Alumni Can Now Incubate Business Ideas Through Paul J. Hooker Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

The Hatch has been a highly successful incubation program for selected BGSU undergraduate and graduate students, known as Hatchlings. Since the program's inception, Falcon Investors have pledged more than $600,000 to student startups.

Now BGSU alumni have the opportunity to incubate their business ideas. The Paul J. Hooker Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership has expanded its incubation program to assist BGSU alumni through $100,000 of available funds generously donated by alumni over the years.

Interested alumni can contact Brian Sokol, the new associate director of the Paul J. Hooker Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, to discuss their possible business ideas and the next steps in the process. Email Sokol at bsokol@bgsu.edu or call his office: 419-372-3419.

Sokol ’82, ’84 has extensive experience with starting up businesses. In 2011, Sokol was inducted into the Paul J. Hooker Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Hall of Fame for his distinguished career as an innovator.  In addition, Sokol has been an active participant with the Paul J. Hooker Center for many years, serving on its advisory board and participating as a Falcon Investor on The Hatch™ since its inception.

This is a great opportunity for graduates of BGSU to get the startup help they need to launch a business venture.

The Paul J. Hooker Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership is one of 20 centers worldwide recognized by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).