UW NSF I-Corps Site Program

NSF I-CORPS

Program Description

The Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program, funded by the National Science Foundation, aims to accelerate academic research projects that are ready to move toward commercialization. Through training and mentorship, program participants learn about the commercialization process and test the value of their business idea by talking to potential customers. Program participants are also able to dive deeper into the specific needs of their industry via our industry-specific bootcamps. Currently, the program offers additional programming for Life Science and CleanTech projects. Those who do well in the program may apply for up to $2,500 of funding to continue testing their business hypotheses via customer discovery. This program is excellent preparation for anyone who wants to participate in business plan competitions, seek gap funding, or apply for further federal funding (I-Corps Teams grant, SBIR/STTR grants, etc.).

Impact

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I-Corps graduates are better prepared to raise funds

Dempsey Startup Competition

Non I-Corps Participants

I-Corps Participants

Top 30
Entrants

Award
Winners

CoMotion Innovation Gap Fund

Non I-Corps Grads

I-Corps Grads

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I-Corps graduates raised:

$386M

(over the last five years)

Who is it for?

Faculty, researchers, postdocs, students or staff members from an academic institution in the Pacific Northwest
Professionals with industry or startup experience who are looking to mentor the next generation of academic entrepreneurs

Participating states

States participating in I-Corps: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska

Participating states

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Participant status

Register

Deadline: May 30, 2022

For teams and solopreneurs

Participants in this program must be ready to spend several hours per week working on their project over the 6 weeks of the program.

For mentors

Mentors who report the highest satisfaction from the program usually dedicate 2 hours per week over 6 weeks to the program and engage in a variety of activities (training, bootcamps, individual team mentoring, or pitching). Learn more about the mentor experience.

Program dates & deadlines

Keep track of the key dates and deadlines for the current program cycle.

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Timeline - five milestones

Milestone 1: Register and complete the first challenge

Teams are expected to complete the first challenge before they can proceed to the main program. The challenge includes completing a short training, and interviewing 3 customers in one week.

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Milestone 2: Attend initial training

The program starts with a series of workshops, to help teams learn the skills needed to test their business assumptions.

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Milestone 3: Participate in bootcamps

Teams participate in further training and weekly check-ins with industry mentors around specific topics. These bootcamps also provide an opportunity for participants and mentors to network and share tips.

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