UNePlan shouldn’t even exist. Built on a short timeframe by a team of university developers, the system is a bespoke strategic planning platform built by a university. The web-based, cloud functioning system tracked the entire strategic plan of an organization with six thousand employees. It was a critical tool used by senior leadership to steer the ship of our institution. UNMC built it and it worked. The tool had enormous potential, but it’s path to commercial success was going to be filled with hard work. 

When UNeTech led the redevelopment of UNePlan in to what became VisionSync, Appsky became an early collaborator: Working closely with the very developers that had built the original UNePlan, VisionSync stayed in drydock while the ship of UNePlan was at sea. All that extra time gave me a chance to look past the radio buttons and drop down menus. It gave me a new appreciation of what UNePlan really stood for, and the strategic planning vision of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

UNMC is a mission-driven organization. People come to work at this place to save lives, expand the boundaries of human discovery, and inform the decision of our leaders with a data. It has been my privilege to share small steps in the journey of many of those missions: the researcher gaining access to a research specimen, the clinician partnering with company to build their vision, the startup company changing the standard of care with new technology – all of them show how the mission of one institution is the sum of everyone’s dedication to their own.

 As the skin of VisionSync slowly crawled over the frame of the data structure, I realized what Taylor Korensky, CEO of Appsky already saw – he was rebuilding the platform that UNMC had used to track its many missions. It wasn’t the text fields and the dropdowns but the overall system – the one through which a global leader had navigated a pandemic, expanded research expenditures by tens of millions of dollars and improved the health of an entire community.

UNeTech’s mission is to support the transition of innovations, like UNePlan, to new ventures, like VisionSync. To keep early ventures moving is a challenge. UNeTech is fortunate to have its Entrepreneur in Residence, Stephen Hug. Stephen had the vision to see that any tool used by UNMC’s leadership is worth sharing. He had the tenacity to lead teams of students, developers, and stakeholders to transition UNePlan to VisionSync. He had the grace to build something new that honored the contributions of all involved. 

Stephen led UNeTech’s efforts to support the commercial launch of VisionSync. He worked closely with Taylor, who transitioned from Appsky’s CEO to become CEO of VisionSync. Taylor and Stephen landed an initial slate of academic clients, including the University of Nebraska Medical Center. With Taylor’s leadership, VisionSync will continue to grow in its existing markets and find new growth opportunities.

I admit it. I was late to the party. I was surprised by the potential Stephen saw in UNePlan. I was startled when Taylor jumped from Appsky to VisionSync. I was amazed when VisionSync signed its third client.

I shouldn’t have been.

Stephen saw it. Taylor saw it. The visionary planners that led UNMC had seen it from the beginning. UNePlan had the mission of UNMC within its bones. VisionSync took that mission and matched it with design, development, and implementation. Today, two years after the initial meetings between Appsky and UNeTech, the surprise is all the sweeter. I may have been late to the party, but I am grateful to my partners and colleagues for seeing the opportunity from the start.