Feel free to reach out with any other questions you may have to katie@varsityventurestudio.com
Varsity Venture Studio is a collaboration between the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and High Alpha Innovation and the first university venture studio of its kind.
A venture studio is an emerging model for entrepreneurship, combining dedicated startup capital and hands-on support in company building. Think of Varsity Venture Studio as a co-founder that brings startup experience, team and funding.
High Alpha Innovation (HAI) is a dedicated team of company-builders, strategists, and designers that apply a proven, disciplined playbook, pioneered by High Alpha, the world’s premier B2B software venture studio. High Alpha has conceived, launched, and scaled 25+ software startups out of its studio and invested in another 25+ software startups out of its Capital fund. Learn more about the venture studio model.
If your idea emerges from Sprint Week and is selected for funding, we will work together to determine the value of prior work and commitment to the new company. In general, the venture studio model splits equity among venture investors, the co-founding team, and the venture studio. Those who launch with a venture studio retain a minority share of equity in exchange for co-founding studio support.
If the idea addresses a big problem that could be solved by software or an app, then we want to hear from you. If you are not sure where an idea stands, we encourage you to submit it and our team will quickly assess a potential fit. We are especially interested in InsureTech, AgTech, Healthcare, and Supply Chain ideas, but welcome submissions addressing any field.
If your idea is selected to advance, the Varsity team may design a business model based on or around it, and from that model, it may be launched as a new company that creates and delivers value in the market. Those who submit advancing ideas are welcome to participate in the business design process, but it is not a requirement. While the studio will evaluate all advancing ideas, full studio support begins upon funded company launch -- typically within 30-90 days after Sprint Week.
