Doctor of Nursing Practice student recieves USM Launch Fund grant in support of early-stage entrepreneurs.
Debbie Sahlin, BSN ’20, a Doctor of Nursing Practice Family Nurse Practitioner specialty student at the Universities at Shady Grove, is among several recipients of a grant from the University System of Maryland (USM) Launch Fund, which connects early-stage entrepreneurs — builders, creators, and innovators — to existing resources, mentorship, and capital.
Sahlin is the owner of Ryan's Place LLC in Gaithersburg, Maryland, a comprehensive health care center for transitioning youth with disabilities and complex medical conditions. It is patient centered, integrated, team based, accessible, focused on quality and safety, and committed to helping patients and families achieve maximum health outcomes and live their best lives.
Ryan's Place was a UMB Grid Pitch 2023 participant. Grid Pitch is a showcase that allows UMB students to pitch innovative business ideas to a panel of experts and investors in the entrepreneurial community. Accepted participants receive six weeks of one-on-one coaching and mentoring from an experienced entrepreneur or business expert.
As approved by the Board of Regents, the USM seeks to deploy up to $600,000 over three years via the USM Launch Fund. The fund enables relatively small amounts of capital (under $75,000) to be deployed to USM-affiliated entrepreneurs and ventures to generate economic development activity. As supported by the USM Foundation, the Launch Fund also seeks to deploy $100,000 in microgrant funding to USM-affiliated students and employees, including faculty.
Funding levels were anticipated to range from microgrants of $2,000 to grants and investments up to $50,000. Approximately $3,000,000 in funding for ventures was requested from over 90 applicants. In this initial funding round, approximately $280,000 in microgrants and grants up to $30,000 were deployed, with the strategy for potential future investments still under development.