Unroll Your Blanket

Julia Stamberger (left) and her GoPicnic co-founder, Pam Jelaca, with their inventory of nutritious, shelf-stable meals. When her fledgling company, GoPicnic, had cleared the first new business hurdles and had established itself as a provider of high-quality boxed meals, owner Julia Stamberger turned to her alma mater for capital to help it grow.

The Miami University Student Venture Fund (SVF) may not be literally laying out a blanket for a picnic in the park, but the organization’s investment of $25,000 in GoPicnic will provide a financial blanket to support the young company’s growth.

Managed by Miami alumna Julia Stamberger, GoPicnic produces shelf-stable boxed meals and has been featured in over 30 media outlets including Good Morning America and the Wall Street Journal. Since its founding in 2006, the Chicago-based company has built a varied client list that includes United Airlines and a wide range of hotels, schools and businesses. The meals are natural and organic single-serving portions of high-quality food from specialty manufacturers. They require no refrigeration or heating prior to eating and come with a guaranteed shelf life of at least two months.

Early in 2007, Stamberger approached the SVF to obtain capital that would ensure the expansion of her business. The SVF found the solid investment it was seeking and approved the funding in June.

Both parties are excited that the SVF’s entrepreneurial resources can have a sound impact on the recent graduate’s venture. The capital will expand GoPicnic’s sales force and support staff, aid the development of marketing materials, and cover travel expenses.

The SVF is a student-run educational program managed by Jack Tench, Wiley Curran, Scott Picklo, and Marisa Evans. The group’s primary goal is to facilitate the birth and/or growth of sustainable business ventures conceived by current Miami students or alumni who have graduated in the past ten years.

What sets the SVF apart from other sources of funding is the supportive, educational environment the organization provides.

“Our group assists entrepreneurs in developing concepts and provides access to inexpensive capital. We are able to provide students and alumni with an opportunity that they might no have otherwise,” said Tench.

The SVF will continue to seek out viable ventures of Miami students and alumni for possible support.

For more information about the SVF, contact Jack Tench, tenchjr@muohio.edu. For more information about GoPicnic, visit gopicnic.com.

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