Blackstone Launchpad rolled out to UCF just last year, but already two student companies have received venture funding for their ideas, according to an online site..
Klink, formerly known as DrinkDrivers, and Joox, a music site, have both received venture funding for their start-up companies, according to the blog UCF Starters.
Klink is a mobile app where customers can order alcohol for delivery to their doorstep in under an hour. The service started out serving a six-mile radius around UCF and has since expanded to Washington D.C. and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“Nobody is a fan of going to the liquor store.. I certainly hated it. So I really thought there was tremendous value here,” Klink founder Craig Bolz told UCF Starters.
JOOX serves as a social marketing network in which fans and artists can discover, support, and promote new music worldwide.
“We created a platform that empowers independent artists and provides unlimited low-risk investment opportunities for music loving fans who are serious about supporting their favorite artists,” Joox’s Facebook page says.
Founders Ketan Rahangdale and Richard Grant plan on a beta launch by early 2015, according to UCF Starters.
The Blackstone LaunchPad program is one of four programs that are a part of The Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s five-year, $50 million Entrepreneurship Initiative. Influenced by the urgent need for job growth in the United States, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation seeks to support innovative projects and catalytic ideas that can accelerate start-ups, job growth, and economic activity.
