Faculty Can Play a Vital Role in Innovation – Lessons from Colorado

March 8, 2021

The investment of faculty in developing or participating in a startup company is a holistic exercise, and it encompasses the ecosystem, the institution, and the investment opportunity. That was just one of the key takeaways from last month’s ICE Jam event.

As our final February event, Alaska Center ICE partnered with the Alaska Angel Conference to highlight the benefits of small personal investments across a university entrepreneurial environment.

Erick Mueller, an investor, entrepreneur, and University of Colorado Boulder faculty member, shared his tips on making startups part of a personal investment portfolio and discussed the benefits this would bring for the overall community.

Don't expect huge returns. Although some companies may in fact reap large rewards, what’s really worthwhile is to grow the ecosystem and to enjoy enabling and engaging with entrepreneurs — even by writing small $5k checks.

Growing our innovation ecosystem at UAF will require us to continue encouraging upper leadership to adopt this as a pillar of the institution and perhaps follow the lead of the University of Colorado, where all performance reviews include an innovation component.

Learn more about ICE Jam events https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaCenterICE.