Illinois
Entrepreneurship
What's Next
I'm new to entrepreneurship. Where should I start?
I understand the basics and am ready to dive deeper. What do you recommend?
I'm ready for expert help to take my startup to the next level
Should I worry about conflicts of interest?
I'm worried about someone taking my idea. Any advice?
What about funding?
What should I know as an international student?
How can I get involved in social & cultural entrepreneurship?
I have an idea that I'm working on while on campus. If I launch a company, will the University own part of it?
About
Startups
Resources
Events
Academics
Awards
Ecosystem at a Glance
News
News
UIUC Student Startups Win Big at College New Venture Challenge! - 3/1/2023
Enhance your career with the ILEE BS Dual Degree - 2/22/2023
UIUC Offers The Best Hands-On Learning Experience With TEC - 1/18/2023
The University of Illinois Offers a Thriving Entrepreneurship Ecosystem - 1/18/2023
Four University of Illinois Teams Selected For The 11th Annual College New Venture Challenge - 12/1/2022
Cozad Winners Named In Chicago Inno's Under 25 List - 10/11/2022
Illinois Entrepreneur Danny Gardner Wins ECE Young Alumni Achievement Award - 9/30/2022
Why The University Of Illinois Is A Top College For Entrepreneurs - 8/31/2022
Make Your Innovation Commercially Viable - 7/25/2022
Cozad 2021 Grand Prize Winning Team Raises $2M Seed Round - 5/31/2022
New Portable Testing System for COVID-19 Diagnosis Wins Campus-Wide Innovation Funding - 5/10/2022
Illinois Startup Sun King Raises $260 M to Increase Global Access to Clean Energy - 5/3/2022
Smart Battery Management System Startup Wins Cozad New Venture Challenge 2022 - 4/28/2022
6 Illinois Teams to Compete For Cozad New Venture Challenge Grand Prizes - 4/15/2022
Grainger Engineering Startup City Scholars Teams Secure $60K Total Investment in the 10th Annual College New Venture Challenge - 3/14/2022
Illinois Faculty Startup FastRadius goes Public on Nasdaq - 2/28/2022
Cozad New Venture Challenge: What's in it for you? - 12/20/2021
Illinois Startup Prenosis Wins $4.3M Contract From The U.S. Department of Defense - 11/22/2021
UIUC to co-lead $15M NSF I-Corps Great Lakes Innovation Hub - 8/25/2021
Novel Health Solutions Win Campus-Wide Innovation Funding - 4/16/2021
Efficient Battery Startup Natrion Wins Cozad New Venture Challenge 2021 - 4/15/2021
Campus-Wide Innovation Prize 2021 Finalists! - 4/5/2021
U of I Among The Top 10 Schools Graduating Funded Founders - 3/30/2021
NSF I-Corps Team Makes Innovative Ocular Biopsy Kit to Improve Vision Outcomes - 3/24/2021
University of Illinois and UChicago Entrepreneurship Program Driving Student Entrepreneurs to Create Transformative Businesses - 3/15/2021
Make Your Idea a Reality with an Innovation LLC Microgrant - 3/2/2021
Illinois Entrepreneurs on Forbes 30 Under 30 List - 12/2/2020
Illinois Startup Greenlight Planet, Maker of Sun King Solar Lights, Raises $90M - 11/11/2020
Illinois Entrepreneur Danny Gardner, Founder & CEO of Mesh++, Listed Among Crain's Chicago 2020 - 11/11/2020
5 Reasons Why College is the Best Time to Launch Your Startup - 8/21/2020
7 Ways to Get Started with Entrepreneurship at TEC - 8/14/2020
Illinois Startup Serionix to Develop Face Masks Using its Air Filtration Technology - 5/9/2020
Grainger College of Engineering Student Launches Premium Sneaker Rental Venture - 5/8/2020
Grainger College of Engineering Team Introduces Illinois RapidAlarm - 4/23/2020
Two UI Students Receive Innovation Funding For Creating Significant Societal Impact - 4/6/2020
The Illinois Innovation Prize 2020 Finalists! - 3/27/2020
Startup Accelerator Program gener8tor Launching Two New AgTech Accelerators In Champaign - 3/2/2020
Commercialize Your Research with NSF I-Corps at Illinois - 2/13/2020
Entrepreneurship Checklist by Silicon Valley Entrepreneur, Samir Mitra - 2/5/2020
