The Innovation Institute Pitt Ventures program provides opportunities for students to take their innovation from concept to the market. The Institute’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and network of business mentors guide these students as they develop business plans and determine the commercial value of their innovations. With the upcoming Pitt Ventures Student Challenges, the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence offered advice for students applying to the Michael G. Wells Student Healthcare Entrepreneurship Competitionand the Kuzneski Innovation Cup.
- Joe Marcanio Students can learn by OPM -other people’s mistakes- and take advantage of mentors to help them save a lot of time, money, and resources.”
- John Riley “Having a resilience and being able to adjust is crucial. It’s really about the mindset; students must realize they need to be persistent and not get stuck in a rut. Knowing what doesn’t work is just as important as knowing what does work.”
- Tony Torres ”In order to make life easier, we develop habits; not always good ones. Identify those habits and realize that they prevent us from doing things a different way. That’s the whole idea of thinking out of the box – realizing that you don’t know something and thinking of new ways of doing things. It’s important to be passionate and have a keen sense of interest in how things work.”
- Phil Brooks “Don’t just assume you know what the customers need, but actually go out and ask them. It can lead to teams making a pivot and changing their focus to new markets.
- Phil Marzolf “Understand that the value comes from making a particular person’s life better. If you’re unable to articulate that, you probably don’t have a good idea. Don’t get bogged down in technical explanations; the focus should be on the problem, not you.”
- Joe Marcanio “Be honest and transparent in the risks and really explaining how an innovation can help people.”
- Tony Torres “If you’re bright, committed, and willing to learn you can understand all aspects of your innovation. If you do so successfully, the higher the potential success since those gaps in understanding create barriers.”
- Phil Brooks “The mentors are there to help you make contacts, so reach out to talk to mentors inside and outside of the university. Also talk to people who have participated in the Innovation Institute’s programs and competitions to hear about their experience.”
- Lorenzo Soletti “Participate in as many challenges as you can! This opportunity isn’t for everyone. Now is your chance to get the experience.
- Greg Coticchia “Entrepreneurship is hands on, so the best way to do it is to experience it,”. “What better way to experience it in a relatively safe environment of a university with programs and competitions! There’s no down side. The upside to what you’ll learn, even if you fail, is enormous. After school, you may not want to take the risk, so take advantage of the opportunities you have at the university.”
Students have great opportunities to take advantage of the mentors and resources at the Innovation Institute and get entrepreneurial experience at the university. Applications for the Pitt Ventures Student Challenges applications are still open. The Michael G. Wells Competition offers $20,000 in awards for healthcare innovations. The Kuzneski Innovation Cup is a new competition this year for non-healthcare innovations, offering $10,000 in awards. Both competitions invite students to apply, pitch, network, build their resume, and have a chance at award money to move their innovation forward.
Apply here for your chance to put your idea into action and meet with the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence!