Innovation Partnerships Startup Perks Program
Innovation partnerships offers full-service support to faculty innovators; whether it is IP protection, support with sponsored research projects, business mentorship and venture capital. In recent years the office has reached out to several service providers to negotiate discount programs for U-M licensed startups. These programs offer significant discounts on valuable services that early stage startups can benefit greatly from. Please see the list of available programs below.
Initial eligibility requirements are an active license with the University of Michigan. Additional eligibility requirements vary by program. For more information on how to apply to any of these programs please contact Dave Repp or Don Manfredi.
Meet Our Team
Don Manfredi
Associate Director of Ventures and Fund Manager
Dave Repp
Director of Ventures and Managing Director of the Accelerate Blue FundAmazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS is offering credits to U-M startups for new accounts through its AWS Activate Program. AWS provides startups with low cost, easy to use infrastructure needed to scale and grow any size business. AWS Activate is a program with resources designed to help startups get started on AWS.
Google Cloud
Google Cloud is offering credits to U-M startups for new accounts through its Google Cloud Startup Program. The Google Cloud Startup Program is designed to help startups build and scale using Google Cloud. Your early-stage startup can take advantage of community events, training, and Cloud credits as you build and scale your business.
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft for Startups is a program designed to help startups become a Microsoft business partner, through access to technology, channels, markets and customers. Microsoft teams work with startups, providing them with free access to Azure, enterprise grade technical support, development tools and dedicated resources to effectively sell to enterprise customers.
Appery.io
Appery.io is a low-code app development platform that makes creating hybrid mobile apps, web apps, and progressive web apps (PWAs) easy.
Appery.io is offering University of Michigan startups a discount for the first year on the annual Pro plan.
Carta for Founders
Carta changes how companies, investors, and employees manage equity and ownership. Founders can prepare for a fund raise, execute SAFE financings, and issue & track founder, employee, and investor equity. On Carta, a clean cap table is just the beginning.
- Launch is Carta’s free platform for early-stage founders looking to prepare for a fund raise, close SAFEs, and issue equity to employees (free for any new company with less than $1M in funding and 25 stakeholders). When you graduate from Launch, receive 20% off the first year of a paid plan to access 409a valuations and more.
Additional Resources for Founders
- Carta’s Founder Resource Center – everything you need to get your company off the ground—from “great idea” to “going public.” We’re starting with a comprehensive guide to starting your fundraising journey, with the info you need, tools to help you calculate your next steps, and advice from founders who have been there.
DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean simplifies cloud computing so developers and businesses can spend more time building software that changes the world. With its mission-critical infrastructure and fully managed offerings, DigitalOcean helps developers, startups and SMBs rapidly build, deploy and scale applications to accelerate innovation and increase productivity and agility.
Hatch is DigitalOcean’s global startup program.
DocSend
DocSend allows you to securely share your pitch deck and streamline fundraising. With DocSend, you maintain control over sensitive fundraising documents, know which investors are engaging with your decks and get real-time, actionable feedback with document analytics.
Hubspot for Startups
Hubspot is a CRM platform that’s both powerful and easy to use.
The Hubspot Partner Program offers eligible startups:
- Discount on Hubspot Software
Use one service or the entire suite of Hubspot Growth Platform with a free-forever CRM at a startup-friendly price.
- Education Resources and Tailored Training
Masterclasses, templates, kits, and guides to help you save time and avoid costly mistakes growing your startup. Plus, access to world-class support from Hubspot experts.
- Integrated Platform for Startups
Get access to over 500+ software integrations, many at startup-friendly pricing, as well as the opportunity to build an integration on the Hubspot platform.
QuickBooks Online
Today we are excited to share that we have a new opportunity to offer QuickBooks Online, a tool that helps you run your finances! We know as a small business, you are always in need of support when it comes to running your book in an easy, efficient, and smart way. That’s why we’re offering QuickBooks Online to help solve this gap for you and your business.
QuickBooks Online is a simple, automated, and organized platform that stores all your accounting information in one place. QuickBooks Online also helps with managing your invoices and expenses by using custom reminders and tracking features throughout its lifetime.
Twilio Segment Early Stage Startup Program
Twilio Segment is a leading Customer Data Management platform. Segment’s software and APIs enable companies to collect, clean, and activate their customer data. For startups with up to $5M in total funding that are less than 2 years old, we are excited to offer access to Segment’s Early Stage Startup Program! You’ll get Segment for free for up to two years —along with other perks.
Zendesk for Startups
Zendesk is a service-first CRM company with support, sales, and customer engagement products designed to improve customer relationships. University of Michigan Innovation Partnerships companies get six months of free access to Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. This offer is only available for your startups that are new customers with fewer than 100 employees and funding no greater than Series B.