{"id":238228,"date":"2025-11-20T10:23:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T15:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=238228"},"modified":"2025-11-20T10:24:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T15:24:17","slug":"technology-entrepreneurship-turning-research-into-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/11\/technology-entrepreneurship-turning-research-into-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Technology Entrepreneurship: Turning Research Into Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

UConn\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>John\u00a0Lof\u00a0Leadership Academy (JLLA)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Matthew & Margarethe\u00a0Mashikian\u00a0Innovation &\u202fEntrepreneurship Hub (eHub)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0jointly hosted an immersive, hands-on entrepreneurship event designed to help undergraduate and graduate students transform their research into\u00a0viable, user-centered innovations.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tech-EntrepreneurshipFeaturing a keynote address from tech entrepreneur and former Yale professor\u00a0Andreas Savvides and an interactive workshop led by\u00a0Leila\u00a0Daneshmandi,\u00a0an assistant professor at UConn\u00a0Engineering\u00a0and the director of the\u00a0eHub,\u00a0and\u00a0Duran Gonzalez,\u00a0a scientist at Encapsulate, a precision diagnostics company,\u00a0the event guided participants through the mindset, skills, and strategies needed to navigate the path from idea to\u00a0impact.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Entrepreneurship Hub\u2019s mission framed the entire afternoon: supporting UConn\u2019s technology community as they take ideas from early conceptualization to market-ready ventures.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Andreas Savvides giving a keynote presentation on entrepreneurship. (UConn Photo\/Sarah Redmond).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With this foundation, the program invited students to think beyond the lab\u2014positioning their research as the engine for potential startups that deliver measurable value for users, communities, and industries.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Savvides shared a\u00a0keynote titled,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cFive Lessons in Entrepreneurship,\u201d\u00a0which framed\u00a0<\/span>today\u2019s environment as an ideal moment to launch new ventures. He emphasized that scaling laws, shifting markets, and rapid technological change are creating unprecedented opportunities for innovators.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe skills needed to enter the workforce are changing,\u201d said Savvides, \u201cyou need to learn how to use AI effectively in your startup venture.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Savvides\u2019s\u00a0presentation focused on the following lessons:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • focus on application, not just innovation\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • balance innovation with packaging\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
      • go deep into your domain\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n
        • don\u2019t\u00a0fear failure,\u00a0use\u00a0it to build muscle\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            \n
          • choose strong advisors\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Some key takeaways were that entrepreneurs must examine how their solution is\u00a0applied\u00a0to real-world business problems,\u00a0emphasizing that\u00a0innovation is only as strong as the value it delivers. Academic research and commercialization move at different speeds and rely on different success metrics. Savvides urged students to consider the full market context,\u00a0while remembering that even the best technology needs to be packaged in a way that resonates with customers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            \"Students
            Students pitching their research projects during the entrepreneurship workshop. (UConn Photo\/Sarah Redmond).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

            Entrepreneurs need domain depth to\u00a0identify\u00a0pain points, navigate complexities, and build solutions that are\u00a0truly unique, Savvides said. He\u00a0reminded students that setbacks are inevitable, but they build resilience and clarity \u2013 critical traits when embarking on a startup endeavor. Finally, Savvides discussed the importance of choosing strong advisors\u00a0who will help\u00a0entrepreneurs\u00a0avoid common mistakes, structure operations, and\u00a0allocate\u00a0resources efficiently.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            Following the keynote, students\u00a0transitioned into a guided, experiential workshop led by\u00a0Daneshmandi\u00a0and\u00a0Gonzalez. The session centered\u00a0around helping participants turn their research projects into compelling, user-focused concepts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            \u201cWe designed this workshop to push students beyond their individual research ideas and into real-world thinking. Within an hour, they began shifting from research-driven mindsets to user-driven ones,\u201d said\u00a0Daneshmandi.\u00a0\u201cEntrepreneurship is collaborative by nature, and this workshop demonstrated how quickly ideas can grow when students engage with one another\u2019s perspectives.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            The students began by turning their research into clear, foundational\u00a0statements:\u00a0what is the problem? Why is the problem important? What is the solution? Why is the solution unique? Who is the user or customer?\u00a0How is the solution used?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            The\u00a0challenge\u00a0was to answer each question in only one sentence.\u00a0From there, students were asked to take a few minutes and create a 60-second pitch\u00a0about their product. Each student shared their pitch with the\u00a0group of people at their table, getting immediate peer feedback.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            The second\u00a0portion\u00a0of the workshop centered around the groups working together.\u00a0Each group had\u00a0to select one idea, or combine several, to develop further as a team. In groups of six, the students revisited the same questions from the first part of the workshop.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            Collaborative brainstorming encouraged students to think creatively, consider broader user perspectives, and refine their ideas towards greater feasibility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            \"Two
            UConn graduate students, Nicholas Nguyen and Adaeze Madauko, speaking during the entrepreneurship panel. (Contributed Photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

            The final group pitches were\u00a0voted on by a panel of guest judges based on clarity and value. Students were also able to vote\u00a0for their favorite concept.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            The event concluded with an\u00a0entrepreneur panel\u00a0featuring\u00a0Nicholas Nguyen and Adaeze\u00a0Madauko, two UConn graduate students who\u00a0founded their own companies.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            Nguyen and\u00a0Madauko\u00a0shared\u00a0insights from their\u00a0entrepreneurial\u00a0journeys and students had the opportunity to ask questions and learn about\u00a0building a company as a student. Several other topics were discussed, including\u00a0early-stage decision-making, pivoting, balancing risk, managing workload, and how to shape early ideas.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            The Entrepreneurship Hub\u2019s mission framed the entire afternoon: supporting UConn\u2019s technology community as they take ideas from early conceptualization to market-ready ventures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":238229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2646],"class_list":["post-238228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-26 17:32:35","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238228"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238273,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238228\/revisions\/238273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/238229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238228"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=238228"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=238228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}