Meet Sanjay Mohan

Sanjay Mohan is the new Program Director of the Ignite Startup Incubator. The experienced founder and angel investor is eager to share his experience with the program participants.

The Ignite Startup Incubator, an 11-month collaborative startup accelerator serving University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members, accepts up to 10 startups into the program each year.

Mohan the Program Director

The ideal accelerator candidate has done work in customer discovery and has a prototype or a minimum viable product (MVP) version of their product. Under his leadership, Mohan wants program participants to define for themselves what they want from the program and how the accelerator can help them.

For Mohan, nothing is more important at the early stage of business development than an entrepreneur having a deep understanding of why they are starting a company. He wants founders to clearly define the “burning problem they are trying to solve.” If there isn’t one, Mohan believes success is not a likely outcome.

“Young companies are fascinated with the ‘glamour’ involved with the image of entrepreneurship,” he said, “but they must be focused on the ‘why.’”

Additionally, Mohan cautions founders against being singularly focused on fundraising.

“There is a fascination with talking to VCs (venture capitalists) and angels. But, it’s not about funding. It is about finding the customer that is most important. Funding is a secondary objective. The primary objective is getting the company to make money,” he said.

Mohan the Entrepreneur

The program director began his involvement with the Ignite Startup Incubator when he was invited to speak to a previous cohort about his experience as a successful founder who exited his company.

Mohan founded healthIO, a health technology startup created to make patient care “preventive, predictive and participative.” The idea for the company was inspired by the healthcare struggles his aging parents faced. He discovered regular healthcare can prevent the onset of chronic disease, one of the leading causes of death. The preventive health technology company was acquired by Milliman Inc., a global consulting and actuarial firm, in 2020.

Giving back is important to Sanjay Mohan. He is generous with his experience serving on the boards of many new companies and acting as an advisor to a number of emerging startups.  For him, a key value of being an entrepreneur is “the human connections on the journey.”

“I found a way to give back, not just to the startup world, but anything that gives back to the world.”

Mohan the Milwaukeean

While building his business in Milwaukee, the people he connected with in the city’s startup ecosystem supported him. “People in Milwaukee had faith in me,” he said. He found people who invested “time, guidance and money,” into his emerging business. That community support impacted his impression of the city.

While not a native to the city, the entrepreneur has found a home here.

Mohan arrived in Milwaukee in 1994 when he was brought to the region as a consultant for a major corporation in the region. He left the city in 2000 when his consulting jobs took him to both England and Australia.

When he returned to the United States to work in 2004, he was able to choose any city in the country to live. Rather than New York, Chicago or San Francisco, Mohan opted for Milwaukee.

“There is something about Milwaukee,” he said. “It grows on you. People don’t want to move to Milwaukee, but of those that do, less than five percent ever leave.” Mohan believes part of the reason is likely because the city is so “convenient and comfortable, in addition to being a great place to raise kids.”

Mohan looks forward to the start of the next cohort of the accelerator and hopes entrepreneurs learn from their own mistakes, and those of others- including his.

“Startups might fail, but entrepreneurs don’t,” he said.

To learn more about the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center and its many programs designed to boost startup businesses in Milwaukee, click here.