Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Jacksonville has a growing entrepreneurship ecosystem, and UNF and the Coggin College of Business are driving early-stage entrepreneurship efforts in our region. To maximize UNF’s potential impact and benefit to the Jacksonville and North Florida communities, UNF opened the Center for Entrepreneurship at 112 W. Adams St. in downtown Jacksonville in 2019.

PITCH

With a lead gift of $1 million dollars from Blanche and Luther Coggin, the UNF Center for Entrepreneurship (UNF-CE) will be a living-learning lab where entrepreneurial ideas from both UNF students and members of the North Florida community will be vetted and pursued. Entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas to a panel of entrepreneurship experts (similar to the format of the Shark Tank TV show). The panel will select 10-15 entrepreneurs to be awarded space and time in the UNF-CE, at no cost, to develop and assess market feasibility of their ideas.

COLLABORATE

Students studying business, engineering, health, education, and arts and sciences will have opportunities to participate in intern teams that support the needs of the entrepreneurs and provide hands-on learning experiences. Under the supervision of a faculty member, students will engage in projects such as product development, marketing analysis and planning, financial statement creation, etc. These collaborations will enrich the UNF student experience and help participating entrepreneurs move from concept to market.

INVEST

Support new businesses and prosperity for our region. Your investment will benefit UNF students and the Jacksonville and North Florida communities by connecting great ideas to talent, expertise and capital.

Additional opportunities are available; for additional information please contact Teresa Nichols at (904) 620-1833, teresa.nichols@unf.edu or Karen Bowling (904) 620-4013, karen.bowling@unf.edu