Innoavate State Speaker Series
The Innovate State Speaker Series brings both emerging and accomplished Spartans back to campus for a fireside chat interview. These 60-minute sessions offer the chance for guests to share their perspectives on a wide array of topics like innovation, startup life, investments, and career paths. These are stories of success, stories of failures, and stories of uncommon will—and you do not want to miss them. Innovate State is hosted and managed by the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
INNOVATE STATE: Matt Thomas | Burgess Institute, FY26
INNOVATE STATE: Matt Thomas | Burgess Institute, FY26 Matthew Thomas is a fellow MSU Spartan and the Founding Managing Partner of Bourgeois VC, a data-centric venture capital firm he created in 2024 [...]
INNOVATE STATE: Dr. Isil Berkun | Burgess Institute, FY26
INNOVATE STATE: Dr. Isil Berkun | Burgess Institute, FY26 Dr. Isil Berkun is an AI engineer, entrepreneur, and educator specializing in artificial intelligence, data science, and advanced manufacturing. She earned her PhD [...]
INNOVATE STATE: Emerging Leaders: Brittane Rowe | Burgess Institute, FY26
INNOVATE STATE: Emerging Leaders: Brittane Rowe | Burgess Institute, FY26 Join us for our Emerging Leaders Speaker Series featuring Brittane Rowe, CEO and Co-Founder of Awkward Games, a tabletop games company on [...]
INNOVATE STATE: Min Kyu Kim | Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, FY26
INNOVATE STATE: Min Kyu Kim | Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, FY26 Min Kyu Kim is the founder and CEO of Kimchi Box, one of the fastest-growing fast-casual Korean restaurant chains [...]
INNOVATE STATE: Lauren Lograsso | Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, FY26
INNOVATE STATE: Lauren Lograsso | Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, FY26 Lauren LoGrasso is a multi-passionate creative whose mission is to help people express themselves fully. As a podcaster, musician, creative [...]
INNOVATE STATE: Dan Gilbert | Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, FY26
INNOVATE STATE: Dan Gilbert | Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, FY26 Dan Gilbert is the founder and chairman of Rocket Companies and a visionary entrepreneur known for transforming the mortgage industry [...]