Community Resources

Getting started can be daunting. The Industry, Innovation, and Translation (IIT) team is here to help you on your journey. There are many great resources locally and regionally to help you start strong. 

Startup Curricula

Launch Oregon
Launch Oregon helps UO innovators turn ideas into commercially viable startups by connecting innovators with investors, partners, and other resources. Together, IIT and Launch Oregon equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge and networks needed to develop strong ventures.
Steve Bland Startup Tools
Steve Blank Startup Tools: Renowned entrepreneur and instructor Steve Blank provides numerous startup tools, videos, and blogs with advice.
Udacity: How to Build a Startup
Udacity: How to Build a Startup: With Steve Blank as the instructor, this free online and self-paced course provides insight into key steps needed to build a successful startup.
UO Libraries
UO Libraries Databases: The UO subscribes to many databases that can provide essential information for conducting business research on companies, industries, and markets.
Eugene Chamber of Commerce
Eugene Chamber of Commerce offers economic development programs, business advocacy, and talent and leadership development. They also host events and programming designed to support local businesses. 

Mentoring

UO Innovation Initiative
UO Innovation Initiative: The UO Innovation Initiative fosters a community of partners and serves as a hub of resources and activities. The initiative bolsters research commercialization, enhances entrepreneurship in Oregon, and propels the work of students, faculty, and staff into the world.
Provost's Mentoring Initiative
Provost's Mentoring Initiative: This initiative bundles mentoring resources for programs across campus.
NSF I-Corps Method
NSF I-Corps Method: NSF I-Corps Method trains faculty, researchers, and students in commercializing university research, while building the connective tissue for deeper, more impactful public-private networks. Through free online classes offered monthly, teams learn the basics of customer discovery and apply them immediately to “get out of the building” and interview 15 potential customers. Eligible teams may then apply to the National I-Corps program that includes a $50,000 grant for customer discovery activities.
UO Innovation Initiative Listserv
UO Innovation Initiative Listserv: The UO Innovation Initiative hosts a number of events across campus for faculty and entrepreneurs. Join the mailing list or attend an upcoming event. 

Business Consultants

Oregon Consulting Group
Oregon Consulting Group: This student-run consulting agency offers research, analysis, insights, strategies, and business plans at a fraction of the cost of a traditional consultant. div
Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship
Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship: LCE trains the next generation of entrepreneurs by combining a solid foundation of business theory with experiential learning. These students can work with university startups to provide market analysis and business strategy support. 

Accelerators and Incubators 

Eugene-Springfield Area
  • Onward Eugene: Onward Eugene is a community organization supporting prosperity for all through their programs that advocate for and support entrepreneurship and local businesses in the Eugene community. They offer business programs, mentoring, and leadership development.
  • Oregon RAIN: Oregon RAIN partners with communities to catalyze ecosystems, connect entrepreneurs to resources, and contribute to the creation of prosperous economics. Oregon RAIN offers training programs and mentoring for entrepreneurs.
Oregon and Pacific Northwest Region
  • Creative Destruction Lab-Vancouver: CDL-Vancouver is an objective-based mentorship program that supports participating ventures in accelerating their trajectory as they work to scale ambitious tech-based businesses. Over a period of nine months, participating ventures attend five full-day sessions during which CDL Mentors—a collective of leading entrepreneurs, experienced operators and subject matter experts—help to set three objectives for ventures to prioritize during the following eight weeks. 
  • Creative Destruction Lab-Seattle: CDL-Seattle is located at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. For more than 100 years, Foster has fueled Seattle’s renowned innovation, imagination, and ingenuity. Foster faculty and students nurture rich partnerships with Seattle’s many iconic companies, driving our pioneering community forward.
  • Portland Incubator Experience: Portland Incubator Experiment—known more commonly as PIE—has become an ongoing experiment designed to enable established organizations (corporations, government, and educational institutions, among others) to more effectively collaborate with startup communities in mutually beneficial ways. Throughout its history, PIE has served as a curated co-working space, a community event space, a startup accelerator, a flashpoint for corporate innovation, an accelerator for accelerators, and a home-away-from-home for startup types.
  • Oregon Business and Industry: OBI is recognized statewide as a leader in policy development, and our entire team works tirelessly to ensure our members’ voices are heard in important policy discussions that will impact Oregon businesses. 

