SBIR Phase II: Cloud-based platform to support experiential entrepreneurship education online at scale

Launchpad Central Inc., San Francisco CA

Investigators

Abstract

This SBIR Phase II project aims to provide web based software-as-a-service platform to deliver an experiential entrepreneurship methodology at scale. This two-sided platform consists of the tools for entrepreneurs to search for a repeatable and scalable business model and tools for instructors, mentors and portfolios managers to triage for early signs of failure and course correct. The project team is comprised of the chief architect, practitioners, and mentors of the highly experiential Lean Startup methodology. Collectively they possess the domain expertise to build and scale a platform for evidence-based entrepreneurship delivering the methodology and content to a global community of entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors. Phase II technology goals are to address one of the core pain points of effective mentoring by leveraging data science expertise to develop a self-learning algorithm capable of providing non-prescriptive suggestions (like an experienced mentor would ask a team) based on certain trigger events the startups would record in the platform. The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase II project is taking place at national, regional and local levels. With the success of the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, other signification technology commercialization programs at a national level are adopting the platform to accelerate evidence-based commercialization efforts. Regional Economic Development agencies and the local Chamber of Commerce are bringing these best practices and tools to entrepreneurship ecosystems at the regional and local levels respectively. The simplicity and pragmatic nature of the offering has allowed for adoption all the way from high school students to undergraduate and graduate students in business and engineering to PhD and Post Doctorates and the Chief Innovation Officers at Fortune 500 enterprises.