Grasshopper partners with Universities to identify, investigate, and de-risk potential venture opportunities within its ecosystem of technologies around a specific innovation gateway. A Venture Builder fills an 'Entrepreneurial Lead' position built to find ideas that are translatable across the climate venture landscape. The Entrepreneurial Lead finds a real-world problem that needs solving, connects with researchers to engineer solutions with entrepreneurial potential, and identify business opportunities associated with solving that problem. The goal is to accelerate the creation of ventures from the University ecosystem. Rather than starting with a solution, we start by defining unrecognized opportunities around problems and technology spaces then identify hidden white spaces within research and technology to solve that problem.

Like a private-sector venture studio, we curate ideas from within the University ecosystem of labs and shepherds them to market. A key distinction from private-sector studios is that we deeply embed within a specific University research community while integrating multiple disparate organizations (DOE Labs & External Universities) into the ventures we create. We start with problems first – seeking out the world’s hardest problems then building ventures to solve them.

Main Focus

Drive New Ventures

Oversee Venture Fellows

Lead Team Formation

We perform as drivers of new venture formation by extending and applying deep technical knowledge. We are not burdened by prior experience on how things should be done, but instead are totally dedicated to discovering the “right” answer and not making the problem fit a particular answer.

Lead Team Formation

Oversee Venture Fellows

Lead Team Formation

We lead team formation and research through the early development phases then join for a period of one to two years. We oversee and develop multiple venture exploration and building projects and foster a multi-disciplinary problem-solving culture. We join a resulting Grasshopper Venture as senior management.

Oversee Venture Fellows

We oversee a team of Venture Fellows. In early phases, we train, employ, and supervise this select group tasked with overseeing the management of projects.

Key Benefits

The University Venture Building Process is designed to reduce barriers traditionally present in centralized, university-based entrepreneurship programs by creating a more inclusive, transparent and innovative ecosystem where university & National Lab intellectual capital is fully leveraged, and students, faculty, and external stakeholders can co-create, invest in, and democratize the process of turning research and innovation into practical, real-world applications that can address the global challenges posed by climate change, help mitigate environmental impact, stimulate economic growth, & benefit humanity as a whole.

We combine deep technical experience, creative vision and relevant market knowledge to uncover opportunities while recruiting faculty and students to participate in the Grasshopper Ventures process. Our University model is intentionally designed for industries like climate tech, sustainability and other areas where collaboration between various specialized University & DOE Labs can accelerate innovation and commercialization. The University Venture Building model is designed to accelerate the commercialization of breakthrough technologies, drive social and environmental impact, and enhance the overall capacity to address the pressing challenges of climate change and sustainable development.

Faster Innovation and Scale: The network allows for faster idea generation, collaboration, and commercialization of climate tech solutions by leveraging the collective strength of the Builders.
Diversified Funding Sources: The federated model attracts a broader base of investors, reducing the risk of relying on a single funding source, and enabling access to larger amounts of capital.
Global Impact: By operating on a global scale, federated networks can address climate change and sustainability challenges in multiple regions, driving positive impact at a larger scale.
Fostering Innovation at Scale: The pooling of research resources and talent allows the creation of disruptive technologies and businesses at scale, accelerating the commercialization of research and increasing the chance of creating breakthrough solutions.
Risk Mitigation: A federated organization better distributes risk by allowing universities to share both the financial and operational risks associated with launching and scaling new ventures.
Increased Opportunities for Students and Faculty: Students and faculty across different institutions gain broader opportunities to engage with startup creation, mentorship, and commercialization efforts, opening up new paths for career development, research applications, and entrepreneurship.
Stronger Industry Connections: A federated organization serves as a centralized hub for industry partners, attracting larger corporations and investors who are seeking high-value, research-backed innovations which interconnect various University and established partners.
Training Future Climate Leaders: Through its educational venture building programs & entrepreneurial ecosystem, the Grasshopper organization will develop the next generation of climate leaders, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, & networks necessary to solve the world's most pressing environmental challenges.
Access to Diverse Resources: By collaborating in a federative model, universities can gain access to a wider array of resources (funding, expertise, and networks) than they could individually, amplifying their ability to support high-impact ventures.

