“Keep learning. Learn how to problem solve and then keep learning new skills.”
For Laura Strong, those words have guided a career that spanned science, entrepreneurship, and investment. From launching startups to supporting Wisconsin founders through investing, Laura has spent more than two decades helping entrepreneurs transform ideas into sustainable companies. Now, she is bringing that experience back to the University of Wisconsin-Madison as one of the newest Advisory Board members.
Laura is the founder and CEO of Valency Fund, a nonprofit investment fund designed to address a critical financing gap for Wisconsin startups. This organization supports promising early-stage companies that often fall into a difficult middle ground: too risky for traditional bank loans, yet not the right fit for venture capital firms seeking rapid and massive returns.
“I really enjoy helping an entrepreneur figure out how to take their vision and turn it into something sustainable”
Valency Fund focuses on scalable companies in agribusiness, advanced manufacturing, and technology. As a nonprofit, the organization operates differently from traditional investment firms, allowing it to provide structured funding that is tailored to what the founders actually need.
“We are able to do that in a much more flexible way,” Laura says, “Our donors do not get their capital back.”
Laura’s path into entrepreneurship was anything but conventional. Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, she came to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to pursue a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry after earning her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Richmond.
Although Laura initially envisioned a career strictly in science, entrepreneurship became a natural extension of the problem-solving skills she had developed through her years of research. After completing her Ph.D. in 2000, she immediately entered the startup world and has spent the last 26 years helping build companies across the Wisconsin entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Like many entrepreneurs, Laura has faced significant challenges and setbacks in her career. She reflected on the closure of her first startup, a cancer drug development company that advanced through a Phase I clinical trial before shutting down after failing to secure funding. “It was a very challenging end,” she said. “We had a great team who had really done a lot with a little.” Despite those challenges, Laura remains deeply optimistic about innovation, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning.
Now, Laura is eager to bring her experiences to students through her involvement in the Weinert Center. She mentions, “I think having people who have done these things before is a key part of helping students learn from our experience.”
For Laura, returning back to UW is especially meaningful because of the foundation the university has provided her.
“I feel like UW-Madison gave me such a rich education that then was a platform for me to do so many different and wonderful things.”
Laura’s career reflects a consistent commitment to bridging ideas, innovation, and impact, whether in the lab, the startup world, or through nonprofit investing. That perspective, shaped by both successes and setbacks, gives her a well-rounded lens on what it takes to build and sustain new ventures. As she joins the Advisory Board, Laura brings not only experience, but a clear dedication to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs at UW-Madison.
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