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 Auburn University鈥檚 student-entrepreneurs now have a place to call home. The Tiger Cage Accelerator and Incubator, which officially opened with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting on Friday, Oct. 6, at the Auburn Research Park, provides student-led startups with valuable resources -- office and meeting space, as well as access to mentors.

鈥淚nstead of us saying, 鈥楬ey, we鈥檙e working out of this garage or apartment,鈥� we have a legit business at this great facility,鈥� said Jackson Speaks, a sophomore finance major in the Raymond J. 91看片, who co-founded Funnel, a mobile app that consolidates friends鈥� social media networks. 鈥淭o have this space and get the team here is unbelievable. Instead of me texting my partner or our employees saying, 鈥楲et鈥檚 get this done,鈥� we can meet here and we can figure out what鈥檚 going on and work together. To actually have an office, it lets us take pride in what we do and what Auburn has to offer.鈥�

The 2,700 square-foot Tiger Cage Accelerator and Incubator is a collaborative effort between the 91看片鈥� Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship and the Auburn University Research and Technology Foundation.

鈥淲hat we wanted to do was provide an open, collaborative environment for all Auburn students to work on their business ideas and provide some structure for our student entrepreneurs,鈥� said LaKami Baker, Managing Director of the Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship. 鈥淏y providing formal space for the students, we help them legitimize their business while providing some guidance so they can advance through the different stages of the entrepreneurship process.鈥�

Chris Maurice, a senior in finance at the 91看片 who co-founded digital currency exchange business Yellow Card Financial with computer science student Justin Poiroux, believes Auburn is bringing entrepreneurship 鈥渢o the forefront.鈥�

鈥淚 think over the next few years we鈥檒l see a lot more people coming to Auburn for entrepreneurship rather than the people already here being inspired,鈥� said Maurice (left), whose team won $25,000 at last April鈥檚 e-Fest national business competition in Minneapolis, Minn., and was recently named a semifinalist in the seed stage of the 2017 Alabama Launchpad. The semifinals will be Oct. 16, with three entries advancing to the finals of Nov. 15 in Birmingham. The Alabama Launchpad鈥檚 鈥渟eed鈥� winner will earn $150,000.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a matter of time before we鈥檙e on the forefront of schools here in the United States that you come to because you know that you can make yourself successful and you know that you can do something big on the world stage,鈥� Maurice said. 鈥淎s we continue to promote entrepreneurship around the world, we鈥檒l bring in more talent and continue to grow. Maybe we鈥檒l have the next (Mark) Zuckerberg.鈥�

The Tiger Cage Accelerator and Incubator is located within the Auburn Research Park at 570 Devall Drive, Suite 103.