Intro to Lean Startup: NSF I-Corps Method
Transform your innovative technology into a startup
About us
Each month, NSF I-Corps Method offers an immersive one week virtual training aimed at translating academic research into a startup. You'll learn how to conduct 15 customer interviews to identify your top customer segment and value propositions, validate your commercial market, and accelerate finding product market fit.
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Testimonials
Respira Labs wouldn’t be what it is today without the help of the NSF Bay Area I-Corps node. As a first-time founder without business experience, learning the ins and outs of customer discovery positioned us to get into the most competitive national programs and secure almost $2M in grant awards from NSF and NIH.
Whenever I meet an early-stage founder, especially those who are not well represented in the tech industry (women and POC), I always tell them to complete this course before spending any time fundraising or building a product.
I-Corps was pivotal in my decision to pursue Intropic Materials. I came in knowing our technology platform was a deep innovation, but it was the customer discovery process that validated the real market need for our solution.
During I-Corps, I was taught how to apply my scientific training to the process of understanding a customer and humanizing their needs. This shift away from a purely technical focus, into one that brings value to an individual has been transformative to how I approach my business.
"I-Corps was a demanding and rewarding program! The teaching team forced us to identify and test our assumptions with real users. I learned to ask for help, ask well-researched but open-ended questions, and actively listen to the responses. Our team finished I-Corps with a better product, stronger narrative, evidence of customer demand, and a deeper connection to our users."
“As a computer science faculty with no experience in commercialization, I found participating in Bay Area I-Corps an incredible experience. The amazing team of faculty and teaching assistants gave me and my team a more practical attitude towards customer discovery and commercialization in a fun, educational and unique setting. The experiences we gained at Bay Area I-Corps prepared us well for our subsequent participation and completion of the NSF National I-Corps program.”
As part of UC Berkeley's ongoing commitment to entrepreneurship, all teams who complete Bay Area I-Corps are also eligible for $1,000 in AWS credits through the AWS Activate @ Berkeley program.
Our Team
Each NSF I-Corps Method course is taught by a seasoned entrepreneur who will give you clear feedback and direction throughout the week.
RHONDA SHRADER
Executive Director, Bay Area NSF I-Corps Node & Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship
DAVID WEINER
Program Director, Bay Area NSF I-Corps Node
DARREN COOKE
Executive Director, UC Berkeley LSEC, Node Instructor
Teams who complete the NSF I-Corps Method course may also be eligible for no cost resources from SBDCTech @ Berkeley Haas, such as tailored advising to help secure non-dilutive funding from the Tech Futures Group, finance advising from the SBDC Finance Center, and the NorCal SBDC Restaurant Program, which includes resources such as one-on-one advising and a 10-week food business startup accelerator.
Apply below for the June NSF I-Corps Method course, with online sessions from 5-8pm PST on June 10, 12, & 17. For the June course, we are excited to offer a second class happening at the same time: I-Corps @ LSEC, our collaborative course with the UC Berkeley Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center. Taught by Darren Cooke, Executive Director of the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center, I-Corps @ LSEC offers an I-Corps curriculum tailored to early stage life-science startups.
