Johns Hopkins University

"HopStart: Hopkins New Venture Challenge"

# HopStart: Hopkins New Venture Challenge 26th annual business plan and pitch competition (April 24, 2026). 275+ students, 75+ teams, $40K+ prizes. Four categories: General Ventures I & II, Medical Technology & Life Sciences I & II. Hosted by Center for Leadership Education. Additional awards from Pava Center ($1K), A-Level Capital ($500), HopStone Capital ($5K). Open to all JHU divisions.

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Johns Hopkins University

Blaze Awards & President's Venture Fellowship

# Blaze Awards & President's Venture Fellowship Blaze Awards: non-dilutive grants up to $30K (Undergraduate Award $10K, Singhal Family Software Award $10K, Climate-Tech Venture Award $10K new 2026). President's Venture Fellowship: up to two $100K awards + $40K salary stipend per lead + partial Carey Business School scholarship. Year-long program. 2025 PVF winners: Fetal Therapy Technologies and Modelus (first women-led teams, first Carey team).

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Johns Hopkins University

FastForward Incubator (JHTV)

**URL:** https://ventures.jhu.edu/programs-services/fastforward/ **Capture date:** 2026-06-24 **Method:** Web fetch Physical incubator for JHU-affiliated tech startups. Two locations: FastForward 1812 (flagship, near medical campus, 17,000 sq ft startup labs + 8,000 sq ft hub + 12,000 sq ft JHTV office, wet/dry labs, shared equipment) and FastForward R. House (Remington near Homewood campus). Total: 43,000 sq ft incubator space. 150+ portfolio companies. Services: mentorship, funding access (grants to Series A), legal/accounting support, networking, educational webinars, pitch practice office hours, support services (legal, tax, accounting, HR, payroll, grant writing, investor relations). TechConnect non-dilutive funding platform. Rolling applications. Designed $7.56M construction project (2017).

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Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures (JHTV)

# Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures (JHTV) Central tech transfer and commercialization office. 2,000+ technologies for licensing, 130+ commercial startups, $4.8B venture funding raised, 43,000 sq ft incubator space, 70+ active research collaborations. Houses FastForward incubator (two locations, 150+ portfolio companies), Technology Transfer, Corporate Partnerships, Commercialization Academy, Digital Library, TechConnect funding platform.

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Johns Hopkins University

Pava Center Student Accelerator Programs

# Pava Center Student Accelerator Programs Pava Center student accelerators: Kindling (pre-accelerator, entry-level, $700/$500/$300 prizes), Spark (early-stage, 9 weeks, up to $2K awards, 50+ teams per showcase), Fuel (later-stage, semester, up to $15K awards, $1K entry + $4K completion + $10K Demo Day prize). Fall and spring cycles. In-person and hybrid options.

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Johns Hopkins University

Pava Marie LaPere Center for Entrepreneurship Homepage

# Pava Marie LaPere Center for Entrepreneurship Homepage Central hub for JHU student, alumni, and community entrepreneurship located in Baltimore's Remington neighborhood. Open 10am-10pm, 7 days/week. Houses Kindling, Spark, Fuel accelerators, Social Innovation Lab, Summer Incubator, Blaze Awards (up to $30K), Ignite Fund ($100-$1K monthly), and President's Venture Fellowship ($100K + $40K salary). Non-dilutive funding from $100 to $140,000.

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Johns Hopkins University

Social Innovation Lab

# Social Innovation Lab (SIL) 6-month social venture accelerator (Jan-June) for mission-driven for-profit and nonprofit ventures. Open to JHU and Baltimore community (no JHU affiliation required). 15-member cohort. $5,000 grant stipend + $15,000 cohort prize. Weekly sessions, monthly SuperSaturdays. 2025-2026 cohort featured 13 founders addressing mobility, workforce development, housing, education, and creative economies.

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Johns Hopkins University

Summer Incubator

# Summer Incubator 6-week in-person summer program at Pava Center (Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm, 20 hrs/week). $4,500-$6,000 stipend per team. Workshops, mentorship, guest speakers, field trips, weekly meals. Open to JHU student innovators with any stage venture (idea to early product). Serves as steppingstone to ongoing funding and accelerator tracks.

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