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New Mind the Gap 2022 Report is Must-Have Tool for Research Institution Gap Funding and Accelerator Programs

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- It's no secret that gap fund and accelerator programs are critical for assessing, funding and developing early-stage technologies and startups, but how are research universities and support programs making it happen? What's working? What's not? The just released Mind the Gap 2022 answers these questions and more. Jacob Johnson, founder, innovosource and the author of the report, supports research institutions, corporate innovation teams and venture investors by bringing it all together in one place.

The Mind the Gap 2022 Report is a roadmap and stakeholder support document for leaders - whether new to the field or experienced - who want to enrich existing or develop new gap fund programs. It provides operational benchmarks and surefire strategies for success.

"We need to ensure that there's an answer to the shortage of early-stage development capital and commercialization development support because without it, many promising technologies and startups will stall or struggle to develop, which is not a path towards the future," Johnson says. "And, despite global financial, economic, political, environmental and social volatility, research institutions continue to respond through the creative and sophisticated evolution of gap fund and accelerator programs to demonstrate their importance to innovation and society."

The Mind the Gap 2022 Report is based on 15 years of experience and data and includes 176 different gap funds affiliated with 97 research institutions. It's basically the life cycle of a gap fund and reviews everything from how to identify the gap and define gap funding to structuring the gap fund, managing the process and understanding its overarching impact on the innovation ecosystem.

Information in the report includes:

* A detailed assessment of traditional and emerging forms of early-stage capital showcases where gap funding fits in;

* Actionable strategies for raising and initiating funds and plans for sustainability based on a full review of current funding sources;

* Illustrations of specific impact and results of gap funding, including financial returns, process indicators, economic development measures and community engagement metrics;

* A design framework for a full four-step gap funding process from promotion to funding selection and evaluation to management and oversight; and

* Highlights of innovative support programs that are associated with gap funds that build an innovative community of students, faculty and mentors.

The gap funds detailed in the report have collectively been the catalyst for:

* $625M invested into reported 7,370 university tech and formational startups;

* $8B+ in follow-on capital attracted from government, corporate, angel capital and venture firms; and

* Commercialization achieved through 1,569 spinouts and 992 technologies licensed to high-tech companies.

Smart companies and investors are taking notice and making it a strategic, external innovation and investment priority to partner (or start their own) gap fund and accelerator programs for applied research, proof of concept projects, corporate venture investments and advisory/mentorship. In return, they can expect improved insights, competitive positioning and access to future technology and startups.

A summary report (free of charge) and full report is available at: https://www.innovosource.com/mind-the-gap. Special release pricing for the full report includes multiple package offerings.

About innovosource:

Over the past 15 years, innovosource (https://www.innovosource.com/) has worked with and supported hundreds of gap funding programs around the world. By partnering with research institutions and affiliates, innovosource informs, connects, and advocates for technology and startup gap funding and accelerator support programs.

Related link: https://www.innovosource.com/

This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network - all rights reserved. ID:NEO2022

Business, Education and Schools, Free News Articles, Funding and Investment, Regional Events

COVERGENCE – the research institution tech and startup gap fund and startup accelerator summit

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- COVERGENCE, co-hosted by innovosource and the University of Utah's PIVOT Center, is in its fifth annual year. This year it will be held from Oct. 20-21 at the University of Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium Club. With more than 60 university gap fund/accelerator programs (GAP) and potential commercial and investment partners, this dynamic event will serve as the platform for best practice discussions, GAP program and portfolio reviews, and commercial and investment partnering.

For more than 17 years, Jacob Johnson, innovosource founder, has worked to bridge the gap between researchers, investors and corporations. He's launched initiatives and supported programs like gap funds and accelerator programs (GAP), that advance promising research institution technology and startups from the lab to corporate collaboration and outside investment.

Seventy percent of COVERGENCE participants represent leaders of research institution-managed proof of concept, startup accelerator, and venture gap fund programs with the remainder of representatives coming from corporate innovation and venture firms.

"COVERGENCE brings all these important entities together in one place," Johnson says. "There are multiple opportunities to learn from and share with fellow GAP program leaders, and showcase your portfolio and opportunities to potential commercial and investment partners."

Research institutions will get to experience direct relationship building with other executive GAP program leaders and portfolio managers, leveraging $88 B+ in research funding per year. They'll also get to meet with corporate innovation teams and investors who can help to bridge university gap funding (proof of concept, startup, venture), or what is often to referred to as the "valley of death."

What exactly is the valley of death? It's the gap between the lab research and the marketplace where early-stage capital and technology/startup development support is lacking. This "gap" extends from where funding of basic research ends to where existing technology-driven companies or investors are willing to accept the risk to commercialize or invest in the technology or startup. The negative result is that a large portion of economic creation and commercial potential is left unrealized.

This shortage of early-stage development capital and support is a serious threat to future innovation and associated societal benefits. So, to address this challenge, research institutions and partners have led in the creation of technology and startup gap funding and accelerator support programs as a capital and innovation support mechanism. These programs are uniquely positioned to address critical elements of technology development and startup formation from research institutions.

innovosource's most recent landscape report reveals that 176 gap-fund and accelerator programs from 97 universities included in our GAP community have:

* invested $665MM of their internal funds into more than 1,500 startups and 1,000 corporate-licensed technologies;

* realized $8B+ in direct follow-on investment from corporations, investors, and public funds

* originated 90 percent of opportunities from institutions outside of Boston, New York, and Silicon Valley; and

* supported a diverse portfolio of applications in biopharma and medical devices, software and apps and food, agriculture and energy.