Funding

University of Oregon
  • Translational Opportunity Fund: The Translational Opportunity Fund grant program provides funds to UO innovators for services, tools, and other resources needed to successfully translate their research and launch new research-based startup companies. The three funding tiers of the program align with different stages in the innovation and company spinout trajectory. To support economic development that is more fully equitable, the Translational Opportunity Fund particularly seeks applications from individuals that come from populations that are historically underrepresented in translational research and research-based entrepreneurship.
Eugene-Springfield Community
  • Business Growth Loans: Business Growth Loans are accessible for new and existing businesses and nonprofits in Eugene through the federal Community Development Block Grant program. This fund was established to create jobs while stimulating private sector investment. These loans help organizations grow, evolve, or stabilize by addressing credit barriers and providing flexible financing options.
  • Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI): ONAMI has shepherded technological breakthroughs from the lab to the marketplace. They offer numerous events and early-stage investment opportunities.
State
Federal
Angel Organizations
  • Oregon Entrepreneurship Network: OEN helps entrepreneurs start up and scale up by connecting them to peers and mentors, startup funding opportunities, and hands-on training. 
  • Chemical Angels Network: The Chemical Angel Network serves the qualified angel investor by sourcing and presenting quality investment opportunities. Its mission is to provide financial capital and experienced mentorship to seed-stage chemical companies. 
Venture Capital
  • Portland Seed Fund: The Portland Seed Fund is a top-performing early-stage venture fund focused on investments in Portland the Pacific Northwest. 
  • Rogue Venture Partners: Rogue Venture Partners provides early-stage funding for technology companies. 
  • Cascade Investment Fund: The Cascade Investment Fund focuses on direct equity investments in sectors with long-term growth prospects. 
  • Elevate Capital: Elevate Capital offers seed funding for entrepreneurs. 
  • Oregon Venture Fund: The Oregon Venture Fund connects ambitious entrepreneurs with expertise and capital. They invest between $500,000 and $4 million in four to seven companies annually.
  • Voyager Capital: Voyager has more than $520 million under management in B2B, early-stage venture capital. They focus on software, cloud, and big data applications. 

Co-Working Spaces in Eugene-Springfield

CodeChops
CodeChops: CodeChops provides co-working spaces in downtown Eugene. 
CodeChops
Eugene Mindworks: Co-working spaces with membership and events.
Oregon Technology Business Center
Oregon Technology Business Center: OTBC helps entrepreneurs and startups build and grow companies. They provide mentoring, training, and work space.

Technical Services

Shared Research Facilities at the UO Available to Companies
  • Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon: The Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon (CAMCOR) is a full service, comprehensive materials characterization center at the University of Oregon. The facility is home to capital-intensive equipment for microanalysis, surface analysis, electron microscopy, semiconductor device fabrication, and traditional chemical characterization. Run by dedicated and highly trained experts, CAMCOR can provide technical and professional expertise to solve materials characterization problems and meet deadlines for UO staff and faculty or external industry clients.
  • Genomics and Cell Characterization Facility: GC3F supports scientific research at the UO by making a broad array of high-end specialized instrumentation access to UO researchers for genomics and flow cytometry applications. The facility offers in-house sequencing sample prep services for both internal and external users.
  • Research Core Business Services: Research Core Business Services provides financial data and business support to research service centers. 
  • Technical Services Administration: UO Technical Services Administration designs and repairs scientific instruments. 
Shared Research Facilities at other Oregon Universities Available to Companies
  • Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Institute: ATAMI, at Oregon State University, connects industry and high-growth technology and manufacturing startups with OSU resources. They offer access to world-class faculty, facilities, and equipment. 

Compliance Resources

Conflict of Interest and Commitment Approvals