UW-Madison Startup Week is an annual event that celebrates and illuminates entrepreneurial activities and resources across campus, while also providing campus and community innovators chances to network and learn.
Full 2020 event schedule (archived)
2020 Events to Watch On-Demand
Distinguished Entrepreneur’s Lunch with Craig Schedler (password to view: DqmMdrz3): Meet Craig Schedler, Managing Director with Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Northwestern Mutual. Since its founding in 2016, Craig has been responsible for managing the company’s strategic venture capital investments in financial technology, digital health, data analytics and client experience. Craig’s investment experience includes investments in leading fintech companies including Betterment, Chime, Ladder and Gabi. He also serves in a leadership role on multiple corporate committees focused on innovation across Northwestern Mutual.
WARF Entrepreneurons: Exploring your business idea using the business model toolbox: Discovery to Product’s Aimee Arnoldussen and the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center’s Michelle Somes-Booher provide a look at some of the best tools to help you get started.
Finding a Funding Source for Your Technology: The Federal SBIR/STTR program awards over $3.7 billion in high risk R&D funding annually to qualified technologies. View this session to find out more about these programs and how they can provide a source of R&D funding between the initial development of your innovative idea and proof that it has potential in the marketplace.
The Startup Mentor Book Tour (password to view: gFHAUri3): Mentors can be the secret weapon that helps a founder get their company launched, but only if that founder knows how to use those mentors. Meet author and UW alum Maia Donohue to learn actionable tactics and strategies to turn mentors into powerful assets. Maia’s expertise comes from thousands of hours of working with mentors and mentees in his work with 3 Day Startup out of Austin, Texas.
Entrepreneurship and venture funding, post – COVID – A deep dive into opportunities in high tech: Leading entrepreneurs and funders share insider perspectives and insights on venture funding in the technology, software, and information space post – COVID. Tech industry experts and UW alumni Ram Jambunathan, SVP-Head of Corporate Strategy for SAP and Managing Director for SAP.iO, Venkat Venkataramani, Rockset CEO, and Justin Vandehey, co-founder of Disco join CDIS founder and entrepreneur, Tom Erickson for a lively panel discussion.
WARF Essential Topics: You Invented Something. Now What? Intellectual Property Basics and Working with WARF: WARF Director of Intellectual Property Beth Werner discusses different forms of intellectual property (IP), what campus researchers can do to protect their inventions and how WARF partners with campus and the business community to get technology out into the marketplace where it can make a difference in people’s lives.
WARF Essential Topics: Navigating Conflicts of Interest and More: Join WARF General Counsel Stephanie Adamany and campus experts to discuss what constitutes a conflict of interest, how these are managed and how to balance your outside activities with your campus commitments.
WARF Essential Topics: Putting our money where our mouth is: creating meaningful networks and resources for diverse inventors: Hear from leaders of programs across the Midwest that have successfully addressed the invention and entrepreneurship gap that all too often finds that women and people of color are under supported and under represented.
Distinguished Entrepreneur’s Lunch with Johanna Wolfson of Prime Impact Fund: (password to view: 9xVfsWmQ): Johanna Wolfson shares how to identify and evaluate investment opportunities, serve on company boards, and manage investments toward business and impact goals. She joined Prime Impact Fund from her role at Department of Energy where she was involved launching entrepreneurs and new businesses out of universities and National Labs. Johanna holds a BA from the UW and a Ph.D. from MIT.
WARF Innovation Day: Get an inside look at UW–Madison products, services, and technologies that will shape the future of our world at this virtual pitch event with surprises from across campus. Quick Pitch Lineup: Cost-Saving Dairy Protein Separation- Mark Etzel (Food Science – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) | Rendering Reality: Enhancing Virtual and Augmented Reality- Kevin Ponto (Department of Design Studies – School of Human Ecology) | ECMO Simulator for Lifesaving Oxygenation Procedures- Erick Przybylski (Simulation Center – School of Medicine and Public Health) | Wearable Device to Improve the Rehabilitation and Treatment of Tendon Injuries- Darryl Thelen (Mechanical Engineering – College of Engineering)
Forward Bio Innovators in Training Video Launch: The Forward BIO Institute showcases interviews with the outstanding graduate Innovators in Training working to lead the next generation of biomanufactured human therapies. Learn, in their own words, about how they drive new technology innovation forward, integrate entrepreneurial training into their graduate thesis research, and expanding their professional networks through partnerships with the Institute, our campus, and industry partners.
Also don’t miss
Be sure to take a look at the creativity displayed by the winners of the 100 Hour Challenge!