Regional I-Corps Courses

NSF I-Corps Regional Courses are for university-based STEM researchers and early-stage startup founders who are interested in exploring the market potential of their work and learning entrepreneurial skills. Participants learn to apply “customer discovery” methodology to evaluate the potential for translating their technology innovation from the lab into a successful product and/or service.

How it Works

The Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub offers a free, month-long, regional course guided by experienced entrepreneurs. Regional course completers may be eligible to receive lineage and a letter of recommendation for the NSF I-Corps Teams national program ($50K grant).

Regional course teams will learn to:

  • Evaluate a technology’s commercialization potential
  • Find and talk to 30 potential customers and industry stakeholders
  • Identify the real problem(s) the customer needs solved
  • Develop an entrepreneurial mindset

Successful applicants will have:

  • An early-stage technology innovation (there’s a prototype or some form of scientific validation – it’s not just an idea)
  • One to three team members with the ability to spend eight to ten hours/week on class work + conducting 30 interviews

Note: All applicants welcome; preference is given to applicants with university affiliated technology (i.e., graduate students, post-docs, and faculty)

Virtual Course Format

The virtual regional course is approximately one month long and combines self-directed online learning activities, with six Zoom-based class meetings (1-2 hours long), and two one-on-one instructor check ins (15-20 minutes).

Unless otherwise specified, virtual regional courses are technology-agnostic, any sufficiently developed (i.e., beyond ideation), deep-tech innovation is welcome to apply.

In the first half of the course, teams learn how to:

  1. Identify target customer segments
  2. Develop hypotheses about the value proposition you offer each customer segment
  3. Find and effectively interview potential customers about their problems/needs

In the second half of the course, teams conduct 30 customer discovery interviews (in person or by video or phone conference) and join two check in calls with instructors to share progress and receive coaching.

In the final class, teams present their findings, receive more coaching, learn about other local entrepreneurship programs, and receive information about applying for the national I-Corps Teams program, and SBIR/STTR grants.

A young black woman smiles as she works on a computer

Hybrid Course Format

An instructor teaches an in-person course of diverse students

4-5 times per year, our Hub offers regional courses that include funded customer discovery travel to a specified industry conference or event.

These “Hybrid format” courses are uniquely focused on technologies within in a particular industry vertical (e.g., Biotech, Agtech, Optics, Clean Energy).

Each hybrid format course is ~1 month long and begins virtually, then transitions to an in-person format, before concluding virtually again.

During the first two weeks, teams learn how to:

  1. Identify target customer segments
  2. Develop hypotheses about the value proposition you offer each customer segment
  3. Find and effectively interview potential customers about their problems/needs

The course then goes on the road! Teams and instructors travel to a specified industry conference or related event for 3-4 days. At the industry event, teams receive additional training, then conduct in person customer discovery interviews with conference attendees and report out on their interview progress.

After returning from the industry event, teams have another week to complete more interviews virtually. In the final class, they present their findings, receive more coaching, learn about other local entrepreneurship programs, and receive information about applying for the national I-Corps Teams program, and SBIR/STTR grants.