innovation

Topics

The Seven Biggest Challenges Faced by Student Entrepreneurs

We fund some of the nation’s top university students dedicating their time to inventing something new. Here are the top six challenges they typically face.

Five Trends To Watch in Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Of the forces reshaping innovation, these stand out as signals of deeper, structural shifts in how science- and technology-based innovation is evolving.

Masters of Invention: What Lonnie Johnson and Franziska Trautmann Teach Us About Innovation

Dr. Lonnie Johnson and Franziska Trautmann share insights into their journeys as inventors.

What’s Next in Academic Innovation

VentureWell CEO Phil Weilerstein shares takeaways from a listening session at the 2025 NAI Annual Meeting.

Five Essential (and Mostly Free!) IP Resources Every Innovator Should Know About

Intellectual property is the cornerstone of many products in the marketplace today, providing significant value by granting inventors exclusive rights.

Do You Have the Right Answers to these Intellectual Property Questions?

In honor of World Intellectual Property Day, we put together a quick-reference guide on the role IP rights play in innovation and entrepreneurship.

rethinking pitch competitions: create value, not a spectacle

VentureWell Director of Venture Development, Eli Velasquez offers insights on how to develop pitch competitions that provide maximum support to startups.

Entrepreneurship Activities on Campus: Helping Students Leverage the Power of an Ecosystem

Faculty play a key role in helping students identify campus entrepreneurship activities that most align with their personal and professional interests.

Faculty Spotlight: Gary Brooking from Wichita State University

Gary Brooking from Wichita State University helps students develop a mindset that is open to understand broader issues to better solve problems.

Innovator Spotlight: Maricely Ramirez Hernandez of Burnflex

Maricely Ramirez Hernandez of E-Team Burnflex has changed how she thinks about inventing by first considering customer pain points.

Water-Energy Nexus: A Connection That’s Driving Innovation

For World Water Day, we spoke with three ventures operating at the water-energy nexus to learn how they’re addressing strains in both resource systems.

Innovator Spotlight: Mahdi Eghbali of VerdiLife

E-Team grantee Mahdi Eghbali of VerdiLife has learned to look for teammates who have vision and passion for the problem the startup is trying to solve.

Faculty Spotlight: Scott Shrake from Colorado State University

For Scott Shrake, teaching allows him to interact with students who believe that everything is possible and recognize that failure is temporary.

Faculty Spotlight: Dustyn Roberts from Temple University

Professor Roberts strives to create classroom environments and session plans that enable a-ha moments for students.

Innovator Spotlight: Katie Kollhoff of NUMiX Materials

For Kollhoff, getting comfortable with discomfort has become a valuable survival skill.

3 Tips for Finding the Right Financial Partner

Regardless of the path you take, it’s important to think strategically when seeking the right long-term financial partner.

What We’re Reading: 6 Recommended Innovation and Entrepreneurship Books

Faculty grantees and VentureWell thought leaders shared their must-read innovation and entrepreneurship books that are worth adding to your library.

Cool Ideas to Fix Global Warming: Preparing Cleantech Startups to Counter Climate Change

Climate change, dire threat that it is, also represents a long-overdue invitation to transform society through the adoption of sustainable technologies.

Innovator Spotlight: Blake Dubé of Aeronics, Inc.

Blake Dubé of Aeronics, Inc. found that talking with customers and mentors led to solutions and opportunities that he may not have considered.