Mentorship and Advising
Venture Partners at CU Boulder connects dynamic and dedicated entrepreneurs and innovators to University of Colorado researchers, inventors and creators commercializing groundbreaking new inventions.
Our mentor network is powered by some of the most successful entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders from Colorado and worldwide. These individuals contribute their experience and wisdom in person and virtually to help advance the most promising discoveries.
In pairing mentors and mentees, we aim to form highly functional teams focused on accelerating their concept to market. An engagement can last for an hour, a month, a year or through venture funding and exit.
"The University of Colorado Boulder is fortunate to benefit from strong relationships with the business community in Boulder and throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Our researchers engage with both entrepreneurs and professionals in industry to accelerate the commercialization of groundbreaking university-based innovations."
鈥擝ryn Rees, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation and Managing Director, Venture Partners at CU Boulder
For Mentees: Get Advice From Industry Experts聽to Advance Your Technology or Startup
Benefit from the business insights of our mentor network, who can help you accelerate your innovation toward a license opportunity or a startup. Over 300 entrepreneurs鈥攎ost with backgrounds in science and technology and a history of successfully commercializing 鈥渄eep tech鈥濃攁re available to CU Boulder, CU Denver (except for CU Denver biosciences investigators who should work with ) and UCCS innovators.
Mentors can:
- help you achieve critical milestones,
- introduce you to potential customers,
- and expand your professional network.
How to Get Connected with a Mentor
From a one hour consultation to a long-term engagement, Venture Partners can match you with a mentor to compliment your existing team. Contact your licensing manager to discover more about our mentors.
For Mentors: Lend Your Expertise to CU Technologies and Startups
Once you complete the application, we can connect you with appropriate opportunities as well as ventures who are looking for your specific talents. You will also be added to our entrepreneurial mentor email list in order to receive a monthly email newsletter.
Mentors working with Venture Partners are an elite group of industry professionals who 1) have expertise in business formation, finance, regulatory issues or operations and 2) have an interest in commercialization of university research and lab-based innovation.
Mentors鈥 careers also encompass a wide range of experience: they are founders, CEOs and chief technical officers, as well as executives from the fields of manufacturing, procurement, supply-chain management and human resources.
Mentors include professionals such as attorneys, accountants, former governmental/regulatory officials, and top performers in sales, marketing and business development. These mentors bring to the table a wealth of entrepreneurial experience as well as contacts across a broad range of industries and markets.
While many of our mentors are alumni of the University of Colorado, they represent a variety of exceptional institutions from around the globe.
Mentors participate for many reasons, including the intellectual stimulation of the work and the opportunity to keep their 鈥渇ingers on the pulse鈥 of the CU innovation community.
Mentors may engage with university faculty and students:
- on a one-time basis,
- as part of an event panel or program,
- or in an on-going role as advisor, board member or team member.
When appropriate and agreed to by all parties involved, mentors may become permanent members of a startup/spinout once a company is formed and exits from the university.
Mentors are matched with innovators and startups based on:
- sector experience,
- skills, experience and expertise executing on priority milestones,
- and area of interest.
Generally, a "Call for Advisors" will be sent to the mentor network, with details about:
- the innovation and the team,
- stage of growth,
- the type of engagement and the time commitment required (for example: a one hour lunch-and-learn, a pitch practice, a 3-week accelerator),
- and current critical needs (for example: pending grant application, venture capital pitch, IP deadline).
Mentors can express interest in assisting the team by opting in, or may simply pass on the opportunity due to a lack of fit, scheduling conflict, or for no reason at all.
Explore what we can do together
But what is "commercialization?"
The path to commercialization鈥攁lso known as "research translation" or "tech transfer"鈥攃an be challenging, and Venture Partners is here to help by uniting industry partners, entrepreneurs and investors to help researchers, inventors and creators at the University of Colorado bring their groundbreaking discoveries into the marketplace.