Momentum by Seidman FAQ
What is Momentum by Seidman?
Momentum is a community support program that offers technical assistance and market-based solutions for community members with limited access to capital and resources. Clients will work with student consultants out of the Richard M. and Helen DeVos Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CEI), in the Seidman College of Business.
This is an ongoing technical assistance program designed to assist small and micro businesses, especially women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned as these are the key target populations. We are focused on building value for our community, and enhancing the learning of our students by providing them an opportunity to apply their education in a real-world setting.
Who is eligible for Momentum assistance?
Business must have 25 employees or less and be located in Michigan
The business must be a for-profit entity
Business requests for assistance must align with what Momentum currently offers. You can find the services we provide under the "Our Services" tab at the top of the Momentum website page. Some examples of services include branding, copy writing and content creation, market research, and competitive analysis.
The business owner or a senior management team member must be available to meet with student consultants, answer questions, and provide feedback
Momentum program assistance must be able to positively impact your business in a direct way through revenue or business presence growth. Our services must be applied to specific goals your business is working towards.
No. We would like for you to have a well-thought-out idea that you are passionate about pursuing.
No, but we would like the idea to be well-thought-out with clear milestones and the next steps you need to continue to grow the idea.
Each client engagement will be limited to 25 hours of pro-bono work.
No. Services are free to individuals with limited access to capital and resources. However, each client engagement will be limited to a maximum of 25 hours of free consulting and project work.
- Once we receive your application, it will be reviewed by one of our staff members
- If the project is approved, a client will be provided with a Consent Agreement Form to start the process
- The project will be assigned to one of CEI's student consultants
- The student will reach out to the client via email or a virtual meeting to get more information, set project specifications and timelines
- The student will work to develop the tangible solution
- The final solution will be delivered to the client electronically
- The client provides feedback via final assessment and survey
Additional Mandatory Qualifications
You must fit at least one of the following descriptions to benefit from Momentum support:
- Must be a small business disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 that can demonstrate a disproportionate negative economic impact.
- Must be a SEDI-Owned Business - A business that is owned by a Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individual (SEDI).
- The business (either the owner’s or majority owner’s home address, or the business address) must be located in one of the following areas:
- the 2015 CDFI Investment Tract,
- the 2020 Qualified Census Tract,
- or Rural Michigan counties, as defined by the Michigan Office of Rural Development.
Contact Information
If you have more questions, or would like to talk to one of our staff members about the program, please email: [email protected], or call (616) 331-7582.