Patrick Woock, the newest member of the Michigan Tech College of Business faculty, begins teaching classes next fall. But he’s already busy laying the groundwork for the next iteration of Husky Innovate, one of Michigan Tech’s most promising student-focused entrepreneurial engines.
Woock comes to Michigan Tech from Houston, Texas. When he and his wife first visited Tech, she disappeared—camera in hand—to explore the trails, parks, and vistas that are an integral part of the Keweenaw landscape.
“That’s when I knew,” Woock said. “This is a place where you can be at peace. A place where you can adventure. A place where you can be a human being.”
The natural beauty that abounds in Husky Nation wasn’t the only draw. After years of building startups, leading programs and living abroad—including 15 years in Asia—Woock was attracted by Michigan Tech’s potential to expand the University’s entrepreneurial outreach. He sees strong programs, passionate students and entrepreneurial activity already happening across campus. What he’s focused on now is alignment.
As director of Husky Innovate, Woock is here to help connect the pieces and strengthen Michigan Tech’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, starting from the inside out.
From Startup Builder to Ecosystem Builder
Woock describes himself as a “zero-to-one” builder—someone who thrives on creating new programs and launching new initiatives. Over the course of his career, he’s founded and led startups, worked closely with entrepreneurs, and developed entrepreneurship programs at other universities.
He’s seen firsthand how entrepreneurial ecosystems evolve.
“At one university, we started with two students in the entrepreneurship program,” he said. “Two years later, we had 47. Most of them were freshmen and sophomores who chose to attend because they had heard we were an entrepreneurial university.”
The experience helped to shape his philosophy that doing entrepreneurship work is important but being widely perceived as an entrepreneurial university is just as critical.
“Entrepreneurs are attracted to places where they know they can get funding, where they can get training, where they can get mentors,” Woock said. “Being known for entrepreneurship and doing the work of entrepreneurship are mutually important.”
Woock sees Michigan Tech’s positioning, particularly in hard tech fields, as a distinctive opportunity. Hard tech, which includes materials science, advanced manufacturing, and other innovative technologies rooted in advanced engineering and scientific breakthroughs, can be challenging. Woock noted that these types of ventures require significant capital, deep technical knowledge, and strong community support. Building the structures that support those ventures is central to his strategy.
A Student-Centered Approach for Husky Innovate
Woock’s vision for Husky Innovate begins with one principle:
“All things in how we serve the university should always start from students and then branch out,” he said.
Before launching new programs or adding more events to already crowded calendars, Woock is focused on discovery. He’s meeting with advisors, visiting classrooms, and talking directly with students to understand:
- Who they are
- What they want
- What challenges they face
- How entrepreneurship fits into their goals
“I don’t want to build a program from my mind,” he said. “I want to build it from what they want to do.”
Woock recognizes that many students arrive at Tech seeking careers that don’t necessarily involve startups. Some Huskies will go on to become founders. Others may become intrapreneurs, the buzzword for innovators who work inside established companies. He thinks Husky Innovate should serve both.
“Teaching entrepreneurial thinking gives our students a massive competitive advantage in the corporate workforce, making the program highly relevant even to those who never plan to launch a startup.”
— Patrick Woock, Director, Husky Innovate
He’s working to help restructure an entrepreneurship pathway that will help students gain context and tools, whether they want to launch companies, pursue side ventures, or bring entrepreneurial thinking into their careers.
Woock is also exploring ways to integrate entrepreneurship more seamlessly into existing academic structures. He’s interested in aligning with Michigan Tech’s Essential Education requirements. And he wants to make it possible for students in any major to add entrepreneurial learning into the academic mix without overloading their schedules.
“I want entrepreneurship to be inclusive,” he said. “But also respectful that students come here for their major.”
Connecting Campus and Community Through AI
One of the first Husky Innovate initiatives already underway involves artificial intelligence and the broader Keweenaw business community.
Woock is helping launch a student-run AI consulting initiative focused on agentic AI. The goal is to train students in advanced AI tools while simultaneously supporting local businesses.
“AI is a fundamental shift—like the internet was in 2000,” he said. “But many small business owners don’t know how to use it.”
By embedding students in community businesses to help with AI integration for automating processes, improving customer follow-up, supporting marketing efforts, and reinforcing other business foundations, the project creates value for students who need real-world experience and businesses that want to run more effectively and efficiently.
And long-term, something more strategic may happen.
“The average business owner in the United States is 59 years old,” Woock noted. “If we can help reduce their daily burdens using AI, and we have students working alongside them, there’s an opportunity. By embedding students to modernize operations with AI, we are actively creating pathways for the next generation of business leadership and succession.”
As Woock describes it, entrepreneurship is inherently symbiotic: the university supports the community, and the community supports the university.
“We should do external work just as seriously as what we do internally,” he said.
Building the Funding Side: Venture Capital Team
“Entrepreneurs need money. Especially hard tech entrepreneurs,” Woock said. To support that reality, he’s helped to form a Venture Capital Team that will compete at a regional competition at Wayne State University later this month.
The goal is to give students a deeper understanding of venture capital and investment analysis while strengthening the funding ecosystem around Michigan Tech startups. “By teaching students how to allocate capital, we are actively building the local funding apparatus required to prevent our startups from feeling the need to leave for Silicon Valley,” Woock said.
By cultivating students who understand venture capital as future investors as well as founders, he hopes to strengthen both sides of the entrepreneurial equation.
He said early interest in the endeavor has been double his initial expectations. Part of the increased engagement can be attributed to visiting classes and meeting campus and community members where they are.
“You have to get out of the office,” he said. “You make it personal.”
Entrepreneurs are Motivated from Within
Woock’s experience and observations have taught him that entrepreneurial ecosystems grow in a specific way: entrepreneurs begin to self-select into communities where they see visible support.
“The more we do here, the more projects we do, the more funding we support—students start choosing us because of that,” he said.
He’s seen it happen before. Once a university becomes known for entrepreneurship, students who identify as builders, innovators, and risk-takers choose that environment intentionally.
And that leads to his long-term goal. “I want people who come here and love being here to stay here. Build their companies here. Build their lives here,” he said. “Rather than feeling they must leave for Silicon Valley or New York to scale their ventures, students should see Michigan Tech as a place where companies can start and grow.”
The challenge is creating community in what many entrepreneurs have described as a long and lonely journey. Woock said entrepreneurship can be isolating.
“It’s a very lonely business. There’s a lot of wandering, self-discovery, and self-doubt,” he said.
Part of his role is to create a community where entrepreneurs feel supported, beyond tools and funding, by peers. He’s here to extend the welcome. “My door is always open,” he said. “It’s my job to build that community at Tech. To show Huskies that there is a place for them.”
Woock has been connecting with advisors, students, and associated entrepreneurial programs across campus. He’s also embarking on outreach to high schools and community colleges. He said it’s not important to rush the process. “Building communities takes as long as they take,” he said.
Connect with Husky Innovate
Students, faculty, and community members interested in entrepreneurship—whether launching a startup, exploring a side venture, or bringing innovation into their careers—are encouraged to reach out.
“There is a place for you,” Woock said.
To learn more about Husky Innovate or explore how to get involved, email Woock at huskyinnovate@mtu.edu.
About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business prepares tomorrow’s business professionals through STEM-infused, AACSB-accredited degree programs and minors. The college offers nine bachelor of science programs in accounting, business analytics, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing; and four master of science programs in accounting and analytics, applied natural resource economics, engineering management, and the TechMBA®.Questions? Contact us at business@mtu.edu. Follow the College of Business on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.