Live Webinar - Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program

This immersive program equips you to critically assess, design, and launch innovation-driven ventures. Whether you’re spinning out a deep-tech startup from a university lab, developing a new software platform, creating a breakthrough restaurant concept, patenting an invention, or placing a product on store shelves, this four-part series is for you. You’ll learn to craft a compelling value proposition, chart early-stage funding paths, safeguard intellectual property, and build a focused go-to-market strategy for sustainable growth.

This series will be held on Fridays, April, 10, 17, 24, and May 1, 2026.

Please be prepared to have your camera on and audio working.

Highlights:

• Craft and validate your innovative business concept
• IP Day: interactive session with an intellectual-property attorney covering patents, trademarks, and licensing
• Primer on navigating SBIR/STTR and additional early-stage funding resources
• Customer discovery, go-to-market planning, and securing initial traction

This series is intended for deep-tech entrepreneurs commercializing inventions, aspiring founders, small-business owners, and innovation leaders who aim to transform bold ideas—hardware, software, products or services—into viable, scalable ventures.

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Our presentation team:

Robert Johnson, Director, Vision2Venture

Robert Johnson is the Director of the Vision2Venture (V2V) Program at the University of Houston Texas Gulf Coast SBDC Network, where he specializes in SBIR/STTR grant commercialization and supports early-stage entrepreneurs across the Texas Gulf Coast region. In 2023, he co-founded the Innov8 Hub program at the University of Houston Technology Bridge, which to date has helped over 50 startups advance deep technology commercialization. Beyond the University of Houston, during 2024-2025, Robert coached startup teams in the region that together secured over $5 million in SBIR/STTR funding.

An entrepreneur since 2006, Robert has successfully launched and managed multiple businesses, including two that have thrived for more than a decade. As the founding director of Vision2Venture, he is developing a cohort-based program that provides tailored education to address entrepreneurs' unique challenges. A certified Wendy Kennedy Inc. coach, Robert draws on over 20 years of experience in education to deliver practical, student-centered entrepreneurship programs that drive real-world results.

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It is imperative to add centeric@ic.sbdc.uhbauer.org and no-reply@zoom.us to your approved senders' list to be able to receive event confirmations and links.

Your registration confirmation email will contain a link to join the webinar via Zoom. You must join the webinar series in Zoom using the same email address you used to register for this webinar series. If you experience any issues, please contact v2vsbdc@central.uh.edu for troubleshooting support.

Registration will close two business days prior to the start of the cohort.