October 9, 2008
‘From Invention to Start-Up’ back by popular demand
A seminar series for inventors and would-be entrepreneurs is back by popular demand.
“From Invention to Start-Up” is intended for UW researchers and presents speakers who have been involved in the process of creating companies, obtaining capital and licensing their intellectual property. The seminar will meet Thursdays, 7:30 to 9 a.m. in 130A Foege. More information is at www.inventiontostartup.washington.edu.
The series is sponsored by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the Foster School, the Applied Physics Laboratory and UW TechTransfer.
Two years ago, a similar series drew 575 faculty from 37 departments, says Ellen Lettvin, assistant director of the Applied Physics Laboratory.
While the emphasis of the content will be on the life sciences, the experiences of the presenters should be relevant to any researcher who has an idea or invention for which there may be a significant market. “These speakers have good stories to tell, and they were chosen because they understand the UW environment for start-ups,” Lettvin says. “In addition, they represent industries that we think attendees can relate to. In some cases the presenters are faculty who have been through this. Their advice should be very practical.”
“Entrepreneurship is hard work,” said Connie Bourassa-Shaw, director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “For many researchers, the transition from working in technical areas to thinking about markets is a difficult one. If they are thinking of participating in a start-up, these seminars should acquaint them with what’s involved.”
The schedule:
Oct. 9: Roadmap for the Start-Up, Pete Higgins, Second Avenue Partners
Oct 16: The Founding Team, Ralph Derrickson, Carena
Oct. 23: Making the Transition from Research to Start-Up, Amber Ratcliffe, Nanostring Technologies, and Pierre Mourad, Applied Physics Laboratory, UW Neurosurgery and Ultreo
Oct. 30: Product Positioning: Is it a Technology, Feature, Product or Company? James Robarts, EB Co., and Harvey Hauschildt, InstruMed
Nov. 6: 10 Reasons Why Early-Stage Companies Fail, Geoff Entress, Madrona Ventures
Nov. 13: Case Studies: Dynamics of Entrepreneurship at the UW, Vikram Jandhyala, UW Electrical Engineering and Physware, and Buddy Ratner, UW Bioengineering and Healionics
Nov. 20: Sources of Funding: Bootstrapping, Angels, VCs, Strategic Partners, Trevor Moody, Frazier Health Ventures, and Jens Quistgaard, LipoSonix
Dec. 4: Getting Started: Equity, Legal Entity, Resources on Campus, Gordon Empey, HellerEhrman, Connie Bourassa-Shaw, UW Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Fred B. Holt, UW TechTransfer
