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Information Session
February 20, 2015
Southwest Region
I-Corps Node
Today’s agenda
• Welcome and introductions
• I-Corps Overview
• What I-Corps means for you
I-Corps Goal
To foster entrepreneurship that will lead to the
commercialization of technology that has been
supported previously by NSF-funded research.
Team Grant
• $50,000 grant for 3-person team
• 6-week intensive, hands-on course
• Teams follow structured educational process to answer
the following questions:
• Is there a clear problem/need the technology addresses?
• Who are the customers?
• Are they willing to pay enough?
• Is the solution significantly better than competition?
• Is there commercial potential?
• Make a go/no-go decision at the end of the six weeks
• Develop a transition plan to move forward
Why participate?
• Understand the process for determining the market
opportunity for a new technology
• Gain a perspective on the market/industry/customers
• Enhance the probability of successful commercialization
• Shorten the commercialization timeframe
• Significantly increase the likelihood of SBIR/STTR funding
• Grant funding for graduate student and prototype materials
• Build relationship with NSF and future grant prospects
• Learn about entrepreneurship and commercialization
Course delivery
Teams must interview 100 customers and view educational
videos (flipped classroom)
Opening Workshop
on-site
Final team
presentations
Educational tutorial
(1 hour)
Presentation
workshop
Team presentations
Teams present
weekly status report
(3 hours)
Workshops
Lectures
Teams “get out of
the building”
Weekly Conference Calls
WebEx
Day 1
Closing Workshop
on-site
Practice
sessions
Week 1Day 2 Day 3 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Day 1 Day 2
Course summary
(6 Weeks)
5 days on-site (Split):
• 3 day opening workshop (Lean LaunchPad intro)
• 2 day closing workshop (lessons learned)
5 weekly tutorials and presentations via WebEx:
• Distribution Channels
• Customer Relationships
• Revenue Models
• Partnership Strategy
• Key Resources / Costs
Team Composition
and Eligibility
The I-Corps selection committee seeks strong teams with differentiating
technology and participants willing to fully engage in the I-Corps process.
An I-Corps team consists of 3 participants:
• 1 principal investigator
• Must have NSF lineage or obtain it through an approved regional
activity
• 1 entrepreneurial lead
• Typically a graduate student or post-doc and serves as the Team
Lead
• 1 industry mentor
• Typically an experienced entrepreneur or business executive with
broad industry knowledge
Team Commitment
• All team members must attend Opening and Closing
workshops at selected node (5+ days)
• Hour Commitment
• Entrepreneurial Lead: 20-40 hours per week
• PI/Business Mentor: At LEAST 15 hours per week
• Commitment to the process
• Open to new uses of your technology
• Open to alternative commercialization pathways
Use of Grant Funds
• Indirect Costs ($5,000 cap)
• Travel associated with Customer Discovery (~$10,000)
• Costs to attend I-Corps workshops (~$4,500)
• Entrepreneurial Lead (EL) support
• Prototype materials and equipment
• Reasonably justified expenses to advance the
commercialization efforts
A Word on Time
For Principal Investigator:
• Teaching more than 1 class a semester could cause
application to be denied
For Entrepreneurial Lead:
• Class requirements could be difficult
• Heaviest workload > 20 hours per week
• Responsible for all weekly presentations (the “The Hot
Seat”)
All Team Members MUST be present for all sessions both
in person and online.
Expected Outcomes
• Each team must conduct 100 interviews (in-person or
Skype)
• Customers
• Influencers
• Competitors
• Commercial readiness decision at closing workshop (go vs
no go)
• Transition plan, if decision is a “go”
• Start-up business creation
• SBIR proposal process
• Minimum viable product (MVP), if possible
I-Corps Results(December 2014)
There have been 383 funded teams (+73 in process)
• 97% completed the program
• 43% applied for SBIR funding (84 awarded)
• 45% launched and are still operating
Expansion of program to include:
• DOE (Lab Corps)
• NIH
Application Process
• One-page executive summary – Program Officer
• Initial phone interview (10 Minutes) – NSF Staff only
• Follow-up phone interview (10 Minutes) – NSF Staff +
National Teaching Team Members
• After acceptance, NSF will notify teams to complete
Fastlane application (5 pages)
• Typical Time Start to Answer – 1 Month
Application Process
• Identify your Entrepreneurial Lead
• student, post-doc or research scientist
• Submit the Application
• Highly recommend internal review first
• Let the Node know you are applying
• NSF will notify us upon receipt of your application
• Preparation is advantageous and demonstrates
alignment
Important Deadlines
• Rolling Admissions
• 14 Cohorts Estimated Annually
How we can help you
• Be a source of information on I-Corps application
process and expectations
• Assist with team formation and review: Need a
mentor?
• Assist with interview preparation
• Facilitate communication with NSF
• Provide resources and contacts before, during and
after program conclusion
How you can help us
• Promote the I-Corps program among peers within your
Department
• Identify promising faculty members who may be
interested in forming an I-Corps team and applying for
a grant
• Identify experienced entrepreneurs or business
executives that could serve as a team mentor
Seven I-Corps Nodes
Southwest Northeast
• The University of Texas • CUNY
• Texas A&M University • New York University
• Rice University • Columbia University
Southern California D.C.
• USC • Maryland
• UCLA • George Washington University
• Cal Tech • Virginia Tech
Bay Area Midwest
• Stanford University • University of Michigan
• University of California-Berkeley
Southeast
• Georgia Tech
Southwest Node
Partner Institutions
Questions?
Heath Naquin
Executive Director, Southwest I-Corps Node
I-Corps Teaching Team Lead
Mandy Sutton
I-Corps TA
Key contacts
