5 2016 annual report | nyu entrepreneurial institute at the nyu entrepreneurial institute, we help guide entrepreneurs through the rigorous experimentation needed to bring their innovations to market. whether or not their company proves viable enough to launch, they have learned skills increasingly essential in the american economy. we ourselves launched in 2010, when we started the innovation venture fund to help accelerate commercial- izing the university’s scientific and technological discoveries. to help companies develop sufficiently for funding, we brought in guest speakers, coached teams, and held skills-building workshops. we made our first investment in 2011. the next year, we founded the institute, a single hub for extracurric- ular entrepreneurial resources whose mandate was to reach students, faculty and researchers across all nyu schools and colleges. after all, the founders of companies started over the years by nyu alumni— bloomberg, etsy, southwest airlines, twitter, veritas, and charity: water, among others— had come from all disciplines. this makes sense. startups don’t start with an mba. they start with an insight into an opportunity that addresses a meaningful problem in people’s lives, and their development requires a multiplicity of talents and perspectives. in recent years, we have drawn generous charitable and foundation support that validates our work and propels our growth. thanks to mark and debra leslie, we have a (very cool) physical presence on washington square. funding from the blackstone charitable foundation expands our one-on-one coaching capacity, and national science foundation backing extends our reach into the sciences. i’m sure one of nyu’s earliest entre- preneurs, samuel f.b. morse—who developed the telegraph and morse code while a faculty member—would be proud of today’s entrepreneurs. we certainly are. and we are grateful to all those who advance our mission: the institute’s staff, students at all levels of study, our coaches who are the leading lights in the startup and investment worlds, talented and dedicated committed faculty mem- bers, the nyu leadership, and our generous partners. together, we attract, educate and nurture the next generation of thinkers and doers determined to solve a challenge, explore real-world ramifications, and launch a venture that creates value. frank rimalovski executive director it’s one thing to make a bold discovery in healthcare or artificial intelligence or clean energy. it’s quite another to bring the discovery to market so people can benefit from it. that evolution doesn’t happen by itself. that’s why we’re here. executive director’s message