Illinois Alums Including 2019 IIP Winner and Five Cozad Participants Among The Forbes 30 Under 30 - 1/27/2020
IIP Provides Financial Boost To An Innovative Medical Device Startup - 11/13/2019
Cozad 2017 Finalist Optivolt Labs Wins $750,000 Award From The Air Force - 11/7/2019
Cast21: Disrupting the Orthopedic Casts Industry With Its Cast Alternative - 10/30/2019
Cozad 2012 Grand Prize Winner Serionix Helps NASA With Its Colorfil Technology - 10/18/2019
Cozad 2019 Grand Prize Winner Mechanodontics (Now BRIUS) Featured in The New York Times - 10/15/2019
Cozad and Illinois Innovation Prize Winner Psyonic Launches The First Commercially Available Bionic Hand - 9/25/2019
Five Things Illinois Startup Lightform Wants You to Know About Launching a Company! - 8/24/2019
Illinois Startup Optivolt Labs is Making Modular Solar Power a Reality - 8/22/2019
Homegrown Startup Filify 3D Is Making Innovation Sustainable - 8/11/2019
Illinois Startup Is Making $1.3T Construction Industry More Efficient With Actionable Insights - 7/16/2019
Illinois Ranked #4 among the Public U.S. Universities for Graduating the Most Funded Founders - 7/16/2019
Chicago Has Seen Meteoric Startup Growth in the Last 10 Years - 7/15/2019
Illinois Startup Reconstruct Among the 50 Hot Tech Companies Globally - 6/28/2019
Cozad 2019 Best Pitch Winner Featured in The News-Gazette - 6/25/2019
DeepWalk Research, Cozad Grand Prize 3rd Place Winner Featured in the News-Gazette - 6/19/2019
5 Reasons Why Chicago Has Everything Startup Founders Need - 6/16/2019
Illinois Startup Raises $7.7 Million - 5/28/2019
Cozad Finalist Danny Gardner Named in the 20s In Their 20s 2019 Crain Chicago List - 5/13/2019
Illinois Universities Are Producing More Startups Than Ever - 4/23/2019
Cozad New Venture Challenge 2019 Winner Featured in the Chicago Inno! - 4/22/2019
News-Gazette Wired In: Kendall Furbee, Founder of Cut to the Case - 4/15/2019
The Illinois Innovation Prize Winner Announced - 4/15/2019
Mechanodontics Takes Home the Cozad New Venture Challenge Grand Prize - 4/12/2019
Cozad New Venture Challenge 2019 Winner Featured in the News-Gazette! - 4/10/2019
2019 Innovation Celebration Winners Announced! - 4/1/2019
The Illinois Innovation Prize 2019 Finalists! - 3/27/2019
The Intellectual Property Clinic: A Powerful Tool Supporting Illinois Startups - 3/22/2019
Cut To The Case Leverages the Social Entrepreneurship Momentum - 3/7/2019
Gain Long Term Competitive Edge with Cozad New Venture Challenge - 2/11/2019
Cozad New Venture Challenge 2017 Winner Trala Raises $1.29 million in Seed Funding - 2/8/2019
Cozad 2017 winner Trala and Cozad Finalist Mesh++ are Built In Chicago's 50 Startups to Watch - 2/8/2019
How to not get stuck on just one startup idea! - 1/24/2019
Bootstrap Your Startup with the Illinois Innovation Prize - 1/16/2019
Family Struggle Leads to Creation of Startup Nouvo, a Smart Pacifier! - 11/27/2018
Community Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Support is Crucial for a Successful Startup - 11/19/2018
Mesh++ CEO/Founder and IIP Finalist Danny Gardner - 10/15/2018
Gabe Price of Earnest Earth - 10/15/2018
Ben Khachaturian: RingWing Founder & 2018 Cozad Best Pitch Winner - 10/11/2018
HexNest Founder and 2018 Cozad Finalist Mark Van den Avont - 10/11/2018
Jetson Robotics Co-Founder & 2018 Cozad Finalist Maxwell Feinberg - 10/11/2018
Nouvo CEO and Cozad Team Winner Amaury Saulsberry - 10/4/2018
PuStack Co-founder and Cozad Finalist Mrinaal Mittal - 10/3/2018
TEC Instructor and Entrepreneur Chris Harbourt - 10/3/2018
Stephanie Hein and MakerGirl (a 2015 Cozad Team) - 9/27/2018
FarmAfield founder/CEO & former Cozad participant, opens office in Research Park - 9/27/2018
Cozad New Venture Challenge Startup Leaders Among Chicago Inno's 25 Under 25 - 9/20/2018
4 Ways to Ace a Winning Startup Pitch - 9/10/2018
First ILEE graduates give program high marks for career enhancement - 5/9/2018
