The Three R’s of Supporting Student Startups: Reality, Relationship, Risk
Entrepreneurship programs provide a wide range of resources and support to students starting new ventures, but what that means is varied. Some do it through stand-alone accelerators or the tech transfer office, but many are supporting the invention/commercialization process without an appropriate mechanism. The REALITY is that without a mechanism that clarifies the student entrepreneur’s RELATIONSHIP with the university, there is inherent RISK for the student, individual faculty and the university as a whole. However, not many institutions have resolved these issues and often entrepreneurship programs must find procedural back doors and policy work-arounds to accomplish their mission. As a member of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, I interviewed other entrepreneurship center directors on this topic in October; the results will provide the starting point for this discussion. The panel includes entrepreneurship program directors from several NCIIA member institutions.
Handout: Company Formation