Discovery to Product (D2P) at UW–Madison is a driving force behind transforming innovative ideas into impactful products and services, embodying the Wisconsin Idea. Since its inception in 2014, D2P has supported over 330 UW innovators and 180 innovation projects annually, contributing to the launch or growth of over 140 startups.
Abram Becker, who joined D2P as a mentor in 2016 and currently serves as interim director, reflects on the organization’s beginnings: ‘We collaborated to create a team of expert staff and develop dynamic, impactful programs,” he reminisces. “It’s immensely gratifying to witness how many UW innovators we’ve supported in advancing their ideas into real-world applications, from launching startups to licensing technologies and fostering social impact initiatives.”
D2P operates within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR), offering no-cost, non-credit training, mentoring, and funding to UW–Madison faculty, staff, and student innovators. D2P programs, based on the industry-leading Lean Launchpad approach, include Innovation to Market, for innovators to explore the market viability of their idea or invention, and Igniter, an intensive program for those bringing a technology, device, app, consumer product or social impact solution to market. In the last fiscal year, D2P awarded $1.4 million to help innovators reduce market risks, enhance the patentability and licensability of inventions, and pursue commercialization.
During the past fiscal year, D2P has engaged 330 unique campus innovators, with many participants returning for multi-year collaborations.
The innovators are evenly distributed among faculty, research staff, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates, including graduate student- or postdoc-led teams working with faculty PIs. These innovators come from 16 schools, colleges, and divisions, and 88 departments, programs, centers, and institutes. Their projects span diverse fields, including healthcare, agriculture, energy, biotechnology, engineering, AI and digital technologies, consumer products, and social impact solutions, with many teams pursuing cross-disciplinary approaches.
Navigating the pathway from research to commercialization or startup formation can be challenging for those primarily trained in academia. A cornerstone of D2P’s approach is its mentorship program, which guides campus innovators through this complex terrain.
D2P’s Innovation and Commercialization Mentors—veteran business developers, entrepreneurs, product managers, and startup executives with research backgrounds—lead the training programs and provide individualized coaching from pre-incorporation through growth stages. They help teams navigate the campus system and access resources like funding and training at the right time.
“The Innovation to Market and Igniter programs have been an incredible education source for our team. A dedicated D2P mentor supporting us every step of the way, challenging us, and helping us make connections has been instrumental to our success,” says Daniel Cho, founder of CranioSure and assistant professor, Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery.
Startups that have benefitted from D2P’s services include AIQ Solutions, Atrility Medical, AyrFlo, Cellular Logistics, CranioSure, Immuto Scientific, Neurosetta, Pyran, Realta Fusion, SixLine Semiconductor, Stem Pharm, Voximetry, and Yips Yogurt Chips. Many of these companies are now venture-backed, raising over $276 million in follow-on funding, including federal grants and venture capital.
D2P-mentored teams have also excelled in state startup competitions and federal grant programs. In 2024, three of the 12 winning teams at the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, including grand prize winner CranioSure, were D2P-supported. Other successes include the Wisconsin Innovation Awards (recent top winners include Stem Pharm, Atrility Medical, and OnLume) and the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce Pressure Chamber competition (SixLine Semiconductor, a grand prize winner, and CranioSure and Terra Bioforge as finalists in 2024, AyrFlo as a 2023 finalist, and Voximetry as a grand prize winner in 2022).
Katy Jenkins, co-founder and CEO of SixLine Semiconductor, notes, “D2P’s Innovation to Market cohort was our first introduction to customer discovery, which taught us the importance of learning as much as possible about our industry and our role in integrating into the value chain.”
Many D2P-mentored teams have secured federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants. Additionally, the majority of UW–Madison’s National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps teams have participated in D2P training, mentoring, or received D2P grant funding.
D2P coordinates the UW Innovate Network, fostering connections among campus and affiliate entrepreneurship programs to create a comprehensive support system for campus innovators. Their annual UW Innovate Week will be held September 23-27, 2024.
For more details, read the D2P Annual Impact Report and learn about applying for fall training programs and upcoming funding opportunities at d2p.wisc.edu.