Julie Heath – a leader in launching innovative public-private initiatives and social impact organizations and the architect of Indiana’s first entrepreneurship ecosystem strategy – will oversee a new Indiana University initiative to support students and faculty university-wide in creating and growing startup ventures.
Heath – who recently served as vice president of entrepreneurial ecosystems for the Indiana Economic Development Corp – was selected as the inaugural executive director of the IU Innovates Hub, which will launch this fall and provide a focal point for university efforts to accelerate entrepreneurship and innovation. And Heath starts her role on September 18. The IU Innovates initiative will be based on IU’s Bloomington campus but will assist students and faculty statewide.
Before joining the IEDC in the fall of 2021 to advance Indiana’s commitment to becoming a global leader in entrepreneurship and innovation, Heath was CEO at Speak Easy, a homegrown nonprofit co-working space in Indianapolis and the first shared space in Indiana to serve entrepreneurs. She has also served as vice president of partnerships for Indianapolis-based Boardable, a startup and tech platform that improves management for nonprofit boards.
In her new role at IU, Heath will oversee programming, including ongoing student and faculty events, seminars, and entrepreneurship workshops. IU Innovates will also utilize existing IU pitch competitions and establish a guided program to support groups of faculty and students by incubating new business ideas. Students and faculty will have access to a formal curriculum for launching startup ventures and a network of vital business services, including legal counsel, branding and marketing support, and consultant support for those seeking venture capital funding.
During her nearly two-year tenure as Indiana’s VP of entrepreneurial ecosystems, Heath helped the state achieve historic levels of resources for entrepreneurship by conducting a statewide assessment of startup ecosystems; expanding partnerships with entrepreneur support organizations, business incubators, and nonprofits; and establishing new impact metrics and performance indicators, including net-new jobs generated by young companies and GDP driven by young firms.
KEY QUOTES:
“As someone who has successfully built and led several high-impact entrepreneurship programs, Julie understands the resources founders and entrepreneurs require to pursue high-potential business ideas and launch successful startup ventures. Under her leadership, we can make an enormous economic impact in Indiana by scaling the best Indiana University ideas into companies and strengthening collaboration with key research and industry leaders across our state.”
— IU President Pamela Whitten
“For almost two years, Julie has spearheaded a successful strategy to support entrepreneurs and strengthen the culture of innovation across our state. With economic development as a central component of our IU 2030 strategic plan, we’re extremely excited for how Julie’s leadership will shape entrepreneurship across the university and strengthen the pipeline of new business ventures that stem from student and faculty innovation and discovery.”
— IU Vice President for University Relations Michael Huber
“As awareness surges about the importance of entrepreneurship for economic growth and improved quality of life, national grant makers and state leaders increasingly look to universities to commercialize innovation. The IU Innovates Hub initiative — setting the strategic direction, engaging the critical constituencies, and rallying the resources and partnerships to increase entrepreneurial activities at IU — is perfectly timed for this vanguard of economic development.”
— Julie Heath
