WHO WE ARE

You will start the process by speaking with your New Idea Concierge. Idella will be your primary contact to prepare a competitive proposal, navigate the Lean Startup milestones and to identify resources along the way. She is also the Program Manager for the Ideadvance Seed Fund.

Ideadvance is housed in The Center for Technology Commercialization. There, a team of experienced professionals provides one-on-one assistance to early-stage technology businesses throughout Wisconsin. Center consultants have more than 60 years of combined experience and have collaborated in acquiring more than $100 million in federal and other funding for their clients. Ideadvance awardees also benefit from deep expertise within the WI Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC).

CTC and Ideadvance are supported by the University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). We are a part of the UW-Extension Division for Business and Entrepreneurship.

Idella Yamben, PhD

New Idea Concierge

Idella is the Business Development Consultant for the Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC). Her responsibilities include curriculum development and training for CTC’s Lean Startup seed funding programs, Ideadvance and SBIR...
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WHAT OUR AWARDEES SAY

A common error for a new business is that they do not do customer discovery and look at things analytically. I felt that the Lean Startup business plan gave us tools not just for this project, but any situation where you are trying to sell something. - Chris Jordan

There's all these questions that you think you have answers to, but you may not have the right answer to it. That's definitely where I'd recommend a program like Ideadvance; to challenge those assumptions and get your ideas on the right track. - Scott Vanderbeck