05 Jun IU Ventures Presents 2025 Spirit of Venture Award and 2025 Mentor of the Year Award
IU Ventures, Indiana University’s early-stage venture and angel investment arm, recently announced the winners of its Spirit of Venture Award and Mentor of the Year Award. IU alumnus Michael Arnolt was presented with the Spirit of Venture Award while IU alumnus Jason Wadler was presented with the Mentor of the Year Award. Both awards were bestowed at the annual IU Ventures Founders & Funders Network Venture Summit, held May 15-16, 2025, in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Spirit of Venture award, which is presented annually in partnership with Bridge Bank, celebrates the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation across the entire IU community. The award is given to IU faculty, staff, alumni or student founders and funders, or friends of IU, who have exhibited success in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, and demonstrated noteworthy philanthropy or service to IU.
The Mentor of the Year Award, a new award, honors individuals who donate their time, expertise, and experience to mentor individuals who are part of IU-affiliated start-ups. The award is given to IU faculty, staff, or alumni who help shape the trajectory of an early-stage company by providing technical expertise, networking connections, thought partnership, friendship, and moral support.
“Every year I am astounded at the passion and commitment IU alumni share in supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and mentorship for early-stage IU-affiliated start-ups,” said Tony Armstrong, president and CEO of IU Ventures. “Both Michael and Jason have gone above and beyond in their support of IU, its alumni and its start-up community.”
Spirit of Venture Award Winner: Michael Arnolt
Arnolt earned his B.A. in Journalism from IU Bloomington in 1967. He began his career as a journalist, working five and a half years as a reporter and columnist for The Elkhart Truth. He later transitioned to private business and in 1994, he co-founded and would become president/owner of Graston Technique®, a proprietary physical therapy method adopted across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan.
Notably, GT is taught in masters and doctoral academic programs at Indiana University and is utilized for treatment and rehab for athletes and various performing arts programs at IU Bloomington. Arnolt sold the company in 2013. Today, there are more than 45,000 GT-trained clinicians.
Despite his career change, Arnolt has maintained his passion for journalism. His $6 million gift to Indiana University led to creating the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism Center. The completely independent center, housed in the IU Media School, opened the Fall of 2019 with 12 students. In the 2024-2025 school year, 52 graduate and undergraduates were active reporters in the Center. He was a founding member of the IU Media School Dean’s Advisory Board.
Regarding his engagement with IU Ventures Arnolt said, “Why would I look around the nation for investment opportunities, particularly ones which can make a difference—a need vs a want—when I can accomplish my mission by investing in well-thought-out innovations presented by Indiana University alumni, students and faculty.
“Plus—and extremely important—as a member of the IU Angel Network, during the due diligence phase, I get the benefit of being surrounded by experts in manufacturing, sales, marketing, law, finance, science, healthcare and much more. It makes decision-making much easier. Not guaranteed. But easier. Coincidentally, this single move results in multiple objectives: it benefits the investor, the entrepreneur and Indiana University.”
Mentor of the Year Award Winner: Jason Wadler
Jason Wadler has more than 30 years of experience building brands and businesses, both as an entrepreneur and at Fortune 500 companies. He is the co-founder of The Wisory, which recently received investment from the IU Angel Network. The Wisory is a membership-based platform that connects mid-market business executives with a network of highly experienced and accomplished Fortune 1000 Advisors to answer their most important business questions.
In addition to leading The Wisory, Wadler is also a Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship at Indiana University, his alma mater. Previously, Wadler built Leapfrog Online with his partners from a startup into one of the largest independent marketing firms in the country until its 2017 acquisition. There, he created the Leapfrog Marketing Institute to drive leadership with leading CMOs, CIOs and marketing professors.
Wadler has held senior-level strategy and marketing roles at Discover Financial Services, Ameritech/AT&T, and MediaOne/Comcast. He has been an active advisory and board member for purpose-based businesses through his Soul Partnership advisory firm and for non-profits, including the Dean’s Advisory Board at IU’s Media School and the Vasculitis Foundation.
“I am very honored to receive the Mentor of the Year award,” said Wadler. “I am proud to work alongside the wonderful team at IU Ventures and members of the IU Angel Network—incredibly valuable assets that connect alumni like me with entrepreneurial IU students, professors and fellow alumni to invest and guide in their journey.”
About IU Ventures
IU Ventures invests in and supports IU-affiliated early-stage companies. Its investment programs include the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund, IU Angel Network, Shoebox Fund and Innovate Indiana Fund. It further supports IU founders through the Executive in Residence Program and IU Founders and Funders Network. Student support is provided through a variety of engagements including the IU Venture Fellows Program. Each program takes unique approaches to accelerate and support the positive impacts that entrepreneurs affiliated with IU already achieve across the world. www.iuventures.com