BLOG: TTO Strategic Communication Tactics with VCs

As a VC firm partnered with over 100 universities, we get the question from Tech Transfer Offices (TTOs) all the time — how can we best communicate with VCs?

While investors have directed more attention to universities for deal flow in recent years (see bar graph below), most VCs don’t have a singular focus on startups commercializing university research and settle for letting the startups come in via normal channels, e.g. introductions from other VCs, investor conferences, pitching events, and the news. And for institutions that aren’t in the Boston biotech hub, or the Bay area, or New York City, or even other major coastal cities — rising above the noise level of their peers to attract attention from top-tier venture capital, angel, and strategic investors can be a challenge.

So what can TTOs do to attract investors to their university’s startup opportunities? Here are some tips from OUP, with help from Mike Psarouthakis, Venture Center Director at the University of Michigan and Rob Hallford, Director of New Ventures at Duke University, both of whom recently participated in our webinar in May 2020 entitled ‘Cultivating Relationships with Investors at Your University.’

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