Venture Catalysts - a practical guide to starting a knowledge-intensive business

Are you a budding entrepreneur or researcher who wants to turn your ideas into a successful business? Whether you want to run a startup or commercialize your research, the Venture Catalysts program will be useful for you!

Our five-week training program, which was developed by UniLab with the support of LIAA in cooperation with RTU Riga Business School and RISEBA, provides both theoretical knowledge and practical tools to turn innovations into successful companies. From commercialization and intellectual property management to leadership learning and fundraising. This course will provide the foundations for building and growing a knowledge-intensive business.

What makes Venture Catalysts unique? Venture Catalysts focuses on creating a strong foundation for your business to be sustainable. This program provides more than just product development and market strategies (although those are important!). You will learn the critical elements for long-term success, such as effective team dynamics, intellectual property strategy and innovation management in an era of uncertainty and change.

For future entrepreneurs: Learn how to lead and build a dynamic team, evaluate the technological advantages of a product, attract financing and create a roadmap for the growth of your company. This program will give you the necessary tools and confidence to turn your idea into a real business.

For scientists: If you want to commercialize your research, Venture Catalysts will show you how to identify projects with commercial potential, apply innovation management principles, and effectively communicate the value of your inventions. At the end of the program, you will have a clear strategy on how to introduce your research to the market.

Diversity of thought, strong teams Success comes from collaboration. Venture Catalysts emphasizes the importance of diversity of thought in your team. Both scientists and entrepreneurs will learn how to leverage each other's strengths – combining scientific innovation with business expertise to drive success.

Key aspects of the course:

• Hands-on lessons to develop a commercialization roadmap specifically for your idea
• Strategies for dealing with uncertainty and managing the team growth process
• Separate modules for researchers and entrepreneurs to discuss and address the most pressing challenges for each group
• Practical experience in fundraising, intellectual property management and team building

Join Venture Catalysts and turn your innovation idea into a business!

Information about the program:

• Duration: 5 weeks
• Dates: 22 October - 22 October 2024 November (registration until 18.10.)
• Schedule: Join our online courses every Tuesday and Thursday from 17.00 to 19.00.
• Format: Combines interactive online classes with face-to-face learning and networking opportunities.
• Partners: UniLab, RTU Riga Business School, RISEBA, LIAA
• A wider program is available in Latvian here.