UI duo's startup gets spotlight in state group's seasonal report - 5/1/2018
News-Gazette Wired In: Ayush Kumar - 5/1/2018
Vitrix Health takes home Cozad grand prize - 4/30/2018
Finalists for Illinois Innovation Prize Announced - 4/23/2018
Cozad New Venture Challenge finals is April 25 - 4/20/2018
GrayMatters team developing sensor to detect concussions in bike riders/athletes - 4/9/2018
HexNest mat can improve cost, safety for athletes - 4/5/2018
Businesses, individuals feted at 13th annual Innovation Celebration - 3/30/2018
Inventing a Better Way: I-Corps Team Mammoth Trading Develops First Smart Water Market - 3/21/2018
Revamped Cozad Competition Producing Dividends - 3/14/2018
MechSE students attend Silicon Valley workshop - 2/28/2018
NSF I-Corps at Illinois helped teams raise $42 million - 12/5/2017
ILEE Dual Degree Presented at 2017 Frontiers in Education Conference - 12/1/2017
Student Startups Win Scholarships for Outstanding Pitches - 11/14/2017
Student Spotlight: Ann Rajan - 10/16/2017
Innovation, Leadership and Engineering Entrepreneurship (ILEE) Applications Open - 9/20/2017
Win $2000 for pitching in your pajamas! - 9/20/2017
Terry Cole Named Assistant Director of Academic Programs - 9/1/2017
ThinkChicago Immerses Students in Chicago Entrepreneurial Ecosystem - 8/10/2017
Congrats to Therapalz as the runnerup for InnovateHER! - 8/7/2017
Serionix Continues to Improve the Air We Breathe - 8/7/2017
Dibbs Eliminates Waste By Connecting Food to Consumers - 8/7/2017
Getting Personal with Cozad Sponsor Matt Cho - 8/7/2017
Videographers Needed! - 7/13/2017
Tovala Launches Smart Oven - 7/12/2017
Frye Wins 2017 Illinois Innovation Prize - 5/2/2017
2017 Cozad Winners Announced - 5/1/2017
Cozad Winners Hit Right Note with Judges - 4/28/2017
Trala, Autonomic Energy Systems Win UIUC's Cozad New Venture Competition - 4/28/2017
2017 Illinois Innovation Prize Finalists Announced - 4/19/2017
2017 Cozad Finalists Announced - 4/5/2017
University startups surge as Illinois students start more companies, land more funding - 3/9/2017
Andrew Singer named interim director of Siebel Center for Design - 3/7/2017
TEC is Hiring Interns for 2017-2018! - 3/2/2017
Congratulations to Cozad Teams Moving On to Next Round - 2/24/2017
Cast21 Raises $800,000 For Their Waterproof Breathable Cast - 1/13/2017
Therapalz Wins Saint Louis University Real Elevator Pitch Competition - 12/8/2016
How UIUC Is Seeding a Chicago Tech Network of Founders & Investors - 12/1/2016
$20,000 Illinois Innovation Prize Nominations Open - 11/22/2016
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Startups Dominate Ocean Exchange Competition - 11/16/2016
University Students from Across the Nation Explore Chicago's Innovation Eco-system - 11/3/2016
Wired In: Landon Frye - 10/17/2016
Urbana-Champaign to Kenya - 10/11/2016
TEC is looking for a TA for Spring 2017 - 10/11/2016
Wired In: Wendy Tam Cho - 10/10/2016
Wired In: Mani Golparvar - 10/4/2016
UI alumnus donates $25 million for campus Design Center - 10/4/2016
IBHE approves Innovation, Leadership and Engineering Entrepreneurship degree - 9/27/2016
Wired In: David Cohen - 9/26/2016
Wired In: Paul Couston - 9/19/2016
Universities Collaborate on Best Entrepreneurial Practices - 9/8/2016
Engineering at Illinois announces next class of Faculty Entrepreneurial Fellows - 8/31/2016
Students Dive Into Chicago's Growing Tech Scene - 8/11/2016
Cozad Winner Amber Agriculture CEO, Lucas Frye, Featured in News Gazette - 6/22/2016
Check out these TEC courses - ideal for Illinois Freshman! - 5/31/2016
Illinois entrepreneurship degree may be first in country - 5/26/2016
Illinois to Start Dual Degree in Engineering and Entrepreneurship - 5/26/2016
U. of I. College of Engineering to offer new innovation degree - 5/26/2016
For Thode and Rogers, FEF program paying early dividends - 5/6/2016
