IU Ventures

Calling Chicago area IU affiliated startup founders, funders, and other Hoosiers interested in advancing and connecting with IU's world-class global entrepreneurial network. Go Hoosiers! Let us know you plan to stop by: https://go.iu.edu/8q3o Jason Whitney

What an amazing opportunity to tap into Gen Z insights at the Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Kelly King and her students are some of the best in the business and we are always happy to participate in their classroom experiences each semester. If this opportunity speaks to you please reach out to her for more information.

Calling Chicago area IU affiliated startup founders, funders, and other Hoosiers interested in advancing and connecting with IU's world-class global entrepreneurial network. Go Hoosiers! Let us know you plan to stop by: https://go.iu.edu/8q3o Jason Whitney

IU Ventures bestows 2024 Spirit of Venture Award on Elizabeth Hagerman, Gregg Summerville, and Ted Widlanski BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- IU Ventures, Indiana University's early-stage venture and angel investment arm, has awarded three individuals—Elizabeth Hagerman, Gregg Summerville, and Ted Widlanski—with the Spirit of Venture Award. The award, which is presented annually in partnership with Bridge Bank, celebrates the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation across the entire IU community. “Elizabeth, Gregg, and Ted are three of the biggest and best advocates for what we’re doing at IU Ventures,” said Tony Armstrong, president and CEO of IU Ventures. “Through the years we’ve been through some twists and turns and they’ve all hung in with us and supported us in their own unique ways. Each of them has been willing to pitch in any way we’ve needed.” The Spirit of Venture Awards were presented during the third annual IU Founders and Funders Network Venture Summit, held May 16-17 on the IU Bloomington campus. The awards are given to IU faculty, staff, alumni or student founders and funders, or friends of IU, who have exhibited success in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, provided mentorship and support to IU Founders and Funders, and demonstrated noteworthy philanthropy and service to IU. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g648d2y7

Join Jon Barada and Matt Gacek for tomorrow's Fireside Chat. As a sophomore, Gacek created Theia, an AI-driven therapy and personal growth app designed to encourage more men and marginalized groups to seek mental health and self-care treatment. Gacek's success and innovative approach to AI therapy earned him the prestigious TechPoint Mira Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The Fireside Chat series is sponsored by the award winning Kelley Direct Online MBA. Get started at kelley.iu.edu. Register Now: https://lnkd.in/gBH7_X-r

It’s time for Indiana’s entrepreneurship community to ‘shoot from the logo’ By Tony Armstrong As our state’s newest basketball sensation, Caitlin Clark, might say, now is the time for Hoosiers to “shoot from the logo.” In 2021, the Indiana Business Research Center at IU’s Kelley School of Business found that Hoosier companies under five years of age accounted for a majority of net job growth in the state and contributed an estimated $11.5 billion to Indiana's GDP. Indiana’s goal should be to commit even more strongly to helping its emerging entrepreneurs find access to funding capital, industry partners, talent and expertise, mentorship, training and other critical resources that will enable them to transform their big ideas into full-blown successful businesses. The state’s top colleges and universities must further ignite the business potential of entrepreneurial-minded faculty, students and staff through comprehensive entrepreneurship programs like IU’s renowned Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Education; experiential learning that immerses students in the foundations of starting a business; executive-in-residence programs whose members can mentor and advise founders companies and investors; and community-building and networking events like the IU Ventures summit. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gDpWMkPe

IU Angel Network Invests in The New Savant, A Modern Scent Studio Co-founded by IU Alum Erica Anderson FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Brooklyn, NY — The IU Angel Network, an investment vehicle of IU Ventures, is proud to announce an investment of $90,000 in The New Savant, a modern scent studio providing unique olfactory experiences inspired by fresh takes on familiar scents and new innovative scent combinations. The New Savant, co-founded by IU alum Erica Anderson and their business partner Ingrid Nilsen, currently sells candles made by hand, using small-batch artisan techniques and high-quality ingredients from a 500-square-foot studio in Brooklyn, NY. The idea for the business came in 2020, during the depths of the pandemic, when Anderson and Ingrid visited Anderson’s dad in Valparaiso, Indiana. While there Nilsen made her first candle—and then spent the next few months perfecting the recipe. Their first collection sold out instantly in December 2020. “My co-founder had just retired from more than 10 years on her YouTube channel, where she had been a pioneer of the platform and had amassed a community of millions—but she always knew she would quit and 2020 gave her that opportunity.” Anderson explained. “She saw a candle on my dad’s coffee table and asked ‘I wonder how you make that’ which led to a trip to the store to procure her first supplies. Our product resonates with people who are curious for new scent experiences that speak to their lived experiences. Since the company’s launch, The New Savant has made and sold nearly 100,000 candles. Anderson explained that the fragrance industry is a massive market financially ($44 billion a year, globally) but also in terms of cultural significance. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e8hKsZQw Jason Whitney, Emily Atkinson, PhD, Erica Anderson, Ingrid Nilsen

Hoosier entrepreneurs are winning globally. Congratulations to David Wong and the team at Deemples

Next up in the IU Ventures studio is IU student Matt Gacek. Matt is a first-generation entrepreneur and a junior at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. As a sophomore, Gacek created Theia, an AI-driven therapy and personal growth app designed to encourage men and marginalized groups to seek mental health and self-care treatment. In August 2023, just three months later, Matt sold the app to Miri, a San Francisco-based AI-driven health and wellness platform. The IU Founders and Funders Network Fireside Chat series is sponsored by the award winning Kelley Direct Online MBA. Get started at kelley.iu.edu. Register Now: https://lnkd.in/gBH7_X-r

Thanks to the Allison Winstel and the team at mHUB for hosting IU Ventures and the Indiana University Alumni Association for our "IU Alumni in Chicago Innovating in Food" event. The event was in conjunction with World Business Chicago. Our event featured IU alumni panelists Disha Gulati of Here Here Market, Lenny Lebovich, and Akua Donkor of KABI CHOCOLATE and Ryan Dammeyer of Bridge Bank as moderator. Thanks to our speakers and all event attendees! Go Hoosiers!