PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Lightspeed Venture Partners VII, L.P. is offering grants for undergraduate and graduate students studying engineering and computer science who are interested in exploring an entrepreneurial opportunity over the summer of 2008 in the technology or alternative energy fields.


PROGRAM DETAILS
  • Up to 14 individual grants will be awarded
  • Each team member will receive $10,000 and each team will receive $5,000 for discretionary use
  • All teams will be considered for a $500,000 seed investment from Lightspeed upon conclusion of the summer grant program
  • Students will be provided office space at LightSpeed’s office complex at 2200 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA in June
  • Grant winners are required to work full time on their startup project for minimum 10 weeks between June 1 & Sept 30
  • Lightspeed will organize seminars from experienced functional experts on marketing, PR, legal issues, etc.


    • WHO IS ELIGIBLE
  • Each team must include at least one student (graduate or undergraduate in Engineering or Computer Science) who is a full-time student in the 2007-2008 academic school year
  • Only team members committed to working full time in the Menlo Park office for 10-12 weeks in the summer of 2008 are eligible to receive the grants
  • Groups of 1 to 4 people may submit proposals as a team


    • OBJECTIVE
  • Provide entrepreneurial students with the opportunity to spend the summer developing their idea for starting a company
  • Create an environment where students can: (1) devote 100% to your start-up idea, (2) Work closely with their team members, (3) interact with entrepreneurially-minded peers, and (4) receive guidance from Managing Directors at Lightspeed


    • HOW TO
  • Application information can be downloaded here.
  • Applications are submitted by email to summergrant@lightspeedvp.com (one application per team).
  • Send questions to John Vrionis at john@lightspeedvp.com


    • OBLIGATIONS
  • Grant winners are under no obligation to Lightspeed
  • Lightspeed does not take equity as part of the program


    • TIMELINE
  • First round submissions are due January 15, 2008 (winners announced in mid February)
  • Second round submissions are due April 25, 2008 (winners announced by the end of May)
  • The two submission rounds represent completely independent processes; we expect to announce 3-4 winners as part of each round


    • FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
    1. Are non-students eligible to receive grants? Yes. Team members who do NOT have other fulltime jobs/commitments are eligible to receive the grant funds and work out of the office space at 2200 Sand Hill Road.
    2. Must an engineer (CS or EE) be on the team? Does the engineer have to be a student? Yes and Yes. Eligible teams must have at least one engineer who was a fulltime student in the 2007-2008 academic timeframe. Teams submitting energy related business ideas may substitute with someone who has the relevant science background.
    3. What about international businesses? Yes. Lightspeed has offices in China, India and Israel. We are interested in businesses focusing on international markets. But just to be clear, those team members who win grants must spend 10 weeks working out of the Menlo Park office between June 1 and September 30.
    4. What about non-technical businesses? Yes. Lightspeed’s US office is focused primarily on IT and energy related businesses. We want to be able to add value to the summer grant winners so we prefer businesses in the areas where we have experience. We are however open to all business ideas.
    5. Do all team members have to work fulltime? Can we start earlier than June 1st? Can we finish later than Sept 30th? All grant winners must work 10 weeks fulltime between June 1st and September 30th. We do not want grant winners who want to participate in the program AND another internship. The program is for dedicated entrepreneurs who want to devote the summer to working on their idea. As long as grant winners work the 10 weeks during the summer timeline, they are welcome to start a few weeks earlier or stay into October.
    6. What does Lightspeed get out of this? We’re in business to support entrepreneurship and innovation. The program represents an opportunity for the team at Lightspeed to work closely with outstanding young entrepreneurs. We have the facilities and the desire.
    7. Define ‘student.’ The student team member must have been a fulltime student at some point in the 2007-2008 academic year. People who graduated at any time in the 2007-2008 academic year ARE eligible.
    8. Can I submit more than one (1) application? Yes.
    9. Is a team penalized in any way if it has multiple members? No. We are looking to work with the highest quality individuals. Teams with multiple members eligible for grants are just as interesting (and can actually be more so) as a team of one.
    10. Do I have to fill out the Lightspeed application or can I submit alternative materials? To be eligible to receive the grant, the Lightspeed application must be completed.


    ABOUT LIGHTSPEED VENTURE PARTNERS
    Lightspeed is a leading venture capital firm focusing on early-stage information technology and energy-related investments in the U.S., China, India and Israel. The firm also invests selectively in expansion and growth-stage opportunities. Lightspeed manages $1.3B of committed capital, including Lightspeed VII, a $480M fund closed in late 2005. Our investment team has helped create successful companies in a variety of industries over the past two decades, including Blue Nile, Brocade, Calista, Ciena, DoubleClick, eHealth, Galileo Technology, Growth Networks, Informatica, Kiva Software, LightLogic, Maker Communications, Metasolv, Phone.com, Quantum Effect Devices, Riverbed Technology, Sirocco, Virsa and Waveset. The firm maintains offices in Menlo Park, California; Shanghai, China; Bangalore, India; and Herzliya, Israel.