Before applying for the $500 Discover Award, you should have -

• Identified key assumptions related to Desirability (Does anyone want this product/service?) & Viability (Could this product/service be a business?) that are critically important; and
• Developed a hypothesis-driven plan to test those key assumptions.

If you have data to show that you have validated key hypotheses related to desirability and viability, then you should consider applying for a $1000 Design Award, instead of a Discover Award.

Before applying for the $1000 Design Award, you should -

• Have tested critically important key assumptions related to Desirability & Viability; 
• Have developed a hypothesis-driven plan to test critically important key assumptions related to Feasibility (Is the proposed product/service possible to build, maintain, and scale?); and
• Be able to describe your target customer, proposed revenue model, and the competitive landscape.

If you cannot provide data to demonstrate that you have confidence that users want this product/service (Desirability) and that the product/service could be a business (Viability), then you should consider applying for the $500 Discover Award.

Before applying for the $2000 Build Award, you should -

• Have tested critically important key assumptions related to Desirability, Viability, and Feasibility;
• Be able to describe your target customer, proposed revenue model, and the competitive landscape; and
• Be able to outline a clear description of the user experience, product development plan, and your team and their expertise.

If you cannot provide data to demonstrate that you have confidence that users want this product/service (Desirability), that the product/service could be a business (Viability), and/or that the proposed product/service is possible to build, maintain, and scale (Feasibility), then you should consider applying for the $500 Discover Award or a $1000 Design Award.

Before applying for the $5000 Boost Award, you should -

• Have been selected to receive the Build Award (or Implementation Award, prior to the 2025-2026 academic year) for the venture;
• Have tested critically important key assumptions related to Desirability, Viability, and Feasibility;
• Be able to describe your target customer, proposed revenue model, and the competitive landscape, and provide a detailed description of your proposed business model and strategy; and
• Be able to outline a clear description of the user experience, product development plan, and your team and their expertise; and
• Be able to articulate clear 6-12 month milestones and a plan to reach those milestones, risks and a plan to mitigate those risks, and any expertise gaps on your team.

A venture can apply for and be selected to receive a Discover, Design, or Build Award without previously receiving another type of Innovation Fund Award.

If a venture is selected to receive a Build Award without previously being selected to receive a Discover or Design Award, the venture is no longer eligible to apply for a Discover or Design Award. If a venture is selected to receive a Design Award without previously being selected to receive a Discover Award, the venture is no longer eligible to apply for a Discover Award.

Once a venture is selected to receive a Boost Award, the venture is no longer eligible to apply for any other Innovation Fund Awards, regardless of the composition of the team members or other venture updates.

To be eligible for the Boost Award, a venture must have previously been selected to receive a Build Award (or an Implementation Award, prior to the 2025-2026 academic year).

• If the venture has significantly changed after receiving the Build/Implementation Award, the venture may not be eligible to apply for the Boost Award.
• The Boost Award application must be submitted by the same Lead Applicant who submitted the winning Build/Implementation Award application.
• If the Lead Applicant on the application that was selected to win the Build Award (or Implementation Award) has left the venture and/or no longer meets the eligibility requirements to be a Lead Applicant and another team member would like to apply for the Boost Award for the same venture, both the previous Lead Applicant and the team member must submit a written request via email to venturelab@upenn.edu to the Innovation Fund staff at least one (1) week prior to the application due date. The proposed new Lead Applicant must meet all eligibility requirements.

There are 4 award application cycles in the 2025-2026 academic year. One application per venture can be submitted for one type of award (Discover, Design, Build, or, if eligible, Boost) per application cycle. Applicants should choose the award type that best suits the venture’s development stage.

If an application doesn’t receive an Innovation Fund award, the applicant can apply again for the award in a later application cycle, as long as the applicant, venture, and application all continue to meet the eligibility requirements and criteria.

If an applicant receives an Innovation Fund award, they are eligible to apply again for that same award type with a different venture.

Funds should be used in a way that makes a direct impact on venture development and are appropriate for the venture's stage.

Applicants are required to provide an itemized budget, and, if applying for the next level award, are required to explain how they used the funds from the previous award.

Examples of appropriate uses of funding include but are not limited to: building and testing prototypes, purchasing technical and legal resources, hiring employees or interns, conducting surveys or focus groups, running a pilot or beta test, website development. Note that these are venture stage dependent and might not be appropriate for all stages of venture development.

Examples of inappropriate uses of funding include but are not limited to: reimbursing team members’ personal expenses, paying for a resource students could access free of charge, travel expenses, paying for an expense unrelated to venture development or that won’t make a meaningful impact on venture development.

All funding decisions are made by the Innovation Fund Investment Team, which is composed of current students from across the University of Pennsylvania.

Applications are evaluated on criteria relevant to the specific Innovation Fund award type, aligned with the submitted venture’s development stage.

All Lead Applicants will be notified of their award status by the dates listed on theInnovation Fund webpage.

The exact selection criteria will vary depending on the specific award type. Generally, applicants can expect that the application will be evaluated on the following dimensions -

• Innovation
• Problem & Solution
• Solution 
• Validation Plan
• Market Opportunity & Business Model
• Team
• Use of Funds