CU Launch
You may be just starting your collegiate career, but don’t let the fact that you’re still a student stop you from starting a business venture now. If you have a business idea that you believe can be profitable in the marketplace and make an impact, consider participating in CU Launch.
Through CU Launch, Concordia University offers entrepreneurial mentoring and access to seed funds for our students, alumni and others connected to the university. Each year, students and alumni can participate in , attending various startup bootcamps and ultimately doing an investor pitch for seed funds of $1,000-2,000 for their startup.
Started in fall 2015, CU Launch walks budding entrepreneurs like you through the “Lean Launch” process to help you cultivate your early stage idea and potentially turn it into a profitable venture. The program, which takes place annually in the fall at 91 and in the spring at CUAA, lasts 1-2 months and culminates in a live pitch event, where the winner takes home seed funding. Whether or not you win though, you can be certain you’ll walk away with more business smarts under your belt, ready to take on your next venture.
Join the ranks of Concordians who put their ideas into action through CU Launch. Contact Vice Provost of Research and Innovation Dr. Daniel Sem for more information.
Remedium eXchange
Born from the Healthcare Economics Summit, Remedium eXchange is a healthcare economics think tank, referred to as the Rx Think Tank. The think tank’s vision is to consumerize healthcare and make it more affordable and accessible by incentivizing, educating, and empowering consumers in transparent markets. Read more about Remedium eXchange.
The Healthcare Economic Summit is an annual event that is typically held in the summer at the Concordia Environmental Center. Updates on planned summits can be found on their .
Healthcare Innovation Pitch
The Healthcare Innovation Pitch (HIP) is an annual event that brings together teams of soujtheast Wisconsin healthcare entrepreneurs, who have innovative ideas for solving problems in healthcare, including: therapeutics, diagnostics, devices, software (HealthTech) and clinical services. The event includes a series of Startup Entrepreneur bootcamps, and culminates in a pitch to active venture capitalists, where cash prizes are awarded. This programming is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and are part of a regional consortium effort of Concordia University, Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), UW-Milwaukee, Marquette University, Versiti and Milwaukee School of Engineering, with programming coming from the (Accelerating Medical Product Development with Networked Resources) initiative at MCW’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
- The HIP events are run each fall in partnership with .
- Concordia’s continuing education program also offers online versions of the
CU Ventures and Concordia Angel Network
91 offers entrepreneurial mentoring, resources and access to seed funds for our students, alumni and others connected to the university through CU Launch, and for more advanced startups, through and its associated Concordia Angel Network. This is for more mature startups that have a viable business model, established team, and strong revenue potential. Students, alumni and friends of Concordia can pitch to the Concordia Angel Network for higher levels of funding, in exchange for equity. If interested in either of these initiatives, contact Dr. Daniel Sem, President of . You can also join our social network to be kept abreast of events and programming by signing up on .
CU Ventures is also directly and intimately involved in businesses that include students, faculty and staff, such as and the (CSI). The CSI is an EdTech initiative pioneering the development of augmented and virtual reality (AR; VR) tools for use in corporate and academic training. Finally, CU Ventures involves students in managing stock portfolio investments and making money grow through the Concordia Venture Fund Management) (CVFM) program, and direct investments in high growth venture funds such as . As a nonprofit, all investment gains from CU Ventures are ultimately for the benefit of the university, providing a future source of scholarships and grants.
Entrepreneurs and Lawyer in Residence
Concordia University offers access to two entrepreneurs in residence and a lawyer in residence for students, alumni and friends of the university who would like to get mentoring and advice from experienced entrepreneurs and practitioners. Our first entrepreneur in residence is a venture capitalist, Richelle Martin, who manages the . You can read about Richelle and this , and reserve time with Richelle (typically the last Monday of the month) via her . Our second entrepreneur in residence is Anne Marie Finley, a former leader in the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) who is especially well-equipped to give advice in medical and clinical product development, including the FDA regulatory approval process. You can read about Anne Marie and this , and reserve time with Anne Marie (typically the second Monday of the month) via her . Finally, legal questions for startups can be asked of our startup lawyer in residence, Collin Schaefer, who has office hours the last Thursday of every month. Meetings with Collin can be scheduled .