FUEL

Applications are shared with U-M staff and external professional judges, so treat your application as non-confidential:

Do not disclose proprietary technical details.

Focus on customer insights, problem severity, and high-level mechanics rather than secret technical formulas.

Have questions about IP boundaries? Contact Alison Smith at alisone@umich.edu before applying.

The Fuel program funds specific, justified expenses needed to hit your immediate 12-week milestones. Fuel judges value resourcefulness and grit.

Appropriate Uses of Fuel Funds:

• Prototype Development: Costs associated with developing a working prototype or MVP.
• Expenses for Customer Discovery: Travel expenses directly related to meeting and understanding potential customers, such as travel to or entrance fees for a professional conference to meet many stakeholders at one time.
• Software Subscriptions: Specialty tools or services essential for advancing your 12-week milestone (excludes enterprise-level project management platforms).
• Targeted Legal & Compliance Services: Specialized legal counsel for intellectual property, patent strategy, or complex regulatory consultation (FDA, HIPAA, etc).

Fuel Does NOT Fund:

• Mass Marketing: Third-party marketing agencies or large-scale ad campaigns.
• Scale Manufacturing: Production-grade tooling, dies, or high-volume manufacturing equipment.
• Direct Payments to People: User interview incentives, salaries for team members/interns, or founder reimbursements for past out-of-pocket expenses.
• Standard Business Overhead: Enterprise software, Google Workspace, domain name registration, or software and tools already available free to U-M students.
• Unnecessary Travel & Tools: Any travel, software, or tools where free alternatives, university resources, or scrappy workarounds exist.

• Fuel funding can be paid directly to either the student applicant or their registered business entity, depending on the team’s preference. Once notified of your award, you will complete a brief survey to select your payout method and initiate processing through U-M systems.
• Payout processing follows two standard pathways:
  • Standard Vendor Setup: Winning teams must complete a setup process with U-M Shared Services Center (SSC) to be registered as an official vendor in the university system. Note: U-M uses the administrative term “vendor” to set up anyone receiving a payout; you do not need a registered business or LLC to receive funds as an individual. You will receive an email directly from U-M Shared Services that requires a prompt response to avoid payment delays.
  • U-M Student Employees: If the designated recipient is currently employed by the University of Michigan in any capacity (e.g., GSRA, GSI, student assistant, temporary staff), you will complete an additional internal form, and your award will be disbursed through your regular U-M paycheck.
• Note on Taxes & Financial Impact: Funding disbursed to individuals—either as direct vendor payments or through paychecks—may have tax implications. We encourage student recipients to review how an award may affect their personal tax standing.

Applications are typically declined when they do not provide enough specific detail for judges to evaluate the team’s progress or financial request. Common reasons include:

Vague or AI-Generated Text: Answers that rely on generic, AI-generated filler or long run-on sentences without specific details about your venture.

Repetitive Answers: Copying and pasting the exact same response across multiple application questions instead of answering each prompt specifically.

Unclear Budget Items: Requesting lump sums without itemized breakdowns or listing expenses that violate Fuel funding guidelines.

Lack of Discovery Proof: Claiming there is a problem without providing evidence of actual interviews or conversations with potential customers.

Tip: Keep your answers concise, direct, and specific to your business. Judges strongly prefer authentic, clear responses over polished buzzwords.

While meeting with staff is highly recommended, it is not currently required.

Booking a brief advising session before you apply allows us to review your customer discovery progress, refine your 12-week milestones, and clarify eligible funding expenses – all of which significantly improve your chances of advancing to the pitch stage.

Tip: Want feedback before submitting? Book a 1:1 advising session with Fuel staff before the application deadline

Every Fuel stage requires documented proof of real customer discovery. We fund ventures that strive to clearly define the problem before building a solution.

If you haven’t interviewed potential customers or stakeholders yet, your best first step is to book an advising session with CFE staff. We can help connect you with relevant campus resources and advisors to help get your customer discovery started.

Yes, applicants may re-apply.

If you are a previous awardee: As your venture advances, you can apply again to Fuel for funding toward your next set of 12-week milestones.

If you were not awarded funding: Review the specific written feedback provided by the judges, complete the suggested validation work, and reapply in a future cycle with an updated application.

Fuel judges include U-M entrepreneurial staff, directors, and experienced entrepreneurs from the U-M external network. The group changes monthly, with some core members participating regularly. For Fuel presentations, judges can attend in person or remotely.

• Judges deliberate immediately following the in-person pitch presentations. They will either reach a majority consensus right away or follow up with your team if outstanding questions remain. You will also receive actionable written feedback approximately one week after the pitches.
• Funding decisions are not all-or-nothing. Based on the strength of your application, pitch presentation, and responses to judges’ questions, they may award any amount from $0 up to your full request.

• Judges use a standardized evaluation rubric to ensure every applicant is assessed fairly and consistently. Rather than scoring teams on a pass/fail scale, the rubric helps judges evaluate your problem validation, the depth of your customer discovery, and the feasibility and clarity of your 12-week execution plan.
• Because priorities shift as a company matures, judges will place heavy emphasis on customer discovery and problem severity during early stages, and expect explanations of unit economics, customer retention, and operational readiness in later stages.

Please contact Alison Smith with your questions: alisone@umich.edu

Need more answers? Schedule a virtual meeting with Alison Smith