The fields of academia, government and entrepreneurship have similar tactics to employ to reach success.

Julie Lenzer, Associate Vice President for Innovation and Economic Development at the University of Maryland, says the government and academic sectors are rich with potential for innovation and entrepreneurship in the same way that the private sector is.

“These types of seemingly bureaucratic entities and organizations, what they need is entrepreneurial thinking, they need entrepreneurs to come in and get some stuff done,” she said.

This isn’t about making money. “It’s about having a vision, and doing whatever you need to do to make it happen,” said Lenzer. Places such as the University of Maryland have “incredible assets and resources… but we’re not really hitting at our weight class from an economic and social impact perspective,” she told What’s Working in Washington.

This is where an entrepreneurial mindset should come in. “I’m here to break down the barriers and figure out what shifts need to happen to make us more of a powerhouse in economic creation,” said Lenzer. The only things in the way, she said, were bureaucracy and mindset.

To get past this requires not just “perseverance, having a passion for what you’re doing,” but also “knowing when to pivot,” she said.

“It’s not the greatest technologies or the greatest ideas that survive. It’s the things that meet a market need,” said Lenzer.

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