Blaze Awards - The Pava Marie LaPere Center for Entrepreneurship

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All of the Grant Awards Include

Co-working space at Pava Center
Direct support for next steps with the venture (pro-bono services, mentorship connections, and much more)
Engagement with Summer Incubator program (including attending two or more events between May – July)
Monthly online “coffee hour” networking meetings with the other recipients from the Blaze cohort, starting August
Monthly 1:1s with Pava Center staff and select mentors

Each Blaze award opportunity to foster innovation and entrepreneurship is described below. While the awards have separate applications, the content of each application is similar. We suggest you write out your answers for the applications in a separate document and copy and paste for each individual application you’ll submit.

Undergraduate Award

These awards enable undergraduate students to focus on building a successful company. Ideal applications will show validation for the business’ technical and revenue approach and demonstrate success in securing other grants or investments. Winners of previous awards have typically already been incorporated (or done so shortly after winning).

Size: $10,000. Award money has to be spent within one year.

Eligibility: Ventures with at least one JHU current undergraduate student as a founder. Graduating seniors are eligible to apply.

Acknowledgement: This award is supported by Jeff (KSAS ’03, SAIS ’04) and Laura (KSAS ’03) Raider.

The Singhal Family Software Entrepreneurship Award

This award provides up two established software teams, with a CS major or minor on the team, with well-developed product ideas to build their venture via the Pava Center’s upper-level Blaze program. Teams will be expected to work over the coming year to make their venture investor- and market-ready. Teams will have access to mentoring, investor and advisor networks, and peer/cohort ventures.

Size: $10,000. Award money has to be spent within one year.

Eligibility: Ventures with at least one JHU computer science current student (undergraduate, graduate or post-doc) as a founder.

Acknowledgement: This award is supported by Drs. Sukriti and Sandeep Singhal.

Climate-Tech Venture Award

NEW FOR 2026: This award is for a climate-tech team (including energy and other green tech) with a well-developed product idea, helping enable them build their venture further over the following year. Teams will be expected to work over to make their venture investor- and market-ready. Teams will have access to mentoring, investor and advisor networks, and peer/cohort ventures.

Size: $10,000. Award money has to be spent within one year.

Eligibility: Teams must be comprised of current students (undergrads through post-docs) or alumni within 10 years from graduation.

Acknowledgement: This award is supported by Kevin (WSE ’13, ’14) and Julie (WSE ’13) Keenahan.

MedTech Award

This award supports a JHU student-led startup working on medical technology to make significant progress on their venture. The awards are coupled with mentorship from experienced medtech entrepreneurs, who can offer guidance for the next steps to market.

Size: $10,000. Award money has to be spent within one year.

Eligibility: Ventures with at least one JHU current student (undergraduate, graduate or post-doc) as a founder.

Acknowledgement: This award is supported by Karthik Seshan and the Seshan Family Foundation (WSE ’10, ’11).

The Graduate Student Awards

These awards support a Johns Hopkins graduate student venture aiming to solve major challenges through entrepreneurship. Ideal candidates are actively prototyping or close to a working MVP.

Size: $10,000. Award money has to be spent within one year.

Eligibility: Ventures with at least one current JHU graduate or post-doc student founder. Ventures can be at any stage, focus on any industry/vertical/problem and may utilize technology or not.

Acknowledgement: These awards are made possible with the generous support of Sam Yilmaz (KSAS ’10, WSE ’13), and Alex Harding (SOM ’15) and Cecilia Larocca.

Alumni Venture Award

This award supports up to two ventures founded and run by a Hopkins alum who has graduated in the last five years, who currently resides in or is committed to relocating to Baltimore, and is growing their business in the local ecosystem.

Size: $15,000. Award money has to be spent within one year.

Eligibility: Ventures with at least one JHU graduate as a founder. Graduating seniors are eligible to apply.

Acknowledgement: This award is made possible by the generous support of venture capitalist, John Avirett (KSAS ’05).

Bisciotti Foundation Prizes for Student Entrepreneurship

These awards are non-dilutive grants designed to help student startups scale their businesses as they graduate from our Pava Center student entrepreneurship programs on campus. The Bisciotti Student Prizes create a runway for our most promising student entrepreneurs and recent alums, providing them with valuable funding to transform their early stage startups into high-growth companies, especially those considering staying in Baltimore. Ideal applicants will be pre-Series A, but have received significant grants, venture funding, or revenue.

Size: 1st – $30,000, 2nd – $20,000. Award money has to be spent within one year.

Eligibility: Ventures led by at least one current JHU student (undergraduate, graduate or post-doc), or alum of the last five years.

Acknowledgement: These awards are made possible with the generous support of friends of Johns Hopkins.