University of Oregon's Launch Oregon promises big entrepreneurship opportunities

University of Oregon's new Launch Oregon, LCC is the first of its kind in the state, aimed at helping get startups off the ground. The program is seeking investors and donors to support the ideas of students and staff.

The nonprofit will take entrepreneurship opportunities to the next level, providing entrepreneurs access to capital and business talent, as announced in a news conference at the university.

Launch Oregon takes inspiration from other universities around the country, including Arizona State University's Startup Mill, University of California Los Angeles' Startup UCLA and Georgia Institute of Technology's CREATE-X Startup Launch.

Anshuman "AR" Razdan, UO's vice president for research and innovation, said he visited and spoke with several universities doing similar work, but they all had slightly different methods.

As a former computer science professor at UO, Razdan said a program like this will be transformative for getting projects off the ground.

He said when he tried to raise capital for his own projects, there was no support structure available and the first investment was the hardest to find. This effort, he said, changes that.

"Truly 'cradle-to-launch' we are here to hold hands, we are here to provide capital, we are here to bring that business and leadership talent," he said.

UO Interim President Patrick Phillips said many faculty have "struggled" to get projects, research, etc. going because of a lack of substantial university support or not knowing how to find that support. Phillips said he hopes this will change with Launch Oregon.

"(Our students) see what's going on in the world, they know the world is changing quickly, that they need to be agents of their own success," Phillips said. "If we're going to be an innovative university, we have to open the gates for innovation for those who are witness, that's faculty, graduate students, postdocs, undergrad, and staff as well."

Foundation funding and self-sustainability

The UO Foundation, the university's fundraising arm, is heavily involved in the project.

The Launch Oregon board is made up of five UO Foundation representatives and five UO faculty and administration representatives. Razdan is the board's co-chair alongside Paul Weinhold, the UO Foundation’s president and CEO.

"The board will ensure that the mission of Launch Oregon stays true to support the university discoveries turning into innovation, yet bring the wherewithal of venture capital and business and industry experience coming from the foundation," Razdan said.

The foundation is providing $3 million for the program, which will fund operations as well as an initial venture fund. Razdan said the hope is for Launch Oregon to transition into a fully self-sustaining program through donations by alumni, individual and institutional investors, and others.

Razdan said this involvement of the UO Foundation, an entity outside the university, sets Launch Oregon apart from other similar projects around the country.

According to Razdan, all the money that is made from any future companies that are established through Launch Oregon will return back to the founders, investors and the academic units that the company spawned from.

'Hub of innovation'

Launch Oregon's goal is to make an impact not only on the Eugene community, but society-wide.

Phillips said the university is still determining how exactly these impacts will look. He said he would like to see Eugene become a "hub of innovation" by expanding research and invention through new companies.

"It's not just about helping people make money or whatever, it's how do we keep this engine of progress going for the whole state so that we are the state that we want to become?" Phillips said. "I hope that that's what Eugene can be, one of those places that is a sparkly city of the future."

Razdan hopes more companies will lead to more UO graduates staying in Oregon. He said even if not all the startups are successful, the students and staff that get involved will hopefully go on to try other ventures and continue to seek out entrepreneur opportunities.

"When the new company is live, the students who have worked on the project may become employee number three, or employee number four," Razdan said. "That retains the talent. They'll create decent-paying jobs, well-paying jobs, and will be an economic boon to the state."

Next steps for program

In the next six to eight weeks, Launch Oregon aims to select a managing director, according to Razdan.

The pool for the search process closed Tuesday with interviews starting this month.

"We have a robust pool of candidates," Weinhold said in a statement. "Once a person has been identified, it will be somewhat dependent on their schedule to arrive at an actual start date."

Razdan said the team already has their eye on about 20 different ideas that could be brought into Launch Oregon.

"Definitely in the first six months we should be launching at least a couple of companies," Razdan said.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: UO's Launch Oregon promises big entrepreneurship opportunities