Your First Funding: Grants, Competitions and Where Student Founders Start

By Kasper-Tanakrit Sermsuksan · Global Venture I: Playbook · Block F

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In short: Student founders rarely start with investors. First money usually comes from early customers, startup competitions, university programs and incubators, grants built for student teams, and sometimes friends and family — each needing a little more evidence than the last. In Thailand, TED Fund's TED Youth Startup, NIA's Startup Thailand League and university incubators are built for student and graduate teams. Not everyone qualifies, and the rules change every year.

ทุน TED Fund คือเงินทุนจากกองทุนพัฒนาผู้ประกอบการเทคโนโลยีและนวัตกรรม (TED Fund) สำหรับคนที่อยากเริ่มธุรกิจจากนวัตกรรม ถ้าเป็นนักศึกษาหรือเพิ่งเรียนจบ ทุนสตาร์ทอัพที่ควรเริ่มดูคือโครงการยุววิสาหกิจเริ่มต้น (TED Youth Startup) ซึ่งให้ทุนสำหรับทำต้นแบบและแผนธุรกิจ เงื่อนไขเปลี่ยนทุกปี จึงควรเช็กประกาศรอบล่าสุดก่อนสมัคร

At the end of my 2026 class at Chula, the final form asked one question about the future.

18 of 40 CEDT 2026 students wanted to pursue their idea for funding¹.

Nearly half the class.

And the next question is always the same: where does a student even start?

Not with a VC pitch. Start smaller, closer, and with evidence. Here is my map.

How can a student get startup funding?

My answer: start with customers, then competitions and university programs, then grants built for student teams. Investors come later, once you have evidence.

First funding is any money that lets you take the next real step. Build a prototype. Run a test. Register a company. Pay for a trip to meet customers.

It is usually small. I think that is a feature, not a problem. Small money with a deadline forces you to prove one thing at a time.

It also comes with something more valuable than cash: mentors, judges, a cohort, and a reason to finish.

It comes from five sources, usually in this order. Each one asks for a little more evidence than the one before.

1. Your first customers

A pre-order. A paid pilot. A deposit. Ten people paying for the first batch.

To me, customer money is the cleanest money in the world. No equity, no reporting, and it proves demand at the same time. Before you apply for anything, ask: could someone pay us for this already? (See First 10 Customers & the Secret of Angel Customer™.)

2. Competitions and hackathons

Prize money, but mostly pressure. A competition gives you a date, a format, judges who have seen hundreds of pitches, and other teams to learn from. Many also open doors to incubators and grant programs.

Losing one is still useful. You leave with feedback you could not have bought.

3. University programs and incubators

Most universities run pre-incubation or incubation programs: mentoring, space, small seed grants, and help with business plans and company registration. They are designed for exactly your stage, and they are often underused because students do not know they exist. My advice: ask your faculty or innovation office first.

4. Grants for student and early teams

Government and public agencies fund early ventures that match national priorities — no equity, but defined rules, reporting and use of funds. Some grants are built only for students and recent graduates. I think the application itself is good training. It forces you to write down your problem, your evidence, your budget and your plan.

5. Friends and family

Sometimes the first believer is someone who already believes in you. If you take this money, treat it like real investment. Write down what it is: a gift, a loan or a share. Write down what happens if the venture fails. And never take money they cannot afford to lose.

Relationships last longer than startups.

What I leave off this list: venture capital. VC comes later, once you have an engine that works. The types of investor money — and when each fits — are in Startup Funding Types.

How do you get ready to apply?

Here is the checklist I would run before any application.

1. Know your stage. Score yourself honestly on the KTH Innovation Readiness Level — especially customer (CRL) and funding (FRL). Most programs are written for a specific stage. (See The KTH Innovation Readiness Level: How We Use It (and What We Expect).)
2. Read the eligibility rules first, before the amount. Team size, student status, years since graduation, nationality, whether you need a registered company.
3. Prepare your evidence pack: interview notes, the problem in your customers' own words, your MVP test, your Business Model Canvas, and a simple budget for the next step.
4. Ask what the money is for. "Build a prototype and test it with 20 customers in three months" beats "develop the business."
5. Apply early, and to more than one. Deadlines are fixed, and many teams are not selected the first time.

