The Mindset of a Modern Entrepreneur: Insights from UC San Diego’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization
Entrepreneurship is often glamorized as a bold leap into the unknown—a high-stakes game of risk, disruption, and hustle. But in a recent episode of the Bizzy Scientists podcast, hosted by Dr. Nora Saffran and produced in partnership with UC San Diego’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization and the Salomon Center for Entrepreneurship, a very different picture emerged.
Guest Greg Horowitt, Director of Innovation Design at UC San Diego and a veteran startup operator and investor, offers a nuanced and deeply human approach to innovation—one that emphasizes emotional intelligence, collaboration, improvisation, and authenticity as much as technical know-how.
From Startup Operator to Institutional Innovator
Greg Horowitt’s journey is emblematic of a life lived at the intersection of ideas and action. A UC San Diego alumnus who ventured into finance and operations, Horowitt worked at startups before becoming a venture capitalist and global mentor. He returned to UCSD to help develop an innovation infrastructure that would support the next generation of entrepreneurs—not just technically, but holistically.
His early realization—that most entrepreneurial frameworks described in books bore little resemblance to the real-world experience of building startups—led him to advocate for a practitioner-centered approach. This shaped the ethos of UC San Diego’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization: bridging theory with experience, and offering a platform that connects passion with practice.
Redefining Entrepreneurship: It’s a Social Sport
One of Horowitt’s central arguments is that entrepreneurship is not just a technical or financial pursuit—it’s a social activity. Success isn’t just about building the better mousetrap; it’s about building teams, cultivating trust, and navigating uncertainty together.
This starts with rejecting the lone-wolf archetype. “You never go hunting alone,” Horowitt says. “None of us are as smart as all of us.” The most successful startups are driven by diverse teams that bring varied perspectives and skills. The process, he emphasizes, is more like a jazz improvisation than a symphony: you need structure, but also the freedom to explore, adjust, and respond in real time.
Risk, Resilience, and Reframing Failure
When asked about risk—a word often synonymous with startups—Horowitt is clear-eyed. Entrepreneurs aren’t reckless; they are opportunity seekers who become risk-tolerant. The willingness to pursue a vision despite uncertainty is what sets them apart, but it’s not about gambling blindly. Instead, it’s about developing the tools—strategic thinking, team alignment, improvisation—that allow one to manage and navigate risk effectively.
He also challenges the language around failure, preferring “unintended outcomes.” Entrepreneurship is an ongoing series of experiments, and not all will succeed. By destigmatizing failure and reframing it as data for learning, he believes we can create a more supportive and honest entrepreneurial culture.
Tools for the Entrepreneurial Mindset
Horowitt offers several practical tips for cultivating entrepreneurial resilience:
Take an improvisation class. The startup journey rarely goes as planned. Learning to adapt on the fly is an essential skill.
Practice debate. Conflict resolution and constructive disagreement are key to team cohesion and iterative progress.
Do puzzles. Complex problem-solving trains the mind to approach challenges non-linearly and creatively.
Build diverse teams. Diversity isn’t just a social good—it’s a strategic advantage.
In short, building startups requires more than just business acumen. It demands behavioral and cognitive fitness: the ability to think flexibly, embrace ambiguity, and work collaboratively under pressure.
The Power of Authenticity and Vulnerability in Leadership
One of the most compelling portions of the podcast centers on vulnerability—a quality often seen as incompatible with traditional notions of leadership. Horowitt disagrees. Authenticity, he argues, is not just personally fulfilling—it’s strategically sound. Teams crave leaders who are real, not robotic.
Still, he acknowledges the difficulty. Leaders are often expected to exude certainty, especially in startups, where confidence can inspire teams and attract investors. But over time, Horowitt says, he’s learned that controlled vulnerability—expressed in the right doses to the right people—can build deeper trust and foster more resilient teams.
This is especially true when times get tough. “When you're vulnerable around people who genuinely have your back,” he says, “it becomes a strength—not a weakness.”
Negotiation as a Tool for Shared Value
Another standout moment in the conversation involves negotiation. Drawing on the framework of “finite vs. infinite games,” Horowitt distinguishes between zero-sum negotiations (where one party wins) and collaborative negotiations (where both parties co-create value). His style is rooted in empathy and questioning: he enters negotiations with a genuine desire to understand the other party’s motivations.
He also emphasizes options. The key to negotiating from a position of strength, he says, is to avoid being desperate for any single deal. Flexibility, confidence, and long-term thinking make room for creativity at the table—and reduce the chances of making fear-based decisions.
What Investors Look For: Imagination, Integrity, and Grit
As an investor, Horowitt doesn’t just look at metrics or market size. He looks for what he calls “audacious speculators”—founders with bold visions and the grit to follow through. He prizes storytelling skills—the ability to articulate a compelling vision and make it feel plausible, even if it’s not yet probable.
Trust is another pillar. In early-stage investing, data is often scarce. So Horowitt relies on social proof and shared values to assess trustworthiness. Referrals, mutual connections, and personal alignment all play a role in determining whether a founder is worth betting on.
The Office of Innovation: A New Model for Campus-Based Entrepreneurship
Horowitt’s work at UC San Diego’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization represents a shift in how universities approach entrepreneurship. Rather than placing innovation in a silo—confined to a business school or engineering lab—the office operates across disciplines and departments, housed within the larger Office of Research and Innovation.
This allows it to serve students, faculty, staff, and even community members. Its mission is not just to help launch startups, but to foster a campus-wide culture where innovation is seen as a life skill.
Flagship programs include:
Entrepreneur-in-Residence: Bringing outside founders onto campus to serve as role models and mentors.
Essentials of Entrepreneurship Certificate: A program that teaches both the hard and soft skills needed for venture building.
Innovation Studios: Especially the MAVERICK lab (Mixed, Augmented, Virtual, and Extended Reality), where students explore emerging tech and prototype solutions that often surprise even the tool’s creators.
Creating a Living Ecosystem
More than just a collection of programs, the Office of Innovation serves as a connector. Horowitt describes it as a “concierge for entrepreneurship”—a platform for curation, collaboration, and connection. Whether you're a student looking for a cofounder, an industry partner exploring a new technology, or an investor seeking early-stage opportunities, the Office is designed to help.
Importantly, it’s also focused on human capital. By cultivating not only startups but also startup-ready people, it ensures that UC San Diego is producing not just innovations—but innovators.
Final Takeaway: Just Do It
Greg Horowitt closes the conversation with a call to action. If you’re thinking about building something, start. Don't wait for the perfect moment, perfect plan, or perfect partner.
“Innovation is a contact sport,” he says, “and the only way to do it… is to do it.”
Conclusion
Greg Horowitt’s perspective is a refreshing counter-narrative to the hustle-centric startup mythos. His framework—rooted in empathy, behavioral science, and lived experience—offers a blueprint not just for building companies, but for building better leaders, communities, and cultures of innovation. UC San Diego’s model, under his guidance, is creating more than startups; it’s cultivating a new kind of entrepreneur—one that’s collaborative, curious, emotionally intelligent, and fundamentally human.
For those navigating the uncertain terrain of innovation, his advice is clear: surround yourself with good people, be willing to learn from “unintended outcomes,” and above all—be real.