Introduction to the Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps)

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Intro to the
Innovation Corps
(I-Corps)
Frank Rimalovski
Executive Director, NYU Entrepreneurial Institute
Instructor, NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps)
April 29, 2016

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Agenda
u Background
u Program benefits and outcomes
u Program details
o Curriculum
o Eligibility
o Application process
u Scaling I-Corps: NIH, DOE, DOD, etc.
u How we can help
u Q&A
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Path to commercialization…
u …increasingly requires startup to advance tech, develop
customer/partner relationships & build team before M&A
Startup Acquired By

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75%
of startups
fail to return
investors capital
Shikhar Ghosh
Harvard Business School

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Commercialization Myth
Basic &
Applied
Research
Scientific
Discovery/
Invention/
IP Creation
Venture
Formation
& Growth

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The “valley of death”
Commercialization Reality
Basic &
Applied
Research
Scientific
Discovery/
Invention/
IP Creation
Venture
Formation
& Growth

@NYUEntrepreneurThe “valley of death”
Basic &
Applied
Research
Scientific
Discovery/
Invention/
IP Creation
Customer
Discovery &
Prototype
Dev
Business
Model &
Team
Formation
Venture
Formation
& Growth
• Customer/market discovery
• Engineering/prototypes
• Mentors & advisors
• Collaborative spaces
• Business leadership
• Legal counsel
• Capital
Commercialization Reality

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Humans Start Startups
u Graduate students & postdocs play critical role in
commercializing technology from the lab
u Tech transfer via humans, not legal docs
u Tech startups require a technical founder
u Relationships with faculty are critical
u Research-based startups
at greater risk unless
deliberately explore
market opportunities early
8

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(At least) Three Parts to
Building a Successful Startups
1. Advancing the product/technology
2. Beginning to build a team
3. Finding a repeatable business model
u Most focus on #1 and/or #2
u Successful efforts require all three
9

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Overview
Creation of NSF I-Corps Program
u Maximize impact of NSF investments
o Accelerate transition of tech out of lab
o Train scientists, engineers & researchers
in startup best practices
§ Get customer feedback before building &
launching product/business
§ Develop an evidence-based
commercialization strategy & plan
u $50,000 grants
u 7-week immersive bootcamp
u Facilitates team formation

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NSF I-Corps Teams
12
Principal
Investigator
(PI)
Entrepreneurial
Lead
(EL)
Industry
Mentor
(IM)

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I-Corps Nodes & Sites
13

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Curriculum: Lean Launchpad
u Customer/business-model
discovery & development to
address market risk
u Leverages scientific method to
search for repeatable & scalable
business model
u Learn to secure substantial
customer feedback before
finishing & launching your product

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Curriculum: Flipped Classroom
u Online lectures via Udacity
u “Classroom” time spent
reviewing progress
u Interview >100 customers/
partners (~15 week)
u Teaching team office hours
u Track progress in Launchpad
Central

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Example I-Corps Schedule
I-Corps Cohorts are currently run 3-4x per quarter
Week 1:
Intro Bootcamp
(in-person)
Mon Sept 29 – all day
Tues Sept 30 – all day
Wed Oct 1 – half day
Weeks 2-6:
Webex Classes
(online)
Thurs Oct 9 – 12:30 – 3:30pm
Thurs Oct 16 – 12:30 – 3:30pm
Thurs Oct 23 – 12:30 – 3:30pm
Thurs Oct 30 – 12:30 – 3:30pm
Thurs Nov 6 – 12:30 – 3:30pm
Week 7:
Final Presentations
(in-person)
Mon Nov 10 – all day
Tues Nov 11 – all day

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Benefits of I-Corps
For your startup
u Concentrated time to focus on team &
commercialization—a year’s worth of work
in 7 weeks
u Funding for customer discovery &
prototype development
u Exposure to/input from startup experts,
investors & mentors
u Answer critical business questions…

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Answer Critical Biz Questions
u Who are your initial target customers?
u What do they value/why will they buy?
u How do we get/keep/grow customers?
u What is your channel strategy/how will we sell?
u What is your revenue model/how make money?
u What key partnerships do you need to start?
u What are the key skills you need on your team?
u What is your cost structure?
18

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Evidence-based
Entrepreneurship
(aka the Lean Startup)
19

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Not about picking winners!
20

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About creating more winners!
21

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Improve Fundraising Odds
22
WithI-Corps:
14% 2-3x
higher
WithoutI-Corps:

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Get to Market More Quickly
u Time to “Go/No go”: Average time from
discovery -> validation -> execution
u 68 weeks vs 22 weeks!
23

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Einstein discovers that time is actually money

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Benefits for you & your team!
u Improved ability to identify commercial
potential of future research
u Increased probability of future grant success
u Faculty more attractive to potential students
u Increased visibility with NSF
u More consulting opportunities
u New career opportunities for grad
students/postdocs (startup, industry, or gov)
u Potential for monetary gain

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Expected Outcomes
o New startup business
o Licensing opportunities
o A business case suitable for venture
capital (Angels or VC funds)

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>900 Teams Trained!

