Funds were awarded to the founders of CrowdLanding.com to help jump-start their business in the tri-county area.
EAST LANSING, MI— Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) has announced the winning entrepreneurs for the MSUFCU startUP Challenge: Phil Threadgould and Andy Bentz, the founders of CrowdLanding, an information site and aggregating web application for the equity crowdfunding industry.
The startUP Challenge provided the opportunity for entrepreneurs to start their businesses in the tri-county area: Ingham, Clinton, and Eaton Counties. As the winners of the startUP challenge, Threadgould and Bentz were awarded $25,000 to jump-start CrowdLanding.
Threadgould and Bentz were selected as the startUP Challenge winners from thirty-five local entrepreneurs. Entrants submitting applications, business plans, and video pitches, with five finalists presenting their business ideas to the startUP Challenge selection committee comprised of Greater Lansing business professionals.
Threadgould stated, “We are ecstatic to have won the MSUFCU startUP Challenge. The $25,000 prize provides CrowdLanding with the opportunity to further develop our website and strengthen our business much more quickly than anticipated.”
In addition to the startUP Challenge, MSUFCU also recently introduced the startUP Loan Fund. Entrepreneurs in the tri-county area may now apply for loans up to $15,000 to aid in the development of their businesses. MSUFCU’s new loan fund has $250,000 to lend to local entrepreneurs.
Patrick McPharlin, MSUFCU’s President and CEO, commented, “At MSUFCU, we are proud to provide resources to support small businesses and our local community. We hope the startUP Challenge and MSUFCU’s new startUP Loan Fund will attract more businesses to the area to help grow the local economy.”
MSU Federal Credit Union, the world’s largest university-based credit union, serves Michigan State University and Oakland University faculty, staff, students, alumni association members and their families worldwide and offers a full range of personal and business related financial services. Founded in 1937 by a handful of MSU professors and employees, MSUFCU now has 169,000 members, over $2.3 billion in assets, and more than 475 employees. MSUFCU was named the Michigan Credit Union League Credit Union of the Year in 2010.
Additional information about CrowdLanding is available at www.crowdlanding.com.