Even during a pandemic, investing in entrepreneurs and their startups matters

By Teri Willey, executive director of IU Ventures and fund manager of IU Philanthropic Venture Fund LLC

At IU Ventures, as we invest in and support IU-related startups and new ventures, we have been asking ourselves: Is what we are doing important? Is it important enough?

We are reading and hearing that small companies and the entrepreneurs who drive them will be critical to the post-pandemic recovery. Development of health care technologies, therapies, devices and diagnostics — COVID-19-specific or not — are and will continue to be critical to public health.

So we continue to intently support emerging science and technology entrepreneurs, founders and our portfolio companies, realizing that maybe what we are doing matters more than ever.

Other individuals and organizations in Indiana also continue to support entrepreneurs and their startups. Please join me for a discussion about this with representatives from Frazier Healthcare Partners, Avenue Capital Group and BioCrossroads at noon EDT on June 4 for the webinar Investing in Life Science and the Future of Health Tech.