Rowan Innovation Venture Fund (RIVF)

Program Type

venture-fund

Institutional Scope

Rowan-affiliated startups (students, faculty, alumni). High-growth ventures.

Description

$25 million fund dedicated to supporting Rowan-affiliated startups. Provides convertible notes (e.g., $25K to Rohrer NVC winners) and additional funding for high-growth ventures. Works closely with RCIE and AccelerateRU — accelerator participants can apply for additional RIVF funding. Managing Director: Ernest Holtzheimer (Member at Eckert Seamans). Advisor: Shawn Hill (Co-founder, Garden State Venture Partners).

Key Details

Detail	Value
Fund size	$25 million
Instruments	Convertible notes
Deployment	Competition awards + direct applications via AccelerateRU
Managing Director	Ernest Holtzheimer
Integration	RCIE, AccelerateRU, NVC

Resources Provided

Convertible note investment
Connection to RCIE programming
Managing Director guidance

Funding Details

Convertible notes (equity-based). $25K note to NVC winner standard.

Curriculum / Structure

Deal-by-deal. NVC winners automatically considered. AccelerateRU participants can apply.

Eligibility

Rowan-affiliated high-growth startups.

Rowan Innovation Venture Fund (RIVF)

Key numbers