RPI Ventures is the heart of RPI’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. We help creators move from idea to product to revenue.
RPI Ventures offers a broad array of resources to support students and faculty in their entrepreneurial journey. These resources include technical and business support, formal and informal educational programs, a vast mentor network, and state-of-the-art facilities. RPI Ventures provides a two-step pathway to enable successful startup development: Phase 1 involves pre-venture support to assist budding entrepreneurs in achieving both technical and business milestones; Phase 2 represents true venture formation. Standard entrepreneurship programs declare success when a company is formed. RPI Ventures declares success when a company becomes successful.
A resource for all Rensselaer students, faculty, and staff, the entrepreneurship center guides, mentors, and coaches student- and faculty-based startups, connecting founders to resources and networks within and beyond the Rensselaer community.
The RPI BrainTrust is comprised of three parts:
- Venture Advisors: Experienced entrepreneurs with proven track records of building successful businesses who will provide regular startup coaching.
- Industry Experts: A roster of industry experts in areas like artificial intelligence and computing, biotechnology and medical devices, and energy and the built environment who can provide advice about navigating their sector.
- Professional Advisors: Partnerships with elite technical advisors experienced with early-stage ventures including attorneys and accountants who will provide free guidance on topics including corporate formation, venture capital fundraising, and IP law.
Many technologies developed at RPI — such as those in life sciences or new chips/devices — require substantial up-front investment to achieve proof-of-concept or to manufacture a working prototype. Moreover, business acuity is needed to understand whether a new venture is feasible. Such early-stage support will enable access to all RPI facilities, eliminate potential conflicts of interest, and enable go/no-go decisions to be made earlier.
RPI Ventures oversees new incubation spaces, leverages existing maker spaces, and hosts programs to highlight successes across RPI’s innovation community.
By launching The Bridge, an off-campus accelerator in Downtown Troy, NY, we are capitalizing on the entrepreneurial capabilities at RPI and the economic development assets in our community. RPI Ventures will also support innovators by directing them to available maker spaces including those on the Troy campus, the Tech Park, and the New York City Development Labs at the Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine (CEPM) and the Center for Architecture, Science, and Ecology (CASE).
Intellectual Property and Technology Licensing (IPTL) manages RPI’s vast intellectual property portfolio, licenses promising technologies, and supports the RPI community in protecting and commercializing IP.
Joshua Espinosa, J.D.
Assistant Vice President for RPI Ventures
espinj3@rpi.edu
518-276-6058
