The Technology Entrepreneurship Office (TEO) helps University of Wisconsin–Madison research faculty, staff, and graduate students take their work from research to massively scalable startups, helping them navigate the world of entrepreneurship.
Formed to serve the STEM campus, TEO was initially launched in partnership with the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS), the College of Letters & Science, and the College of Engineering. The Wisconsin School of Business recently joined as a partner.
“We created TEO to invest in the rich innovation that lives on this campus. Not only are we fueling entrepreneurship in Wisconsin, we are also attracting faculty and students with interdisciplinary translational research interests to this campus,” says Tom Erickson. “Increasing the impact our research makes in society is a founding principle of CDIS. Helping researchers understand how society might use their innovation, forming teams to create a venture, and scaling them up will fuel economic and technological growth in Wisconsin and beyond.”
Landmark Achievement
TEO has three main goals: increase the number of technology-based startups on campus, establish a culture of entrepreneurship through life cycle support of early-stage ventures, and offer the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) I-Corps program at UW–Madison.
The NSF I-Corps program guides aspiring entrepreneurs through evaluating the commercial potential of a scientific discovery or technology. With the I-Corps program, researchers can more quickly translate ideas from the laboratory into the marketplace. The 6-week UW-Madison Local I-Corps program provides eligibility for teams without previous NSF awards to apply for the National Teams program and a $50K grant.
Securing the I-Corps program was a significant achievement for TEO. Within six months of TEO’s creation, UW-Madison had secured membership in the highly recognized I-Corps program, joining peers at the Universities of Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, and Purdue who were the founding universities in the I-Corps Great Lakes Hub.
In its first year, TEO sent eight teams to the National I-Corps training program, which was the highest for a single Hub Affiliate.
“It wasn’t just the University of Wisconsin outperforming itself, but UW outperforming in general,” says Emma Uren, TEO Project Manager.
Since its inception, TEO has achieved remarkable success with the I-Corps program:
- NSF National I-Corps: 10 teams have participated
- NSF UW Local I-Corps: 31 participants across four cohorts.
- NSF Regional I-Corps: 9 teams have participated
Expanding Entrepreneurial Culture
Beyond I-Corps, TEO has actively engaged the campus community through various programs and events, including 18 outreach events with 307 participants since its founding, with four more events scheduled for this year. These initiatives include a speaker seminar, a mentor program, and programming for graduate students to explore career options beyond academia, called Pathways to Impact.
“Many students didn’t realize there were other career paths besides academia. All of these classes are hands-on workshops, so they come out of it with something that they’ve created for themselves like an action plan or how to build a network,” says Bonnie Bachman, TEO Director. “Some of the other Pathways to Impact workshops focus on building a business, funding, transitioning to innovator as a new faculty member, building networks, and the basics of tech entrepreneurship.”
TEO has also partnered with The Engine, an incubator in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to help bridge the gap between discovery and commercialization. This partnership has proved fruitful for fostering a culture of entrepreneurship by providing emerging startups with the resource sand networking opportunities they need to thrive through their Whiteboard program.
Yong Jae Lee, Associate Professor in Computer Sciences, was supported by TEO to attend The Engine’s Whiteboard workshop to learn about creating startups from other faculty entrepreneurs.
“I’ve always had an interest in thinking about opportunities to make a bigger impact in society beyond the impact that publications can make in my academic community,” says Lee. “It’s great that UW–Madison supports its faculty in exploring ways to make a bigger impact through commercialization of the on-campus discoveries.”
Lee joined the program to learn from other faculty members’ experiences creating startups. He found the program helpful and recommended it to other academics.
“I was able to connect with one of the partners there and learn what it’s like to commercialize research as a faculty founder, as well as the various issues that come up,” says Lee. “I would highly recommend it to faculty interested in commercializing their research. Hearing directly from other faculty who have had the experience is quite helpful.
Since its inception in 2022, TEO has consistently exceeded its goals, profoundly impacting the campus community and transforming entrepreneurs’ lives.
“TEO’s many achievements and rapid growth show the importance of higher education investment in entrepreneurship. We plan to grow TEO’s services to aid faculty and students through the early life cycle of creating ventures from their research that impact society,” says Erickson.
Long-term Influence and Goals
Looking ahead, TEO wants to help faculty and graduate students bridge the gap between researcher and entrepreneur.
With this in mind, TEO has created a program called Early Entrepreneur in Residence that will provide an opportunity for postdocs to gain the skills and experiences needed to start a technology company. It will cover several topics such as figuring out their role at the company, learning about cap tables, equity splits, valuation, convertible debt, angel and venture funding and forming an advisory board. The program is currently being built and is expected to have 3-5 participants in the first cohort representing the same number of industry verticals.
TEO is also looking to make connections across campus and beyond. This summer, they will begin hosting a book club to help create networking opportunities between Madison-area entrepreneurs and current faculty and graduate students. They also had a successful rollout of a new multi-week workshop, Strategic ROADMAP. The instructor was also the author of a book by the same name and participants came from both the campus and the community.
“Particularly for students, we want to be able to help them grow and scale as much as possible. If we can create a more successful jumping off point by giving them the connections that they need, we are all going to be better off.” says Uren.
TEO is dedicated to helping researchers develop and grow their entrepreneurial mindset and is a focal point on campus for connecting researchers with the resources they need to move their technology out of the lab.
TEO’s influence extends beyond the number of startups on campus, empowering faculty and graduate students to expand their knowledge and development.
“Moving research into real-world applications is critical for several reasons. It can address problems that lead to practical solutions, drive innovation and continuous improvement, provide a society benefit, and lead to economic growth,” says Bachman. “TEO seeks to be a partner and provide support to research faculty, staff and students in the following areas: providing guidance and mentorship, access to resources and funding, training and workshops, networking opportunities and building community.”