Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
"Booth taught me how to build the infrastructure around the solution of the problem I was solving and build a business around it."
Kevin Smith: 00:04
Our big idea is to create a casual, more enjoyable bicycle riding experience.
Chin-Chin Lin: 00:09
I want to make it easier for people to buy health insurance.
Conor Fernandez: 00:11
My big idea is to provide universal access to a high-quality and affordable video-editing service.
Aparna Misra: 00:17
Make sure that runners make it to the finish line.
Peter Christman: 00:19
Making electricity choice easier for people.
Steven Neil Kaplan: 00:22
The Polsky Center is the center for innovation and company creation at Chicago Booth and the University of Chicago.
Peter Christman: 00:30
Whether you come to Booth and you have an idea or you come to Booth and you say, "I want to join a startup team," or you come to Booth and say, "I just want to understand what customer development is, I want to understand what a lean startup is," they have different programming associated with each of those tracks. You have two years of what are relatively risk-free time and opportunity to just explore things that you might never have had the opportunity to do.
Waverly Deutsch: 00:54
We integrate the research world and the best practice and the cutting-edge theory on what makes entrepreneurs successful.
Steven Neil Kaplan: 01:04
So we can take an idea that a student has that's a good idea, and we throw mentorship, we throw frameworks, and we throw our networks in front of the students, and we can then take that idea and turn it into a business.
Waverly Deutsch: 01:19
The New Venture Challenge was born basically out of the demands of the students to have this opportunity to work on business ideas in a business school setting.
Aparna Misra: 01:29
Polsky really helps build a network at every sort of program that they offer. In the NVC, they connect you to all of these mentors that are specific to your business who are either entrepreneurs themselves or are high up at startups or even investors.
Waverly Deutsch: 01:43
The New Venture Challenge has launched over a hundred companies. I don't think you can measure the impact of that.
Matt Maloney, MS ’00, MBA ’10: 01:49
Booth taught me how to build the infrastructure around the solution of the problem I was solving and build a business around it.
Matt Maloney, MS ’00, MBA ’10: 01:57
Before the New Venture Challenge, I was an entrepreneur with a great idea. After the New Venture Challenge, I could go walk into any pitch room and speak to an investor about the unique economics of the model. How could it scale? How could we get new customers, and how are we going to generate a strong return on their investment? When I describe the Polsky Center to friends, I say it's unquestionably the best entrepreneurship program at the best business school, bar none.
Aparna Misra: 02:20
My next step is to go out to the West Coast and fund-raise for HighStride.
Kevin Smith: 02:23
Introduce Autobike to the world.
Conor Fernandez: 02:24
Grow my customer base.
Peter Christman: 02:26
My next step is to help Chicago become the city where entrepreneurs feel like they have to start.
Chin-Chin Lin: 02:31
My next step is to start fund-raising a seed round for Lumii Health. What's yours?