Your idea. Sharpened by the real world.
The Venture Pathway is the Lab’s structured track for students ready to activate an idea at the frontier of emerging technology. What makes it different: you’re never working in a vacuum. At every stage, your idea is pressure-tested against real industry context — through mentors who’ve built companies, alumni who’ve navigated the problems you’re facing, and industry partners who can turn a promising concept into a live pilot.
We specialize in early-stage. The messy, uncertain, high-potential space before a venture is fully formed. We help you move from curiosity to evidence, and from evidence to a venture worth pursuing.
You can move through the stages in sequence, or enter at the stage that matches where you are. Teams with equivalent experience can participate in Venture Build or Founder Lab.
All Venture Pathway teams have the option to showcase at Demo Night, the Lab’s bi-annual showcase and competition for student ventures, industry innovation, and research-to-market projects. Teams compete for a share of over $5,000 in prizes at each Demo Night.
Stage 1: Explore & Discover — Fall 2026
Activate your idea. Test it against what’s real.
This is where the work begins — and where you discover whether your idea holds up outside your own head. You bring the concept. We bring the context: industry mentors who surface relevant challenges, alumni who’ve built in your space, and a community of other students working at the frontier of emerging technology and real-world problems.
Track participants get access to mentors, structured frameworks, build resources, teammate connections, and direct engagement with industry and alumni advisors. The goal isn’t a finished product — it’s clarity on whether your idea is worth pursuing and what the next step should be.
Applications are open now and close at noon on September 29, 2026. Apply to Explore & Discover →
Stage 2: Venture Build — Fall 2026
From discovery to development.
Venture Build is where ideas and early prototypes evolve into credible venture opportunities. Teams enter with a clear problem and a validated idea or functional demo — and leave with market traction, proof points, and a compelling business case.
The real-world thread runs through every part of this program. Industry-connected mentors and alumni advisors bring live market context to your validation work. Wisconsin School of Business MBA collaborators — specialists in new product innovation — work over the semester to translate technical momentum into strategy.
Together, teams deepen market framing, strengthen value propositions, shape go-to-market strategy, and prepare for early adoption.
Who’s eligible: Teams with a prototype or proof-of-concept — the earlier-stage, the better, since it leaves the most room for mentor and MBA input to help shape direction.
Applications are open now and close at noon CT on September 29, 2026. Apply to Venture Build →
Founder Lab — January and May 2027
Invitation-only. Pilot your venture in the real world.
Founder Lab is the Lab’s most advanced pathway — a venture launchpad for founders ready to move beyond validation into live market testing. Here, industry partners don’t just advise — they partner with you to pilot your idea against real constraints, real users, and real feedback. This is not a class. It’s a test-and-learn build environment.
Founder Lab teams receive cohort support and structured sprints focused on piloting solutions, product-market fit, and go-to-market readiness.
Teams operate on a light founder cadence — peer feedback sessions and milestone check-ins throughout the program — culminating in a 2-day trip to San Francisco for ecosystem immersion, feedback from alumni founders, venture partners, and innovation leaders, and exposure to what comes next on the startup journey.
Who it’s for: Founders who have already built something — a prototype, MVP, or working concept — validated with real users and ready to test in live market conditions.
Founder Lab cohorts are largely selected from our existing Venture Pathway pool. If you’re not already in the pipeline but think you or someone you know is ready, let us know — this helps us keep an eye out for strong candidates as cohorts are formed.
Reach out or refer by noon CT on October 9, 2026.