Try it in 10 minutes

Pick one program from the box below. Open its official call and find three rules: who can apply, the minimum team size, and whether you need a registered company. Write "yes," "no" or "not yet" next to each for your team. You now know whether this door is yours.

How do student founders get startup funding in Thailand?

Through a small set of programs built for student and graduate teams. I keep them in one place, in this box. My other articles link here instead of repeating the amounts.

For Thai university students and recent graduates: where to start

Programs, amounts and rules change every year. Always check the official call before you apply. Facts checked 14 Nov 2026.

• TED Fund — TED Youth Startup. The clearest student ladder in Thailand^2,3. For fiscal year 2570, round 1 takes applications 16–30 Nov 2026 and round 2 15–29 Mar 2027, both through a TED Fellow¹¹; some Fellows close their own intake earlier (CMU STeP's closed on 30 Oct 2026²). The rounds and rules change every year.
  • IDEATION: ฿150,000, a 100% grant for up to 6 months, for a prototype and business plan. Open to undergraduate, master's and PhD students, or graduates within 5 years; team of at least 3; members must belong to the TED Fellow network (in Thai, สมาชิกของเครือข่าย TED Fellow) — for the 2027 round 1, that registration ran through CMU STeP, Chiang Mai University's science and technology park². The call listing sets no nationality rule for IDEATION. SEA Bridge is a TED Fellow, so teams can apply through us. Funding decisions are TED Fund's.
  • POC: up to ฿1.5M, covering up to 90% of project costs. Needs a Thai-registered company with at least 51% Thai shareholders, at least one shareholder who is a student or a graduate within 5 years, and student or graduate shareholders holding at least 31% together².
  • SfS: Go-to-Market / TED Market Scaling Up: up to ฿2M each, no more than 90% of the project, for 12 months — for later go-to-market and scale-up³.
• NIA — Startup Thailand League. A free, seven-month program for bachelor's, master's and PhD students, run with partner universities: a coaching camp, then pitching, then a Demo Day, with a national competition, prizes and grants toward prototypes⁴. The amounts are not published there; check the current call.
• University Business Incubators (UBI). Many Thai universities run one. Burapha University's, for example, helps you check feasibility, build a first business plan and prepare to launch⁵. Ask your own university's incubator what the current call offers.
• Regional science parks. Science parks such as CMU STeP in Chiang Mai work directly with student founders — CMU STeP coordinated TED Fellow registration for the 2027 Youth Startup round². Ask the park in your region what it runs this year.
• Business Brotherhood programs. Some universities pair student teams with large companies and mentors. Kasetsart University's Business Brotherhood Program 2026, for example, offered up to ฿200,000 per team, for teams of at least 3 with more than half current students or graduates within 5 years and a first prototype or MVP⁶.
• Later stage (not your first step): the depa Digital Startup Fund — up to ฿1M at S2 (business formation) and up to ฿5M at S3 (growth)⁷; the 2024 S2 round was for digital businesses registered no more than 3 years⁸. NIA also runs funding programs for companies; check its current calls.

Not everyone qualifies. Many programs need Thai nationality, a Thai-registered company, a minimum team size or a specific student status. Check each rule. If you do not qualify yet, the competitions below are often the better first step.

Programs, amounts and rules change every year. Always check the official call before you apply.

Which competitions can student founders enter?

These are the competitions and showcases we point teams to at SEA Bridge. Dates change every year; check each organizer's page.

My advice: enter at least one, even if you expect to lose.

• Thailand Longevity Ventures (TLV) Challenge — our own challenge at SEA Bridge, built on TLV's Call for Ventures at thailandlongevity.org ("Thai wisdom. Made scientific."): Taste, Touch and Tone tracks. Edition 0 is the pilot.
• EF Hult Prize — which calls itself "the world's largest student startup competition," built around solving big challenges through business⁹.
• Isan Bridge Hackathon 2027 — SEA Bridge's event in Khon Kaen, around the Isan Creative Festival.
• NIA Startup Thailand League and its Demo Day, plus university or science-park pitching days.
• Your own university's competitions — business plan contests, innovation days, faculty hackathons.

