Type I: University at Buffalo I-Corps Site for Lean Entrepreneurial Growth

Suny At Buffalo, Amherst NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project, from the University at Buffalo (IB), creates an I-Corps Site at this institution. NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Sites are NSF-funded entities established at universities whose purpose is to nurture and support multiple, local teams to transition their technology concepts into the marketplace. Sites provide infrastructure, advice, resources, networking opportunities, training and modest funding to enable groups to transition their work into the marketplace or into becoming I-Corps Team applicants. I-Corps Sites also strengthen innovation locally and regionally and contribute to the National Innovation Network of mentors, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors. Through their I-Corps Site, UB improves the way technology is commercialized and entrepreneurship is cultivated. UB receives over eighty invention disclosures annually that result in patents, licenses, and the formation of startup companies. To train participant entrepreneurial teams, UB's Business & Entrepreneur Partnerships in the Office of Economic Development (BEP) offers a unique two-phase, resource-efficient training process in the areas of: Customer Discovery, Lean Startup methods, The Business Model Canvas, Developing a prioritized list of testable hypotheses and open questions, and Assessing the strength of an opportunity. Under Phase I, teams receive workshop instruction, work closely with mentors and practice customer discovery. Phase II training integrates intensive customer engagement. UB views the NSF I-Corps Site program as an important way to: 1) perform more robust technical and commercial assessments of new technologies; 2) increase inventors' entrepreneurial skills leading to system-wide culture change; 3) improve the quality of future research proposals; 4) increase commercialization success; 5) prepare inventors and students for success in the I-Corps Node program; 6) pursue SBIR/STTR funding; and 6) provide graduate students and postdocs with a world class experience that will impact their entire careers. The UB I-Corps Site program broader impacts are realized through the creation of a network of strategic partnerships between researchers and engaged commercial interests. These relationships increase: industry-sponsored research funding; competitive SBIR/STTR applications; pivotal student experiences; campus-wide, interdisciplinary collaborations; the level of industry mentorship; the number and quality of invention disclosures; participation of 5-10 teams (annually) in the I-Corps Node Program; and overall culture change (innovative, entrepreneurial, collaborative, multidisciplinary). UB's Technology Transfer Office is joined by a number of other units and strategic partners - an inclusivity that extends the impact of the I-Corps Site award across the campus, into the business community, and supports a greater public mission.