2016 Cozad New Venture Competition Winners Announced - 4/28/2016
2016 Illinois Innovation Prize Winner Announced - 4/28/2016
2016 Illinois Innovation Prize Finalists Announced - 4/22/2016
2016 Cozad New Venture Competition Finalists Announced - 4/8/2016
TEC Instructors Rank High on ICES - 3/7/2016
Congratulations to Cozad Teams Moving On to Next Round - 2/26/2016
Tips and Tricks for a Compelling Pitch - 2/18/2016
Food tech startup Tovala announces $500,000 in seed funding - 1/20/2016
2015 Illinois Innovation Prize Winner Pilots New BIOE Course - 1/6/2016
Field of 64 begins national collegiate startup tournament, hoping to go to South By Southwest for finals in March - 1/5/2016
Cast21 Rises to the Occasion at St. Louis University Real Elevator Pitch Competition - 12/10/2015
Tovala Seeking Videography Intern - 12/10/2015
Wired In: James Langer - 12/8/2015
University of Illinois Startup Teams to Make "Real Pitches on Real Elevators" this Weekend - 12/6/2015
University of Illinois to Host Nationwide Student Startup Madness Competition - 11/20/2015
Illinois Entrepreneurs: Catching up with Diagnostic Photonics - 11/20/2015
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receives National Science Foundation funding to open opportunities in science and technology entrepreneurship - 11/19/2015
AWARE Grant to Grant Participation in Entrepreneurship - 11/19/2015
5 Ways to Excel in the Cozad New Venture Competition - 11/16/2015
Universities collaborate to create Maestro - 11/6/2015
Y Combinator offers students chance to share ideas - 10/6/2015
The University of Illinois' Startup Ecosystem - 9/4/2015
Students Explore Chicago's Thriving Innovation Ecosystem through ThinkChicago:Lollapalooza - 8/26/2015
University's prosthetic researchers transition to a startup company - 8/24/2015
PSYONIC to Develop and Deploy Highly Advanced Prosthetic Hands Around the World - 8/4/2015
First class of Engineering Faculty Entrepreneurial Fellows announced - 8/4/2015
Midwest Universities Meet to Discuss Unique Challenges Faced in Engineering Entrepreneurship Programs - 7/23/2015
Innovation LLC receives National Residence Hall Honorary Community of the Year Award - 6/23/2015
An idea they'll flip for - 6/22/2015
Entrepreneurial Living-Learning Communities Gather in Gainesville for the Fourth Annual Roundtable - 6/15/2015
FOURTH ANNUAL ENTREPRENEURIAL LIVING-LEARNING COMMUNITY ROUNDTABLE TO TAKE PLACE IN GAINESVILLE - 6/3/2015
EscaWheel launches Kickstarter campaign for wheelchair lift technology - 6/1/2015
Translating Code into Language Learning—and Cozad Victory - 5/6/2015
$20,000 Illinois Innovation Prize Winner Announced - 4/29/2015
Corvae making wireless heart monitoring possible - 4/29/2015
$160,000 awarded in funding and prizes at the 2015 Cozad New Venture Competition - 4/29/2015
Language App (With A Social Twist) Wins Campus 1871 - 4/29/2015
$20,000 Illinois Innovation Prize Finalists Chosen - 4/22/2015
2015 CNVC Finalists Announced! - 4/12/2015
BreakfastBox Provides Your Personal Morning Cook - 4/8/2015
Illinois Students Developing Real-Time Concussion Detection System - 4/8/2015
Zondr Has Taken the Social Illini By Storm - 4/8/2015
FreeSkies Takes Rein of the Quadcopter - 4/8/2015
For FreeSkies, the Sky is Truly the Limit - 2/18/2015
Increasing Disease Diagnosis with BioAnalytics - 2/4/2015
Creating Campus Safety with Servabo - 2/2/2015
Silicon Valley Workshop 2015 - 1/30/2015
AVriculture and Tube Access Point win 2 spots at SLU's Real Elevator Pitch Competition - 12/12/2014
University of Illinois TEC, Regional Host for Student Startup Madness - 12/5/2014
Scanning the Field with AVriculture - 11/7/2014
Empowering Girls to Dream Big with Miss Possible - 11/7/2014
International Students and Entrepreneurship in the US - 10/6/2014
Top 3 things every entrepreneur needs to know about: SBIR Funding - 10/2/2014
Show More