✦ If you are doing this as part of Global Venture I: Playbook

The bonus rule: in Global Venture I, entering a competition with your course venture, submitting a real grant application, or winning an award can earn bonus marks, inside the course's up-to-10% bonus. The final grade is still capped at 100%. A real application that is rejected still counts — the work is the point. The SEA Bridge applications below are open during the course or after it.

Money is not the only door. At SEA Bridge, we take applications any time (apply through our contact page):

• ASEAN1967 Fellowship — its graduates become Gen SEA Fellows.
• Jobs and internships at SEA Bridge, when roles open.
• Gen SEA Family — the community of Global Venture alumni, which you can stay part of whatever you build next.
• SEA Bridge Venture Studio — applications always open, during or after the course, and we also invite teams whose work stands out. Three ways in: Incubate, Co-Found or Spin off. Entry is competitive.

Reality check

I will be honest with you: first applications are hard. The forms are long, the rules are strict, and the deadline always arrives in the same week as three other deadlines. Teams often find out halfway through that they are missing one requirement — a third team member, a registered company, a graduation date.

Most first applications are not selected. That is not a verdict on you. It is information: what the judges needed to see, and what you still have to prove.

I would rather you apply, get rejected and learn, than wait until you feel ready.

If you are struggling at this stage, you are like most people. It means you are doing the real work.

Frequently asked questions

How can a student get startup funding?
Start with customers (a pre-order or paid pilot), then competitions and university programs, then grants built for student teams. Investors come later, once you have evidence.

Which competitions can student founders enter?
Start with your own university's contests and national student programs such as NIA's Startup Thailand League, then global ones such as the EF Hult Prize. SEA Bridge runs the Thailand Longevity Ventures Challenge and the Isan Bridge Hackathon. In Global Venture I, entering with your course venture can earn bonus, inside the up-to-10% bonus.

What is the TED Fund?
Thailand's Technology and Innovation-Based Enterprise Development Fund. Its TED Youth Startup IDEATION grant is open to undergraduate, master's and PhD students, and graduates within five years, in teams of at least three, who are members of the TED Fellow network — SEA Bridge is a TED Fellow. For fiscal year 2570, round 1 takes applications 16–30 Nov 2026 and round 2 15–29 Mar 2027; check the current call.

Do I need to register a company to get my first grant?
Not always. Student programs such as TED Youth Startup IDEATION and university pre-incubation are for teams. Later steps, such as TED POC, need a Thai-registered company.

What if I am not Thai or not studying in Thailand?
Many Thai government programs have nationality or registration rules. The 2027 TED IDEATION call listing sets no nationality rule, but TED POC needs a Thai-registered company with at least 51% Thai shareholders. Global competitions such as the EF Hult Prize, and your own university's programs, may be open to you. Read each program's eligibility first.

Before you go — advice from last year's class. When I asked the 2025 class what the next cohort should know, one student wrote this. It is about coursework, but it is exactly how grant calls feel:

"Watch out: many things come faster and heavier than you expect — especially deadlines that pile on top of each other without mercy. So don't wait until the end of term to start, or it will be a very tense stretch you never want to repeat."
— CEDT student, 2025 (translated from Thai)

In the student's own words: “สิ่งที่ต้องระวังคือ หลายอย่างจะมาเร็วและหนักกว่าที่คิด โดยเฉพาะ deadline ที่ซ้อนกันแบบไม่เกรงใจใคร ดังนั้นอย่ารอให้ท้ายเทอมค่อยเริ่มทำ ไม่งั้นจะเป็นช่วงเวลาที่ตึงมากแบบไม่อยากซ้ำอีกครั้ง”

Apply early. Apply to more than one. The calendar will not wait for you.

✦ A Note for Global Venture I Students · Block F: Path to Growth · Form F

You do not need to apply for funding to pass this course. But you should leave it knowing exactly which door is yours, and what you would need to walk through it.

By the end of Global Venture I, we expect you to be able to estimate what validation costs and list real funding sources (FRL 2) — and, if you can, to understand the main funding types and secure first funding for initial verification (FRL 3). A team with a validated problem and concept is the right shape for TED Youth Startup IDEATION — an option, not a guarantee.

Do this before class:

1. Pick one program and one competition from this article that fit your team. Check the eligibility rules and write in Form F whether you qualify today — and if not, what is missing.
2. Draft a one-page budget for your next validation step: what it costs, and what it would prove.
3. Venture Log: record the program, the gap and your FRL self-score.

