After sharing a table at craft shows with her friend last summer, Brigid McKenna wanted to expand her business. Her friend, who went through the LaunchNET process the year before, encouraged her to apply. 

“We would split a booth at a market,” McKenna said. “Then she was like, you should do the same thing I did and apply for the grant.”

McKenna, a junior fashion design major and founder of Mastella Designs, joined LaunchNET the following months and applied for the Morgan Startup Grants program. 

Located on the second floor of the Design Innovation Hub, LaunchNET guides students, faculty, staff and alumni in developing their business ideas through consultations, workshops and funding such as the grant program.  

The Morgan Startup Grants program, oriented for budding business owners with for-profit businesses based in Ohio, aids students in developing their innovation. Students can request up to $1,500, while alumni applicants can request up to $3,000.  

“We typically launch that in the summer, and then that will run through the fall, just depending on how much funding we have available,” said Zach Mikrut, LaunchNET’s director.  

McKenna received her grant money for Mastella Designs in the summer of 2025. She said the application process was very easy.  

LaunchNET officials process the applications where students deliver their business pitch and plans for the grant money. 

“Basically, we started with a budget,” McKenna said. “You had the amount that you were going to request, and then I listed the actual links to each item, how much it was, and then totaled it up and explained what each thing would be used for.”  

After applying, McKenna met with her LaunchNET advisor to further discuss her plan for the grant. She received $540 to invest in higher-quality materials, tables for local craft markets and even a soldering iron, one of her favorites.  

McKenna described her life as hectic, looking for internships and job opportunities after graduation.  

“Whatever career I end up in, I definitely want one of the main focuses to be beading and jewelry, accessories and stuff like that,” she said.  

The grant gave her the ability to combine both fashion design and jewelry making in her craft. McKenna shared she wouldn’t have been able to afford any of the materials without the grant.  

Zane Cylar, a sophomore fashion design major and client of LaunchNET since 2025, received his grant in the fall of 2025 for his streetwear brand Chaos Control that he started in 2022.  

“I went to some type of mixer in 2024 fall, and I filled out some papers, and they sent me an email, and I just went to one of the meetings, … and they just talked about it, and I fell in love with it, what they were doing,” Cylar said.  

Running a business as a student can create an extra financial burden. For Cylar, the grant meant he could focus all that money on his business. He received $750 that he really needed. 

“It helped me be more creative with my products or what I wanted to make and not have to cut corners because of just money aspects, so it was very helpful,” Cylar said.  

The Morgan Startup Grants program is not currently accepting applications. Future grant opportunities will be available on the official LaunchNET page.  

Sophia Balough is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].