Federated University Network

Decentralized Autonomy with Centralized Collaboration

Autonomy of Hubs: Each Hub within the network operates independently with its own leadership, operational model, and funding strategy. However, they adhere to the shared mission of fostering innovative solutions in specific areas (e.g., solve climate change).
Shared Resources and Expertise: While the Hubs are independent, they benefit from access to shared resources, expert networks, and funding channels. For example, the network might centralize legal support, fundraising teams, or mentorship while allowing individual Hubs to focus on their specific niche (e.g., clean energy, carbon capture, or sustainable agriculture).

Specialization in Different Sectors

The federated model allows different Hubs to specialize in specific sectors or technologies, ensuring deep expertise and focused attention on high-impact problems. For instance:
- One Hub might focus on clean energy innovations like solar, wind, and battery technologies.
- Another Hub could focus on sustainable agriculture solutions like soil management, vertical farming, or water-efficient irrigation systems.
- A third might focus on climate adaptation and resilience, developing solutions for communities vulnerable to climate-related disruptions (e.g., flood control or infrastructure).

Shared Infrastructure and Ecosystem Building

A federated network could pool resources to provide shared infrastructure like lab spaces, accelerator programs, and investment funds, which can be accessed by startups in any of the Hubs. This allows each individual Hub to leverage the larger network’s infrastructure and support while focusing on its particular innovation vertical.
Networking and Cross-Pollination: The network fosters a culture of cross-pollination by facilitating collaboration between startups from different Hubs. This might include:
- Joint venture opportunities.
- Shared marketing and outreach campaigns.
- Coordinated public relations efforts to build visibility for the network and its startups.
Networking events that connect entrepreneurs across various sectors.

Access to Capital

The federated network model increases the fundraising power of each Hub by providing access to a broader pool of capital from corporate venture funds, traditional VC’s and impact investors who want to support innovative, high-impact climate solutions strategically aligned with focus areas..
The Hubs may work together to create a shared fund to invest in startups across multiple sectors, with the goal of addressing various aspects of sustainability and climate tech.
Investor Networks: The federated structure allows for the development of joint investor networks, where a broader set of investors across different domains can back a more diversified portfolio of climate tech companies, lowering risk while supporting global climate objectives.

Collaborative Innovation

The federated model encourages a collaborative innovation ecosystem where different Hubs can exchange knowledge, technologies, and best practices. For example:
- A Hub specializing in clean energy tech might work with another focusing on sustainable agriculture to develop energy-efficient solutions for farms.
- Hubs can co-create startups that address cross-sectoral issues, such as circular economy solutions (e.g., recycling or waste-to-energy), or urban sustainability (e.g., combining green building technologies with renewable energy systems) or integrated carbon capture & utilization systems and innovative models.
This collaboration fosters an environment where Hubs support each other’s efforts, making the network more than the sum of its parts.

Shared Leadership & Governance

While each Hub is independent, the federated network includes a central coordinating team that helps:
- Align each Hub's objectives with the network’s broader vision (e.g., solving climate change or fostering sustainability).
- Facilitate communication between Hubs.
- Oversee joint initiatives such as fundraising campaigns, networking events, and policy advocacy.
This leadership also helps manage IP sharing agreements or any legal frameworks that ensure collaboration while protecting individual Hub's intellectual property.

Ecosystem Growth & Capacity Building

The federated model is particularly beneficial when scaling the ecosystem to include additional Hubs, entrepreneurs, and innovations. The network can:
- Expand geographically, opening new Hubs in different regions or countries to address global sustainability challenges.
- Support cross-border collaboration on climate change solutions, bringing innovations that have worked in one region to others that might benefit from similar technologies.