Entrepreneurship


Event Aims to Close Gender Gap for Entrepreneurs

Connecticut Post – After taking the stage Friday at the Crowne Plaza hotel, Kathryn Friedrich, YouTube’s head of global monetization, challenged her audience to question the stereotype of the entrepreneur.

Friedrich appeared as the keynote speaker at the Xcite conference, a new event organized by the University of Connecticut that aims to promote and support innovation and entrepreneurship among women in the business world.


‘The World Is …Brimming with Opportunities’

Sumit Kumar '17 MBA, one of 5 UConn graduate students who participated in a new summer program called The Verge Consulting Group. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Sumit Kumar ’17 MBA, one of five UConn graduate students who participated in a new summer program called The Verge Consulting Group. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Graduate Students Find Fulfillment in Assisting Startups; Business Owners Grateful for Helping Hand

Sumit Kumar, a second-year MBA student, couldn’t believe his good fortune.

This summer he was able to devise a market strategy for a growing beverage company and conduct market analysis and funding research for a biomedical-device manufacturer, both in Connecticut.Continue Reading


New Device Improves Measurement of Water Pollution

UConn Today – UConn researchers have developed a device that makes it easier to measure contaminant levels in water. With help from UConn’s National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program, Accelerate UConn, marine geochemist Penny Vlahos and graduate student Joe Warren are now well on their way to commercializing their technology.



New Product Seeks to Prevent Premature Labor

UConn Today – When Dr. Courtney Townsel sees an expectant mother with a rare, but serious condition called cervical insufficiency, she only has a few treatment options. Despite steady advances in how we treat mothers and their unborn babies during high-risk pregnancies, none of her options are ideal. In fact, the procedure most commonly performed to treat cervical insufficiency has remained largely the same since the 1950s.


Fund Provides UConn Business Startups Financial Support

UConn Today – The University of Connecticut in partnership with Connecticut Innovations (CI) and Webster Bank today announced it is establishing a $1.5 million UConn Innovation Fund that will provide early-stage financial support to new business startups affiliated with UConn.


Women’s entrepreneurship conference coming to Stamford

Westfair Online – The inaugural edition of Xcite, an entrepreneurship and innovation conference for women, will be held next month at the Crowne Plaza Stamford Hotel. The conference is being presented by the University of Connecticut School of Business and the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.



2016 iQ Winners

Elizabeth “Liz’’ Pouya, a rising senior majoring in physiology and neurobiology, who ultimately hopes to become a physician, presents her idea to prospective investors. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Elizabeth “Liz’’ Pouya, a rising senior majoring in physiology and neurobiology who ultimately hopes to become a physician, presents her idea to prospective investors. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

“I Was Surprised That Someone Hadn’t Invented This Yet”

UConn senior Stephen Hawes debuted as an entrepreneur several years ago, working diligently to perfect his first invention: a wrist-mounted, propane-driven flame thrower.

His parents worried that their son, a mechanical engineering student, would burn down their home.

But Hawes persisted, and brought his prototype to an engineering conference in New York City. There, he saw a company demonstrating artificial appendages for children missing fingers.Continue Reading