FLC-Sponsored Federal Mashup Lab Concludes Latest Collaborative Innovation Program
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The Federal Mashup Lab, powered by Brown Venture Group and sponsored by the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC), recently concluded its latest program that brought together innovators to build teams and bring promising federal innovations to market. Taking a unique technology-pull approach, the Federal Mashup Lab engages with Fortune 500 companies and government offices to determine technology focus areas and potential buyers for the IP developed through the program. This strategy aims to bring more promising federal IP to market, de-risk entrepreneurs, and meet the needs of government and corporate buyers.
“To have customers already in the pipeline, we’ve mapped out what it takes to get to the next level and have the culture to scale and grow,” said Marc Alexander, Founder and CEO of LiteRaise and a Mashup Lab participant. “This is about the process. You can have the best pitch to raise all the money you need, but if you don’t know the process or what it takes to really scale … it’s going to be in vain.”
In the recent Mashup Lab cohort, 18 participants formed three multidisciplinary teams focused on fintech, cleantech, and medtech to develop licensing applications for pre-vetted technologies from the National Security Agency, Department of Energy, and National Institute of Health. The participants hailed primarily from Minnesota and Michigan and included founders, former government employees, engineers, scientists, and operational and marketing professionals across government, academia, and industry.
Feedback from the cohort validated the program’s emphasis on balanced teams — bringing together both “founders” (executive leaders) and “surrounders” (those critical team members who provide technical depth, sales and marketing capability, and operational and administrative excellence).
“The Mashup Lab was created because we saw a disconnect between entrepreneurs, funders, and public and private sector buyers. We wanted to make it easier for government, entrepreneurs, and the private sector to engage in commercialization,” said Paul Campbell, Founding Partner of Brown Venture Group. “The founders and surrounders in this cohort brought a level of technical and business acumen that enhanced the commercialization plans the teams produced, and we are so excited to see where these new businesses go.”
Teams were coached by leaders from Bank of America, Grid Catalyst, and University of Minnesota Technology Commercialization. Collectively, the coaching team brought expertise in:
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Technology transfer and commercialization
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Starting and scaling successful businesses
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Sales and marketing
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New product development
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Dilutive and non-dilutive funding strategies
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Market experience across fintech, medtech, and cleantech
In addition, the cohort heard from subject matter experts each week, including:
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Paul Campbell – Founder, Brown Venture Group
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Whitney Hastings - Chair, FLC, and Technology Transfer Manager, NIH
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Danielle Hansen - Vice President of Global Sourcing, JBT
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Johanne Medina - CEO and Founder, Ecolution Power Co.
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Archie Karpeh - CEO and Founder, MelaninMD
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Mathew Woodlee - former Director, U.S. Commercial Service
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Alex Felman – Founder, Exponential U and Managing Director, Felman Family Office
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Eric Clark, Chief of the Office of Innovation and Integration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center
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Brandon White - Center Technology Transition Lead, NASA Glenn Research Center
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Brian McDonald - District Director, Minnesota Small Business Administration
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Jerome Hamilton - Partner, Brown Venture Group, and COO, Warecorp
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Marilyn Nash - Regional Outreach Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office
By the end of the program, all three teams completed the requirements to license their technology and intended to establish companies to commercialize their federal IPs.
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