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NSF I-Corps Eligibility
u NSF award within last 5 years (for NSF program);
or participate in a regional program
u Team in place at time of application
o Principal Investigator (PI)
o Entrepreneurial Lead: typically PhD student or Postdoc
o Industry Mentor
u Commitment to attend all sessions over 7 weeks
o 3-day kick-off
o 3 hours per week for webex ‘classes’
o 15+ hours per week of customer discovery/preparation
o 2-day final presentation session
28

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Application Process
Form Team
Prepare
Exec
Summary
Contact
Program
Directors
Team
Interview(s)
Submit
Proposal

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Application Process
Form Team
Prepare
Exec
Summary
Contact
Program
Directors
Team
Interview(s)
Submit
Proposal
Principal
Investigator
(PI)
Entrepreneurial
Lead
(EL)
Industry
Mentor
(IM)

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Application Process
Form Team
Prepare
Exec
Summary
Contact
Program
Directors
Team
Interview(s)
Submit
Proposal
u One page
u Composition of team proposing to undertake
commercialization feasibility research
u Relevant awards (NSF or other funding source)
u Brief description of potential commercial impact
u Brief description of current commercialization plan

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Application Process
Form Team
Prepare
Exec
Summary
Contact
Program
Directors
Team
Interview(s)
Submit
Proposal
u For NSF Program:
Topic-Specific Program Directors
Steve Ellis – BIO
Anita La Salle – CISE
Don Millard – EHR
TBD – ENG
Raffaella Montelli – GEO
Sean Liam Jones – MPS
Irene Qualters – OCI
Quinetta Roberson– SBE
I-Corps Program Officers
Lydia McClure
Anita La Salle
u For Regional Program:
Frank Rimalovski
Lindsey Gray
Risa Cohn

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Application Process
33
Form Team
Prepare
Exec
Summary
Contact
Program
Directors
Team
Interview(s)
Submit
Proposal
u Conference call with your entire team & program
directors
o NSF program will require at least 2 interviews
u Interviews focus on availability and commitment to
program and openness to customer feedback
u Not asked to provide details about your tech

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Application Process
34
Form Team
Prepare
Exec
Summary
Contact
Program
Directors
Team
Interview(s)
Submit
Proposal
FOR NSF PROGRAM ONLY:
u Read solicitation 12-602
Written authorization from Program Director required to
submit proposal—sent after phone interviews
u 5-page proposal
o Team (2 pages)
o NSF Lineage (1 Page)
o Potential Commercial Impact (1 page)
o Project Plan/Demo (1 page)
u Rolling process, quarterly batches, FCFS
u 4-week turnaround to award

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We are here to help
u Additional detail about program & what to expect
u Discuss what kind of projects are best suited
u Introductions to mentors who may join your team
u Facilitate intro to NSF I-Corps Program Directors
u Review executive summary before you submit
u Help anticipate what to expect from interviews
u Connect with others who’ve participated in I-Corps

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Scaling I-Corps
37
“We’re scaling up the National Science Foundation’s
successful Innovation Corps program at six more federal
agencies so we can help more of our scientists move
their ideas out of the lab and into the marketplace.”

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Scaling I-Corps
38

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Scaling I-Corps
39

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3 Differences
u Apply after SBIR/STTR Phase I award
u Team composition:
o Principal Investigator
o CXO
o Industry mentor/expert
u Minor curriculum/structural
modifications
40

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Bigger Than Revenue Model
u Testing hypotheses makes substantive changes to
biz model before you complete science/design
o Define clinical utility
o Who core & tertiary users/buyers/payers are
o Data required for future partnerships/collaborations
o Initial revenues and downstream commercialization
o Intellectual property risks
o Regulatory pathways
o Reimbursement strategies
o Aspects of the product that are (& are not) valuable
u Affects your core biological & clinical hypotheses
41

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Participating NIH Agencies
u 14 Institutes/Centers across NIH and CDC are participating.
o National Cancer Institute (NCI)
o National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
o National Institute on Aging (NIA)
o National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
o National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
o National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
o National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
o National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
o National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
o National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
o National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
o National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
o CDC/National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)
o CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
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More Information
NSF I-Corps:
o nsf.gov/i-corps
NYCRIN I-Corps
o nycrin.org
NIH I-Corps
o http://sbir.cancer.gov/resource/icorps/
DOE I-Corps (Lab Corps)
o http://energy.gov/eere/lab-impact/downloads/lab-
corps-documents

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Questions?
entrepreneur@nyu.edu
@nyuentrepreneur
entrepreneur.nyu.edu
16 Washington Place
44

Introduction to the Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps)

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