Investing in Student Entrepreneurs

Just one year after graduating from the Wisconsin School of Business, Max Fergus (BBA ’18) has already found a way to invest in the education of others. His startup LÜM has created a scholarship through WSB’s Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship to provide support to a UW–Madison undergraduate student seeking a degree or certificate in entrepreneurship.

Fergus presented this year’s LÜM Scholarship to recipient JT Nejedlo (BBA ’20), who plans to triple major in entrepreneurship, information systems, and marketing. This summer, Nejedlo will intern at Z2 Marketing Agency in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and continue to work on his startup, Delu, which manufactures an indoor/outdoor tailgate game.

“One of the proudest moments in my life came when I had the honor to give JT Nejedlo the first-ever LÜM scholarship for entrepreneurial achievement at UW–Madison,” says Fergus. “People wonder why a startup like LÜM would give a scholarship at this early point in our venture. Truthfully, it’s the easiest question to answer.

“The UW has been instrumental in facilitating and supporting LÜM’s early growth. Returning that support to the university, the UW entrepreneurial ecosystem, and the relationships that we have been able curate over the last year was the easiest investment decision that we have ever made.”

LÜM (pronounced “loom”) is a music streaming app that aims to do what mainstream services do not: give lesser-known artists a voice and a platform in the age of social media consumed by millennials. The company, founded by Fergus and a team of UW–Madison graduates, has seen huge success in its first year, including winning the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s pitch contest, Pressure Chamber, and officially closed its seed round of funding at a total of $1.25 million.

You can learn more about LÜM and CEO and co-founder Max Fergus in the Spring 2019 issue of Update magazine.