Pre-class check (in Form F):

1. Name the five sources of early money, in the order student founders usually meet them.
2. Which TED Youth Startup stage fits a Global Venture I team, and what are two of its eligibility rules?
3. What does your team still need to prove before a grant reviewer would fund you?

Your progress: Funding readiness to level 2–3. How we measure progress

Skills you practice: Analytical thinking · resilience, flexibility and agility · mobilizing resources · financial and economic literacy.

Based on the KTH Innovation Readiness Level™ by KTH Innovation, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (kthinnovationreadinesslevel.com).

Keep reading

• Startup Funding Types — the full map of capital, from bootstrapping to VC
• The Exit Strategy — next in Block F: what investors ask first
• The KTH Innovation Readiness Level: How We Use It (and What We Expect) — what FRL 2 and 3 mean
• What Comes Next — Global Venture II, the Gen SEA Family and building with SEA Bridge

All articles in Block F · Path to Growth

• F-01 Startup Funding Types
• F-02 Your First Funding (you are here)
• F-03 The Exit Strategy
• F-04 Growth Models
• F-05 Startup Metrics

Further reading

• Bhidé, A. (1992, November–December). Bootstrap finance: The art of start-ups. Harvard Business Review, 70(6), 109–117. https://hbr.org/1992/11/bootstrap-finance-the-art-of-start-ups

References

Web pages accessed Nov 2026 (checked 12 Nov 2026).

1. "18 of 40": Global Venture I Form F, CEDT 2026 cohort (internal course data; 40 responses).
2. Hackza. (n.d.). โครงการยุววิสาหกิจเริ่มต้น ปี 2570 รอบที่ 1 [TED Youth Startup 2027, round 1: TED Fund call listing via CMU STeP; that Fellow's intake closed 30 Oct 2026]. Hackza. https://www.hackza.org/hackathons/2570-1-ted-youth-startup-2027-lvi07
3. Sripatum University, Faculty of Information Technology. (2026, August 28). เปิดพอร์ตทุน De-risk สำหรับสายเทค: TED Fund หนุนไอเดียสู่ตลาด ตั้งแต่ Mockup ถึง Scaling [TED Fund funding portfolio, from mockup to scaling]. Sripatum University. https://www.spu.ac.th/fac/informatics/?p=235045
4. NIA Academy. (n.d.). Startup Thailand League. National Innovation Agency. https://academy.nia.or.th/site/en/startup-2/
5. Burapha University. (2023). Business incubator in higher education institutions. Burapha University. https://www.buu.ac.th/en/business-incubator-in-higher-education-institutions/
6. Kasetsart University. (2025, August 15). Call for applications: Business Brotherhood Program 2026. Kasetsart University Office of Innovation and Social Engagement. https://kuic.ku.ac.th/th/2025/08/15/call-for-applications-business-brotherhood-program-2026/
7. Startup Thailand. (n.d.). Funding, opportunities, and networks [Thai startup funding overview incl. depa Digital Startup Fund S2/S3]. National Innovation Agency. https://startupthailand.nia.or.th/?p=10984
8. InfoQuest. (2024, January 6). [depa d-startup Early Stage S2, round 1, FY2024: up to ฿1M per project; in Thai]. InfoQuest. https://www.infoquest.co.th/?p=364451
9. EF Hult Prize. (n.d.). EF Hult Prize [home page]. Hult Prize Foundation. https://www.hultprize.org/
10. Sermsuksan, K.-T. (2023). The Startup Mindset [in Thai], Chapter 17. Wish Publishing (สำนักพิมพ์วิช). English: the author's own translation, not yet published.
11. Naewna. (2026, November 13). TED Fund เปิดเวที "NEXT TRACK PERFORMANCE STAGE" โชว์ 4 นวัตกรรมสตาร์ตอัปต้นแบบ ประจำปี 2569. Naewna. https://www.naewna.com/n/pr-news/162906/

About the author: Kasper-Tanakrit Sermsuksan is the Founder of SEA Bridge and a Visiting Lecturer in Computer Engineering and Digital Technology at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Engineering. Learn more →