A new program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will provide business and technical expertise to UNC startup companies. The Innovation Fellowship Program will help launch and grow early stage university startups as well as build entrepreneurial talent for the Research Triangle Park region by funding two-year Innovation Fellows to work with fledgling companies.
A new program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will provide business and technical expertise to UNC startup companies. The Innovation Fellowship Program will help launch and grow early stage university startups as well as build entrepreneurial talent for the Research Triangle Park region by funding two-year Innovation Fellows to work with fledgling companies.
Carolina was one of three universities designated by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today as “Kauffman Commercialization Leaders.” The award recognizes UNC, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Missouri System for their creative approaches to help to accelerate the process of bringing student and faculty innovations to market. The Kauffman Foundation is awarding each university a $100,000 grant for their selected programs or initiatives.
“These universities exhibit a strong commitment to bringing the innovations developed on campuses into the commercial marketplace, which benefits society and ultimately enhances economic growth,” said Carl J. Schramm, Kauffman Foundation president and chief executive officer. “We are very pleased to recognize and support their efforts.”
Additional funding came from UNC’s Translational and Clinical Sciences (TrACS) Institute, one of 55 medical research institutions working together as a national consortium to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country. Carolina KickStart, a core program of TraCS that fosters the building and launching of UNC startups, will administer the program.
“These fellowships help fill a significant talent gap for early stage companies commercializing important technologies,” said Judith Cone, special assistant for entrepreneurship and innovation to UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp. “This program is just one part of the effort to help UNC become one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial campuses in the nation.”
The first Innovation Fellow is John Strenkowski, a UNC alumnus and recent Harvard Business School graduate. “John has a passion for startups and is ideally suited to work with these early-stage companies,” said Don Rose, director of Carolina KickStart. “He will be an important catalyst to get these companies launched and in a position for success.”
The program targets young entrepreneurial talent. Certain Innovation Fellows will have a business background and will provide important business leadership for the startups: developing the business strategy, negotiating a license to the technology and securing startup capital. Other Innovation Fellows will bring technical expertise to the startup. Because having a good working knowledge of the fledgling technology is important, the source of the technical fellows will be recently graduated doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers working in the lab where the technology originated. The fellowship will support transition to the startup as they provide technology development and scientific leadership: securing Small Business Innovation Research funding, creating a product development plan and designing and testing prototypes.
To further enhance the program, venture capital firms will invest in the companies with an Innovation Fellow. Hatteras Venture Partners, a venture capital firm based in Research Triangle Park with a focus on biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics and related opportunities in human medicine, has agreed to provide seed capital to a fellow-led UNC startup.
“Successful startups need three things: good ideas, talented individuals and capital. UNC has brought the first two together and our hope is that our investment will increase the likelihood of success for these startups,” said Clay Thorp, managing partner at Hatteras. “We sincerely hope others will join us in providing seed capital for these companies and new ideas. The Innovation Fellows effort is an excellent opportunity to drive innovation and develop the region’s entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow.”
The Innovation Fellowship Program supports one of the five major recommendations in the Innovate@Carolina Roadmap, to “translate important new ideas more expediently and at an increased volume into innovations that improve society.” The Innovate@Carolina initiative also calls for an expansion of the KickStart program campus-wide.
Link to Kauffman Foundation release: http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/new-kauffman-foundation-award-recognizes-leaders-in-commercialization.aspx
Carolina KickStart contact: Don Rose, (919) 843-5263, donrose@email.unc.edu
News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, susan_houston@unc.edu