University of Delaware alumna and Udwell founder Yael Bloom relies on her experience launching a startup while a student at UD in her current career.

As a UD student, Bloom saw a need for off-campus housing resources, and came up with the idea for Udwell, a website that provides a detailed list of apartments in and around Newark, Delaware, that are primarily rented to UD students.

“After having trouble finding off-campus housing myself, I wanted to find a solution,” said Bloom.

With Udwell being Bloom’s first business idea, she entered it in Hen Hatch, UD’s premier startup competition, and placed second.

Participating in Hen Hatch, which is sponsored by the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship, allowed Udwell to flourish. Bloom made connections to properties, created partnerships and increased the company’s online presence.

Bloom currently works as an account executive at Yelp.

“I work with so many businesses that are just starting out,” said Bloom. “When I help them with their business concepts, address the unique value they propose, their customer segments, their channels, I always use what I learned through the Horn program and my experience running Udwell.”

Udwell is still active, and Bloom serves on its board of directors. Depending on the season, the online housing resource reaches several thousand users a month.

Bloom graduated from UD in 2016 with a bachelor of science degree in entrepreneurship and technology innovation.

In addition to participating in Hen Hatch, Bloom also worked with fellow students on her business concept in the VentureOn program and placed in the 2013 Pitch Party, and was a member of the Entrepreneurship Club and Alpha Phi sorority.

About the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship

The Horn Program in Entrepreneurship ignites imaginations and empowers world changers through educational offerings that emphasize experiential learning, evidence-based entrepreneurship and active engagement with entrepreneurs and other members of the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Through participation in Horn Program offerings, students gain the knowledge, skills, personal capacities, experiences, connections and access to resources needed to successfully manifest innovation and thrive in the rapidly changing world.