I-CORPS

The I-Corps program, funded by the National Science Foundation, offers workshops and mentorship to help scientific researchers become entrepreneurs. The program provides funding for teams to validate their customer market, so they can confidently choose whether to pursue commercialization and prepare to apply for SBIR funding.

Short Course: Regional

At Virginia Tech, our regional course uniquely prepares your team to apply to the national program. Not only do we introduce you to the Business Model Canvas and Customer Discovery, we help you learn how to analyze the data you are gathering from potential customers and uncover its meaning for your startup.

• Attend 45-minute prerequisite "kickoff" session and two half-day workshops on business model and customer discovery
• Learn from successful entrepreneurs using Lean Launchpad methodology
• Engage in weekly 90-minute online coaching sessions
• Conduct 20 customery discovery interviews 


• Become eligible for national I-Corps Teams

I-Corps Teams: National

I-Corps Teams is a nationwide program composed of academic researchers, student entrepreneurs, and business mentors who participate in rigorous curriculum administered through on-site activities and via online instruction.

• Join a seven-week national cohort for top teams from across the U.S. (offered 16x per year)
• Receive $25,000 to $50,000 to do 100+ customer discovery interviews anywhere you need to go
• Participate in three-day, in-person “kickoff” workshop; six weeks to conduct interviews; 90-minute weekly report-ins; and a two-day “Lessons Learned” workshop
• Engage in personalized instruction and team mentoring with successful entrepreneurs
• Decide whether to pursue commercialization
• Identify next steps, including SBIR application

The National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program is designed to take scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs of every technical background beyond the campus labs and classrooms and toward commercialization. Since I-Corps’ initial launch with NSF in 2011, it has been adopted and applied by NIH, NASA, DoD, DHS, and many other government entities, as well as many private companies.  

The program focuses on reducing risk during tech transition through customer discovery and business intelligence gathering and mentoring by experienced industry business leaders. Instructors are entrepreneurs in their own right and coach scientists on how to develop a repeatable, scalable business model through evidence-based entrepreneurship. Thousands of faculty and students have employed the program - and its $50,000 grant - to create winning business decisions, raise millions of dollars in funding, and launch companies or license intellectual property.

Virginia Tech is a member of the I-Corps Mid-Atlantic Hub, offering regional short courses that prepare teams to both apply for and participate in the national program. All the methodologies taught shift thinking and approaches for not only tech translation but also research and teaching methods.  

Frequently Asked Questions

Virginia Tech I-Corps Short Course

There are currently no scheduled short courses.

Additional I-Corps Short Course Offerings

Virginia Tech faculty and researchers can participate in any course offered by universities within the NSF I-Corps Mid-Atlantic Hub. Please click the following link to view upcoming programs offered by hub members:  Upcoming Courses