From partner panels and investor focus groups to happy hour mixers and fund/accelerator program and portfolio briefs this event is designed to be exclusively intimate, capping registrants at 150.

COVERGENCE is designed to be an intimate event that helps to maximize relationship building and knowledge exchange. Attendees will have ample time to meet each other and provide a basis to carry those relationships forward long after the Summit ends. There's a huge opportunity for collaboration and partnership to help university-founded startups scale their programs and tech/startup assets.

Some past participants said:

* "COVERGENCE was a great conference to learn more about the complexities of gap funding at universities, from grants to venture. Great topics, networking, and even a little bit of fun thrown in."

* "This was a great opportunity for a small program like ours to compare notes with more established, larger programs to compare best practices."

* "COVERGENCE was worth the intercontinental travel. With a high concentration of experts, entrepreneurs and investors, it really was an eye-opening experience."

And, the benefits to COVERGENCE research institutions can actually start before the Summit begins. How? Research Institutions can apply to provide a GAP program/portfolio brief at the Summit and more broadly submit to COVERGENCE GAP opportunity platform for review and feedback from corporate/investor participants before, during, and after event.

At the event, university participants will receive core GAP best practice discussions, as well as corporate/investor/and innovation ecosystem panels. Limited opportunity also exists for institutions to join a side-track to provide GAP program and portfolio reviews to participating corporations and investors.

Cost for research institutions to attend COVERGENCE 2022 is $399 and that includes registration and access to the pre-event partnering site and submission to the opportunity database. For more information and to register, visit: https://www.innovosource.com/covergence-2022.

About innovosource:

Over the past 15 years, innovosource (https://www.innovosource.com/) has worked with and supported hundreds of gap funding programs around the world. By partnering with research institutions and affiliates, innovosource informs, connects, and advocates for technology and startup gap funding and accelerator support programs.

Related link: https://www.innovosource.com/

This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network - all rights reserved. ID:NEO2022

Business, Education and Schools, Free News Articles, Funding and Investment, Regional Events

innovosource summit to connect early-stage investors with university-managed tech and startup funds and accelerator programs

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- innovosource will host its fifth annual COVERGENCE Summit from Oct. 20-21, 2022, at the University of Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium Club. The event gathers more than 60 university gap fund/accelerator programs (GAP) and potential commercial and investment partners to discuss best practices and review portfolios and investable projects and startups.

Jacob Johnson, innovosource founder, works to bridge the gap between researchers, investors and corporations and says that there is a real opportunity to address the lack of early-stage capital and innovation development support through strong university GAP fund and investor partnerships

"These summits serve as the meeting place to introduce investors to GAP program leaders and their pipelines of promising technologies and startups. By aligning with these programs, investors will see high-potential opportunities that have already gone through significant de-risking and validation. They are at the place where they are seeking investment and commercial partners to take the technologies and startups to market," he says.

Interested investors will benefit in multiple ways. They'll gain inside access to a wide array of investable tech/startups coming out of these gap-fund and accelerator programs and will get to experience direct relationship building with executive program leaders and portfolio managers, leveraging $88 B+ in research funding per year. Investors will also gain insights into emerging technology advances and themes while learning how to finesse early-stage investment strategies for programs that produce a high-rate of investable and ready-to-commercialize technologies and startups.

Universities and hospitals are leading through the implementation of university gap funding (proof of concept, startup, venture) and accelerator programs to bridge this "valley of death." Over the past 15 years, these programs have evolved into sophisticated investment, evaluation, development, and commercialization support mechanisms to nurture the most promising opportunities in emerging, high-growth technology areas.

Smart companies and investors are taking notice and making it a strategic, external innovation priority to partner with these gap fund and accelerator programs through applied research, proof of concept projects, seed and venture investments, and advisory/mentorship in return for insights, competitive positioning, and access to future technology and startups.

innovource's most recent landscape report reveals that 176 gap-fund and accelerator programs from 97 universities have:

* invested $665MM of their internal funds into more than 1,500 startups and 1,000 corporate-licensed technologies;

* realized $8B+ in direct follow-on investment from PE, family offices, and angels

* originated 90 percent of opportunities from institutions outside of Boston, New York, and Silicon Valley; and

* supported a diverse portfolio of applications in biopharma and medical devices, software and apps and food, agriculture and energy.

From partner panels and investor focus groups to happy hour mixers and fund/accelerator program and portfolio briefs this event is designed to be exclusively intimate, capping registrants at 150.

"We keep events intimate to maximize relationship building and knowledge exchange. Attendees will have ample time to meet each other and provide a basis to carry those relationships forward long after COVERGENCE," Johnson says.

A former attendee said, "COVERGENCE offers insight into a niche industry that the corporate and investment worlds are neglecting. There is a huge opportunity for collaboration and partnership to help university-founded startups scale their businesses."

Cost for investors to attend COVERGENCE 2022 is $499 that includes registration and access to the pre-event partnering site and opportunity database.

For more information and to register, visit: https://www.innovosource.com/covergence-2022 .

About innovosource:

Over the past 15 years, innovosource (https://www.innovosource.com/) has worked with and supported hundreds of gap funding programs around the world. By partnering with research institutions and affiliates, innovosource informs, connects, and advocates for technology and startup gap funding and accelerator support programs.

Related link: https://www.innovosource.com/

This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network - all rights reserved. ID:NEO2022