansing location.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MIT - Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship: MIT's central hub for entrepreneurship education offering minor-equivalent programs, venture creation support, and the delta v summer accelerator. Closely parallels Burgess in structure (academic minor + accelerator + incubator) and target audience (undergraduate and graduate student founders).
• Purdue University - John Martinson Entrepreneurial Center: Purdue's entrepreneurship center offering minor and certificate programs, the Boiler accelerator, and pitch competitions. Direct Big Ten peer with comparable student-venture pipeline scale and similar reliance on university-funded program model.
• University of Michigan - Center for Entrepreneurship: U-M's College of Engineering-based entrepreneurship center offering the Entrepreneurship minor, the TechLab pre-accelerator, and venture creation support. Direct Big Ten peer competing for the same regional student talent and state of Michigan ecosystem positioning.
• University of Texas at Austin - Texas McCombs Entrepreneurship: UT Austin's entrepreneurship program within McCombs School of Business, offering the Entrepreneurship minor, the Longhorn Startup pre-accelerator, and various venture competitions. Direct comparable in scale, program mix, and ranking tier to Burgess.
• Babson College - Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship: Babson's entrepreneurship center, consistently #1 in undergraduate entrepreneurship per Princeton Review. Operates the Butler Institute for Free Enterprise and various accelerators; represents the gold standard Burgess is benchmarked against in rankings.
• Cornell University - Cornell Entrepreneur Network: Cornell's centralized entrepreneurship hub offering the Entrepreneurship and Innovation minor, eLab student accelerator, and pitch competitions. Closely parallels Burgess across academic minor + venture creation + pitch competition stack, and competes in the same Princeton Review rankings.
• Stanford University - Stanford Venture Studio & StartX: Stanford's flagship student entrepreneurship program offering venture creation support, accelerator programming, and an affiliated venture fund. Directly comparable to Burgess as a university-embedded entrepreneurship institute, though operating at significantly larger scale and with more venture funding access.

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Global accelerator network that operates programs relevant to early-stage student founders. Comparable as an accelerator-tier offering that Burgess alumni ventures may graduate into; not a direct competitor but a logical next-step for alumni post-graduation.
• Y Combinator: The dominant external startup accelerator that many Burgess alumni companies will eventually apply to. Represents the broader, more mature version of what the institute's MOMENTUM pre-accelerator feeds into — relevant as a downstream pathway rather than a direct competitor.

Regional players

• Central Michigan University - Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship: Regional Michigan-based university entrepreneurship partner that co-hosts the Michigan Collegiate Startup Challenge with MSU. Directly comparable as a smaller, regional entrepreneurship institute within the same state ecosystem, though with materially smaller program scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@msuburgessinstitute/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/msuburgessinstitute
• Instagraminstagram.com/msuburgessinstitute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Michigan State University – Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation