Meet Ben Hoggan, an ESTEEM alumnus from the Class of 2015. Before ESTEEM, Ben received a bachelor's degree in physics from Utah Valley University. From first hearing about ESTEEM after receiving a free application code when he took the GRE, to working at the University of Notre Dame for over seven years, Ben shares his career journey after ESTEEM and how he ended up where he is today. Currently, Ben works for the IDEA Center managing commercialization-focused partnerships.

ESTEEM: Can you walk us through your career journey and how you came to the IDEA Center?

Ben: After ESTEEM I actually went to work with a small group of local investors. They wanted to start an airline and tasked me with evaluating the feasibility of their plan. I spent about six months on that effort, doing a lot of the things I learned in ESTEEM. So much customer discovery…. After that they asked if I would be the operating partner for their house flipping company. Even though I had no construction experience or real estate experience, I said yes and spent the next three years flipping houses.

In 2017 I was wrapping up that business and thinking about what was next. During that time I had a morning basketball game I organized. One guy pulled me aside one day and asked me what I was up to and what my background was. After a few minutes he said (and I remember this exactly), “Ben, you hustle on the basketball court, you would probably hustle for me at work. Why don’t you come down and see what we’ve got going on, I run this place called the IDEA Center.”

ESTEEM: What made you decide to remain within the Notre Dame ecosystem rather than moving to an outside company or startup?

Ben: It’s been a place I could grow and have a large impact. I’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of technologies, hundreds of entrepreneurs, and grow my career at the same time.

ESTEEM: How has your role at the IDEA Center evolved over time?

Ben: I was hired as a Tech Commercialization Manager for biology. Once I had been in the role for a few months they created a new position, New Ventures and Investments Manager, to better fit what I was working on. I had some great experiences and did very well doing customer discovery and managing a team of analysts for that work so they moved me to running customer discovery full time.

Eventually I took on more derisking work than just customer discovery and I was promoted to the Director of Derisking where I oversaw all different types of derisking work like A/B testing, quantitative validation, focus groups, medical value analysis, etc.

After some changes I was asked to take on more of the company formation and launch role where I spent a lot of time creating an environment and set of resources for the university to launch better companies. This included managing a network of investors, defining company structures, and mentorship of entrepreneurs. After some success in that area I was asked to join the executive team and help shape the strategy of the IDEA Center. We re-structured the team and now I manage commercialization focused partnerships for the university.

ESTEEM: What projects or initiatives at the IDEA Center have been most meaningful to you?

Ben: Honestly, the thing that has been the most meaningful to me has been the people who have been on my team. I’ve had around 100 analysts during my time here and seeing them grow and change their careers based on the work we did, or the conversations we had has been really amazing. A lot of analysts from my team are now in leadership roles in organizations across the country and in all kinds of different industries. The same with my full-time team, seeing them grow and succeed has been incredible.

ESTEEM: Looking back, what skills from ESTEEM have helped you the most in your career so far?

Ben: I love this question. In hindsight I think I can point to two big things. Access to the “cool kids club,” and to have my world view changed. I didn’t understand the benefit of getting essentially the same education at a place like Notre Dame versus the giant state school I went to for undergrad, but being an alumnus opens so many doors and opportunities I never even thought possible. I’ve been told “Go Irish” from wearing ND gear all over the world. That free application code also changed how I see myself. I thought I wanted to be a physicist and sit in a basement solving the secrets of the universe, but through my experience at ND I’ve been able to see how much more I’m capable of.

ESTEEM: What advice would you give current ESTEEM students?

Ben: What are you waiting for? JUST DO IT!

About the ESTEEM Graduate Program:

Over the course of this 11-month Master of Science degree (in Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship) program at the University of Notre Dame, students from technical backgrounds are equipped with the skills and experience to launch new businesses, become innovators within large corporations, and be leaders of dynamic, innovative teams. Students are immersed in an entrepreneurial sandbox, where they get their hands dirty with entrepreneurship and innovation through a cutting-edge curriculum, a capstone commercialization project for an emerging technology, and outstanding out-of-the-classroom experiences.

To learn more about the ESTEEM Graduate Program or to apply please go to our website.

Originally published by Brian Joseph at esteem.nd.edu on October 06, 2025.