On Friday, Sept. 15, the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation hosted its second annual Venture Summit, a two-day event focused on the future of entrepreneurship and innovation at Michigan State University. Nearly 200 attendees gathered in East Lansing, including entrepreneurs and investors—alumni and current students.
“We’re proud of Venture Summit,” said Laurel Ofstein, faculty director of the Burgess Institute. “The event celebrates the entrepreneurial community and highlights student ventures. It’s also a chance for alumni to see how our programming has evolved, underlining the impact of their support.”
Held at the Eli Broad College of Business Minskoff Pavilion, participants listened to talks from Evan Dunbar, a ’15 Management and International Business alumnus, and Jillian Lorenz, a ’00 Mechanical Engineering graduate. Dunbar, Research Data Science Tech Lead for AI Infrastructure at Meta, discussed AI’s future relevance to startups. Lorenz and her co-founder of The Barre Code, Ariana
Chernin, led a workshop on founder wellness.
After the talks, attendees moved to the Entrepreneurship Lab to engage with student startup teams from the Burgess Institute’s Discovery and Launch programs. They also met leaders from campus student entrepreneurship organizations such as Women in Entrepreneurship, the Entrepreneurship Association, and the MBA Entrepreneurship Association.
Student-Made at Michigan State, a new collaboration between the Burgess Institute and Student-Made, made its debut at Venture Summit, showcasing student creators and the products they sell on the platform.
The day concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing student scholarship recipients. The Burgess Institute offers multiple scholarships to foster and recognize student excellence in entrepreneurship. Thirty-three students were honored, including recipients of the Adam M. Enfroy Scholarship for Digital Entrepreneurship, the Kaufman Family Endowment Scholarship for Entrepreneurial Studies, the James Ian Gray Scholarship in Entrepreneurial Studies, the Kelly A. Ford Technology Scholarship, the Mark F. Rieth Scholarship for Entrepreneurial Studies, the Schaberg Entrepreneurship Scholarship, the Simpson-Birkestrand Endowed Scholarship for Entrepreneurs, and the Vandervarro Student Entrepreneurship Scholarship.
“Our students are central to our mission,” said Christopher Sell, associate director of development. “The ceremony allows us to celebrate our students’ achievements and the generosity of our alumni.”
Today, the Burgess Institute’s programming boasts over 1,000 student participants. In fact, since 2016, Spartan venturers have raised over $160M in follow-on investment in their startup ideas. Each year, the Burgess Institute accommodates nearly 300 student teams who apply to the Burgess Institute’s Discovery program. Approximately 50 teams advance to the Launch program annually, gaining access to specialized services, mentoring, and funding opportunities. Fifteen of these teams eventually compete in the Burgess New Venture Challenge, Michigan State’s premier pitch competition.
Paul Jaques, managing director of venture creation for the Burgess Institute and a longtime supporter of the program, has witnessed countless standout student successes, like Brett Kopf, founder of the classroom app Remind, and Joe Johnson, founder of VADE Nutrition.
“Adopting an entrepreneurial mindset is about more than starting a venture,” Jaques said. “We know companies seek candidates with this mindset. Getting startup experience gives students a competitive edge as they launch their careers.”
Jaques added that student entrepreneurs who have tapped into this mindset are better problem-solvers and market analysts.
“Every day is different here,” said Jaques. “I enjoy seeing students evolve their ideas into ventures or careers.”
The Burgess Institute will continue to catalyze student collaboration and venture creation, looking ahead to further growth and impact.
“As we reflect as a team on Venture Summit, we are proud of the impact our programs have on the lives of our students. As we look to the future, we know Spartan entrepreneurs will run successful startups or will have fulfilling careers.”
Be the first one to see photos from Venture Summit 2023: From Grand River to Grand Futures on the Burgess Institute’s Flickr page. Interested in taking your first steps with the Burgess Institute? Apply to the Discovery program by clicking here, or attend one of our events and join the Spartan entrepreneurship and innovation community.