Biography

Since 1982, Scott Meadow has been a principal investor in the private equity industry. He is the 2011 recipient of the Richard J. Daley Award. The Daley Medal acknowledges a single individual who has given direct and extraordinary support to the state of Illinois by participating in or being an advocate for the venture capital and private equity industry.

Professor Meadow has held the position of Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business since 2000. He was awarded the 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 Phoenix Prize and The Faculty Excellence Award in 2010. He was designated by Business Week's "Guide to the Best Business Schools" (2003, 8th edition) and (2005, 9th edition) as one of the outstanding entrepreneurial professors in the country. Professor Meadow has taught 10000 students at Chicago Booth, in Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity, Commercializing Innovation (which he created), Introduction to Venture Capital (which he created), Entrepreneurial Finance & Venture Capital, and the New Venture Challenge, and is the faculty advisor for the Venture Capital Investment Competition. Scott is also on the Advisory Board and Steering Committee of the Innovation Fund at the University of Chicago.

Scott has over 30 years’ experience as a general partner with four venture capital and private equity firms including William Blair Venture Partners, The Frontenac Company, The Sprout Group, and most recently with the Edgewater Funds, where he remains an Associate Partner. Over the course of his career, Scott has approved hundreds of equity financings, been active in fundraising and has personally led, originated or created more than sixty investments including two dozen healthcare services companies, over a dozen consumer services and retail companies, as well as biotech companies and companies enhanced by the Internet and social media. Scott has been recognized by Venture One as one of the outstanding healthcare investors in the industry, and is a testifying expert witness in a broad range of commercial disputes involving entrepreneurship.

Representative investments include Coventry Corporation, HEALTHSOUTH, Sunrise Assisted Living, Sunrise International, Managed Health Network, Aspen Education Services, Seurat Therapeutics, Pathology Partners, Heritage Healthcare, MedPartners, The Sports Authority, CompUSA and Staples. Scott recently served on the board of directors of National Equipment Services (NASDAQ: NLEQ) during its emergence from Chapter 11 and Barrier Safe Systems. He has served on the Advisory Board of Invenergy, GenerationOne, Dais Corporation and Anka Associates, a private equity firm focused on Turkey.

Professor Meadow earned his A.B. Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Academic Areas

  • Entrepreneurship

2024 - 2025 Course Schedule

Number Course Title Quarter
34106 Commercializing Innovation: Tools to Research and Analyze Private Enterprises 2024 (Autumn)
34106 Commercializing Innovation: Tools to Research and Analyze Private Enterprises 2025 (Spring)
34101 Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity 2025 (Winter)
34101 Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity 2025 (Spring)
34101 Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity 2025 (Summer)
34502 Introduction to Venture Capital: A Toolkit for Analyzing and Financing Startups 2025 (Winter)

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