by Tyler Scherr, UNeMed | July 26, 2021
Tyler Scherr, PhD
Proven Ventures just placed a big bet on the ingenuity of the University of Nebraska.
The University of Nebraska is full of experts: Researchers, clinicians, technicians and students who have made it their life’s work to understand everything they can about a single, crucial factor in human health.
For many, securing a patent or publishing their research in journals like Nature or Science is the penultimate outcome of all those sleepless nights.
But that’s not the main goal. The main goal is to positively impact human lives. And, to achieve that goal, an invention must ultimately be commercialized.
UNeMed, the technology transfer office for UNO and UNMC, and UNeTech Institute, the startup incubator for UNO and UNMC, have worked diligently to identify, protect and commercialize University inventions. An important part of this process is recruiting experienced, qualified entrepreneurs willing to partner with University inventors to form small business startups around University technology. But where do you find experienced, qualified entrepreneurs?
Enter Proven Ventures.
Proven Ventures, a Burlington Capital Fund located in downtown Omaha, has partnered with UNeMed and UNeTech to bring experienced entrepreneurs to the table to run University startups. The entrepreneurs will come alongside University experts to bring state-of-the-art technologies to market where they can solve real-world problems to benefit real people. Better yet, startups will be homegrown and nurtured in Nebraska, providing desirable jobs and training for our local, talented workforce.
The Omaha region is full of experts: Executives, MBAs, CEOs and venture capitalists who have cut their teeth forming and running businesses of all shapes and sizes.
For many, earning a Business Excellence Award or landing in the 40-under-40 group is the penultimate outcome of all those sleepless nights.
But that’s not the main goal. The main goal is to positively impact human lives. And to achieve that goal, a business must do something truly innovative.
Sound familiar?
It should.
What too many fail to realize (and why too many promising startups unexpectedly fail) is that entrepreneurs and academic innovators need each other. They’re made of the same stuff. They want the same things. What they really need is a way to help each other succeed.
And that’s what Proven Ventures and UNeMed are now better positioned to do.
