When Matt Sorenson '07 graduated with a Biology degree from North Central College, little did he know that he was going to be an innovator and entrepreneur one day. Soon after graduation, he started a PhD program in microbiology at The University of Texas (UT) at Austin. The trajectory of his career changed when he took a practicum class called Texas Venture Labs, where he learned startup business principles and worked on projects for Austin-based companies.

After earning his PhD in 2014, he helped run Texas Venture Labs for a year, which eventually led to his current position as the Innovation Program Manager at the UT System that includes 14 institutions. In this role, he builds and manages a UT system-wide entrepreneurship mentoring program that provides innovators and entrepreneurs a team of trained, volunteer mentors that help strengthen or develop their businesses.

Bitten by the entrepreneurship bug, Matt has also created his own ventures: he has produced over 115 episodes for his Runified Podcast, which shares the "why" stories of runners. An avid runner himself, Matt is passionate about sharing the joys and benefits of this universally accessible sport with as many people as possible, including his two children. When he started looking for children's books that focused on running, he was surprised that he couldn't find any! So he decided to do something about it: soon, he will be launching a crowdfunding campaign for his beautifully-illustrated comic-style children's book entitled "My Mommy Runs ." Check out this video for a sneak peek!

As a North Central alum, Matt is enthusiastic about giving back to North Central students. If you are interested in a mentorship opportunity with Matt, contact [email protected]