Most universities now teach entrepreneurship, but far fewer help students and researchers turn ideas into companies after the classroom and the pitch competition end. Drawing on experience as a four-time founder and entrepreneurship educator, this presentation explores how U.S. universities close that gap. We will examine dedicated entrepreneurship offices that are run by entrepreneurs from the community and serve students, alumni and local founders on an ongoing basis. We will look at experiential learning models, from consulting and angel-investing courses to the NSF I-Corps approach to customer discovery, and at technology transfer structures that help faculty and graduate researchers commercialize their work. Examples will be drawn from Syracuse University, the University of Wyoming, University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Michigan.

TYPE OF RESEARCH – Empirical