University of Hawai`i brings its nationally recognized startup accelerator in-house

Applications Sought for Spring 2020 Cohort

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Steve Auerbach, (808) 956-9751
Interim Dir., Office of Innovation and Commerce, Office of the VP for Research and Innovation
Eric R. Matsunaga, (808) 956-5588
Director, Research and Administrative Operations, Office of the VP for Research and Innovation
Posted: Nov 5, 2019

To further facilitate the commercialization of technology and innovation developed across its 10-campuses, the University of Hawai`i recently decided to internally house its nationally recognized startup accelerator and changed its name to the UH Ventures Accelerator.

The revamped program, under the UH Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, will be operated by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at UH Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business – already well-known for its successful stable of entrepreneurial programs including the UH Breakthrough Innovation Challenge, UH Venture Competition (formerly known as the UH Business Plan Competition) and the Summer Startup Launchpad.

The UH Ventures Accelerator will be open to new venture founders from among faculty, staff, students and alumni of UH and will draw not only from PACE’s programs, but also from the many other innovation and entrepreneurial programs across UH campuses system-wide. In order to be eligible to participate, applying ventures must be associated with any of the 10 university and community college campuses within the UH System. For example, at least one member of the founding team must be either a UH student, faculty member, staff or alumni, or a licensee of UH technology. Applications for Spring 2020 are now being accepted at: http://pace.shidler.hawaii.edu/accelerator.

“The name change to UH Ventures Accelerator reflects our desire to continually improve and expand our innovation ecosystem,” said Steve Auerbach, interim director of the UH Office of Innovation and Commercialization/Office of Technology Transfer. “By bringing our accelerator in-house, we now have PACE’s proven expertise and track record combined with their understanding and familiarity of UH that can take us to the next level in commercialization.”   

The UH Ventures Accelerator will run two cohorts in the spring and fall each year. The three-month long program will include extensive mentoring, education and networking to accelerate market readiness. Accepted cohort companies will be eligible for equity investment from UH Ventures, LLC and may be included in its portfolio of companies, which have received support and investment from UH since the accelerator was launched in 2014.

Running the UH Ventures Accelerator for UH will be Peter Rowan, executive director of PACE, who has participated in UH’s efforts to support and invest in UH-related technology and startup ventures directly through the vetting of applications, education and mentoring for the previous accelerator.

“In addition to the UH Ventures Accelerator, we also established the Liftoff Advisors program to help fill the gap between launching a startup and entering an accelerator,” said Rowan.  “As a result, the UH is now positioned to offer a complete suite of innovation and entrepreneurial programs from start to finish for our innovators and future entrepreneurs.”

About the UH Ventures Accelerator

The UH Ventures Accelerator, the University of Hawai'i’s nationally recognized startup accelerator, is now being run by PACE, the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship. The UH Ventures Accelerator is a system-wide resource that is open to faculty, staff and students across all 10 UH System campuses and those with a UH affiliation (e.g. alumni or licensee of UH technology).  Companies accepted into the UH Ventures Accelerator cohort will be eligible for equity investment from UH Ventures, LLC and may join the UH Ventures portfolio of companies that UH has been supporting and investing in since 2014.  http://pace.shidler.hawaii.edu/accelerator

About Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship

Founded in 2000 at the Shidler College of Business, the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) is the home for a set of experiential entrepreneurship programs at the University of Hawai‘i (UH). The Center’s 20+ programs offer mentorship, training and resources to all UH Mānoa students and faculty, and are designed to encourage entrepreneurial thinking across disciplines and inspire entrepreneurs to move their ideas from conceptualization to commercialization.  http://pace.shidler.hawaii.edu/

About the UH Office of Innovation and Commercialization/Office of Technology Transfer

The Office of Innovation and Commercialization (OIC) is responsible for the management of intellectual property and technology assets developed at all 10 campuses within the University of Hawai‘i and the transfer and translation of new technology to broader public use. The Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) and UH Ventures are housed within OIC. OIC also has oversight of the innovation and entrepreneurial (iE) programs across UH, including: UH Ventures Accelerator, Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE), iLab, the innovation playground at the center of UH Mānoa campus and the Mānoa Innovation Center (MIC) incubator.  www.hawaii.edu/research/oic/

About UH Ventures, LLC

During the 2017 legislative session, the Hawai‘i State Legislature passed Acts 38 and 39 that established the statutory framework to support renewed efforts by the University of Hawai‘i to contribute to the development of a vibrant innovation eco-system. As a result, UH created a limited liability company called UH Ventures LLC, to facilitate, promote and where appropriate, hold equity in start-up companies that form around UH-generated discoveries and inventions. Through UH Ventures, UH is working to identify strategic opportunities to creatively use its resources to promote innovation and commercialization in Hawai‘i.