While Friday the 13th might not be the date many organizations would choose to celebrate their 25th anniversary, September 13, 2024 turned out to be a VERY lucky one for the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship.
Planned months in advance, this milestone event was a unique opportunity to bring together a quarter of a century’s worth of faculty, staff, advisory board members and alumni of the Wisconsin School of Business’s signature entrepreneurship unit to celebrate its achievements, honor alumni success and share plans to build on a legacy of innovative learning and growth.
While the event began with a casual lunch where former classmates could connect, most of the 100+ attendees were there to enjoy the afternoon program which showcased the Center history, alumni success stories and a vision for the future.
First to the stage after a warm welcome from Weinert Center’s Goldberg Family Director Dan Olszewski, were three people who were key to the Center’s founding: Andy Policano, former WSB Dean, Bob Pricer, Center co-founder and Emeritus Professor, and Jim Weinert, a key supporter in helping the Center to take shape. The overarching theme of their animated discussion was that the pre-founding of the Center, especially from an academic perspective, was truly something revolutionary as entrepreneurship was not yet a mainstream focus in business education in the late ‘80s/early 1990s. Professor Pricer, highlighted the challenges and opportunities of that era, including the transition from a focus on small businesses to a much broader understanding of what an entrepreneurship education could entail. With a unique cross-disciplinary approach, the entrepreneurship program quickly gained momentum, offering students hands-on experience through real-world projects and business plan competitions.
A major turning point came in 1999 with the support of Jim Weinert, whose vision and initial investment gave rise to the program’s signature WAVE (Weinert Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship) class. This allowed students to engage deeply with local businesses and student startups, making investments and tracking their progress. It was a bold step that put the Weinert Center on the map, helping it become one of the leading programs in the country.
At this time, we also wanted to acknowledge the leadership and contributions of Bob Pricer. Rick Dabner, UW alum and Director of Federal Markets at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, came to the podium to announce that he, along with other alumni, helped establish a fund to support scholarships for business students that are studying entrepreneurship. This initiative honors Bob Pricer’s contributions to entrepreneurship and education at the Wisconsin School of Business. The scholarship fund has already raised commitments exceeding $100,000, showing the profound impact Bob’s mentorship has had on a generations of students.
Following the opportunity to better understand the Weinert Center’s history, the event showcased four Center alumni success stories. These narratives ranged from Tyler Kennedy’s development of Fetch Rewards as an undergraduate business student—a mobile platform that has grown to a $3 billion valuation with over 900 employees, to Marina Bloomer’s shift from an aerospace engineering career to founding Stellar Tech Girls, an initiative empowering girls and non-binary teens in STEM. The attendees also heard from serial entrepreneur Keith Streckenbach, founder of Pharmacy Stars, a quality management system which serves over 70 million patients in the US, as well as Faraz Choudhury, the co-founder and CEO of Immuto Scientific a biotech company spun out of UW-Madison which develops precision therapeutics in the oncology space.
The four alums conversed openly during the moderated panel discussion and were able to reflect on how their experiences with the Weinert Center, whether in class, in WAVE or in the Morgridge Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, allowed them the opportunity to work closely with faculty and other mentors enabling them to turn their ideas into thriving ventures.
Next, the program turned towards highlighting the Center’s impact on entrepreneurial education and its future direction. Dan Olszewski, Goldberg Family Director of the Weinert Center started this segment by introducing a recorded message from the Chancellor, who expressed pride in the center’s achievements and emphasized the importance of fostering entrepreneurship on campus. The Chancellor thanked Jim Weinert for his generosity, which made the center’s success possible.
Professor Martin Ganco, the Weinert Center’s academic director, outlined the center’s activities, emphasizing the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset for both aspiring entrepreneurs and those who would work in corporate environments. He highlighted new programs and courses introduced to support this vision, including corporate entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary collaborations. Dean Vallabh Sambamurthy spoke next, emphasizing the significant growth of the Wisconsin School of Business over the past five years, focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship, and experiential learning. He emphasized that the entrepreneurial spirit aligns with the school’s vision to help students build, grow, and take risks. He stressed the importance of creating a mindset where every student can think like an entrepreneur.
Professor Jon Eckhart, who co-chaired a campus-wide working group on entrepreneurship, discussed a broader approach to integrating entrepreneurial initiatives on campus. He explained the importance of aligning the center’s goals with the Wisconsin Idea—engaging with the state and beyond to translate university research and ideas into societal benefits. Jon emphasized a shift from traditional technology transfer to a more inclusive, founder-focused model that embraces diverse forms of entrepreneurship across disciplines.
Excitingly, this event also served as an opportunity for Jim Weinert to reflect on the center’s journey. He shared his pride in the growth of entrepreneurial education at the university and the impact it has had on students. Jim then presented the team with an incredibly generous gift in the form of a $2.5 million check made out to the Weinert Center. The gift will be aimed to further expand and enrich entrepreneurship education across the WSB and UW campus, particularly by increasing staff support, enhancing marketing efforts, and broadening undergraduate programming. This amazing announcement was met with incredible appreciation and enthusiasm from the attendees.
As the meeting adjourned, attendees and their guests were invited to the Fluno Center to continue the celebration with a reception and dinner.
This was truly a Friday the 13th to remember in the best “On Wisconsin” manner possible.
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