Colorado State University Research Foundation

This collaboration between Colorado State University (CSU) and the Colorado State Research Foundation (CSURF) intends to build sustainable, growth-oriented startups from CSU research. The Lab-to-Life (L2L) program was established in early 2022 to de-risk and improve outcomes of high-potential CSU startups by providing an executive team and staff for 24 months to manage key build and launch decisions. This approach will support commercialization of research-based technologies by providing a team to lead and help carry the load, rather than training the inventor to do it all themselves, which is a reason many innovations fail to make it to market.

L2L leverages the skills of experienced startup executives and Executives-in-Training (EITs) to transform intellectual property into startups over the two-year period. L2L is unique in that it targets top faculty inventors who are unable or unwilling to make the significant time commitment required to become CEO and run a company. Instead, L2L deploys its own personnel to transform research discoveries into fundable startups with 24 months of hands-on incubation, transitioning lab-based ideas into funded, independent operations with hired management teams. L2L seeks to supplement, not compete with, existing entrepreneurship programs.