Turning UW Milwaukee Research Into Startups with Jessica Silvaggi of UWM Research Foundation

University research is generating breakthrough ideas, but who's turning them into companies? Jessica Silvaggi of the UW Milwaukee Research Foundation explains why inventors become entrepreneurs by default and what Wisconsin's ecosystem is missing.

Key Topics

→ How the UW Milwaukee Research Foundation commercializes university research
→ The Catalyst Grant: $6.27M deployed, $49M in follow-on funding ($7.80 per dollar)
→ Why inventors typically become founders when no one else steps up
→ Wisconsin's conservative investor culture and the wait-for-traction problem
→ Building stronger founding teams and the case for fractional executives
→ Panther Partnering: the "easy button" for industry research partnerships
→ Featured startups

Segments

00:00 Intro
01:45 What the UW Milwaukee Research Foundation does
04:30 Types of inventions coming from the university (54% engineering)
07:15 Reaching students and faculty who don't realize they have inventions
09:45 The Catalyst Grant: 18 years of seed funding results
13:20 Bridge Grant and Panther Partnering programs
17:00 Express licensing for university startups
18:45 The upcoming Panther Leap philanthropic venture fund
21:30 Jessica's journey from Harvard PhD to tech transfer
26:00 Why inventors become entrepreneurs by default
29:15 Connecting external entrepreneurs with university tech
32:40 Working with corporate innovation teams
35:20 What would make the biggest impact with unlimited resources
39:00 Startup highlights
43:30 Milwaukee's evolving startup ecosystem
46:15 Gaps that still need attention
49:00 Building stronger founding teams
52:30 The case for fractional executives
55:00 Latest research going to market
58:30 How to connect with the Research Foundation

Resources & Links Mentioned

UW Milwaukee Research Foundation

Lubar Entrepreneurship Center at UWM

Catalyst Grant Program

Bridge Grant Program

Panther Partnering Program

Panthers Connect Platform / Pounce Network

Wisconsin Tech Council

‍I-Corps Program

Connect with Jessica Silvaggi

Jessica Silvaggi on LinkedIn

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