iJOBS and Novus I-Corps Program: How to Become an Entrepreneur

By Juliana Corrêa-Velloso

“Shifting your mindset from technology to the people who benefit from the technology”

When an idea becomes an innovation, and that innovation has the potential to become a commercial product, most scientist naturally focus their efforts on improving the new technology itself. However, one of the most effective – and often counterintuitive – way to make an innovation a perfect fit for the market is to shift the focus from the technology to the people who will benefit from it. In other words: customer development.

The Novus Workshop

On June 12, iJOBS and I-Corps Program hosted Novus, an interactive workshop designed to help scientists make this mindset shift – from concentrating solely on the technical aspects of their innovations to understanding needs, challenges, and perspectives of those who will ultimately use or be impacted by them. The Novus program is open to university-based researchers and innovators at Rutgers, NJIT, Stevens, Rowan, and Princeton, and serve as an introduction to the I-Corps program.

About the I-Corps Program

The NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program is an experiential training program that helps teams of innovators explore the commercial potential of their research through “customer discovery” interviews with key stakeholders. Rutgers is part of the I-Corps Northeast Region Hub and offers opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and alumni to participates in both Novus and Propelus program. Novus is a preparatory half-day immersive workshop, while Propelus is a four-session training program (offered virtually or in person). Completion of Propelus makes Rutgers innovators eligible for the national NSF I-Corps Teams program.

Why Do Researchers and Innovators Need I-Corps?

A central question posed at the Novus workshop was: “Why do researchers and innovators need I-Corps?”. To address this,  Dan Benderly (Associate Director, Rutgers New Ventures, and Northeast I-Corps Hub Adjunct Instructor) explained that the primary cause for start-up failure is not poor product quality or inadequate management. Rather, one of the most common reasons for failure is building something that nobody wants. Even the most promising ideas can only succeed if there is a genuine market need for them. A well-executed product development phase – an important milestone on the entrepreneurial path – cannot overcome the lack of customers. To avoid wasting valuable time and resources, I-Corps provides scientists-turned-entrepreneurs with the tools to develop robust customer development process. According to Mr. Benderly, two key tools are critical to this stage: business model canvas and customer interviews.

The Power of a Strong Business Model

Jack Harwood (Associate Director, New Ventures) emphasized the importance of having a strong business model – one that “describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value” and is also innovative. Quoting Henry Chesbrough (Faculty Director of Garwood Center of Corporate Innovation, UC Berkeley), Mr. Harwood noted: “A mediocre technology pursued within a great business model may be more valuable than a great technology exploited via a mediocre business model”. To illustrate this, he compared Sony’s and Apple’s approaches to digital music. Although Sony possessed the technology and dominated the music market, it failed to imagine a business model that could generate profit by coupling the distribution of inexpensive content with an expensive device. Apple, on the other hand, introduced a simple, integrated system: it kept music prices low on iTunes (with slim profit margins) while offering a premium, highly desirable device – the iPod – at a higher price point.

Knowing Your Customers

Another crucial factor discussed by Mr. Harwood was customer segmentation. Identifying who the customers are is a vital step in customer development. As scientists understand the value of collecting reliable data before drawing any conclusions, evidence-based entrepreneurship follows a similar logic: it relies on thorough engagement with costumers to test hypotheses. The best way to achieve this is by “getting out of the building” to meet potential customers directly. This process not only validates customer needs and pain points but also confirms the market fit for the product. Additionally, it allows entrepreneurs to create detailed customer archetypes – demographic and behavioral profiles including age, gender, interests, location, income level, and motivations for purchasing the product.

Effective Customer Interactions

But what is the correct way to interact with potential customers to learn and understand their needs? Mark DeGuzman (Northeast I-Corps Hub Program Manager, Manager of New Ventures) stressed the importance of preparation prior to any meeting, recommending due diligence research using platforms like LinkedIn. He also advised prioritizing in-person meetings over surveys or focus groups. When in-person meetings are not possible, videoconferences are preferable to phone calls. Interviews should begin with a brief warm-up, move on to general questions, and gradually progress to more specific inquiries. The conversation should center on the customer’s needs and pains points.  Interviewers must be open-minded and ready to hear unexpected or even disappointing feedback. By approaching these conversations with genuine curiosity, entrepreneurs can maximize the value of customer discovery – testing their hypotheses and gaining honest, actionable insights about their innovations.

From Discovery to Success

As in any discovery process, learning is essential. The knowledge gained from customer discovery can determine whether a business succeeds or fails. The Regional Propelus I-Corps and the National I-Corps programs offer technical and financial support to entrepreneurial scientists, helping them to develop their business models and navigate the customer discovery process successfully. These programs also provide access to mentors and advisors who help identify meaningful patterns and insights related to the business. Robert Tancer, a national I-Corps alumnus and Postdoctoral Associate at Rutgers Public Health Research Institute, shared his positive experience with the program. He credited the customers interviewing skills he gained with not only advancing his personal growth but also helping him better understand the market potential of his innovation.

Key Takeaways

In closing, Lori Dars (Associate Director of Economic Development & Innovation and Regional Instructor Trainer of the Northeast I-Corps Hub) summarized the workshop’s key points:

1. Evidence-based entrepreneurship applies the scientific method to identify assumptions and develop a rapid testing plan to validate or invalidate the initial innovation hypothesis.
2. Customer discovery involves asking questions to understand needs and pain points of potential customers
3. Customers are humans – they can be any kind of stakeholder (e.g., end user, decision maker) who receives value from your business.
4. Understand the customer’s role, responsibilities, goals, existing solutions and pains/gains before proposing how your solution might benefit them.

Shifting between a scientific and entrepreneurial mindset is both a challenge and a necessary skill for any accomplished innovator. I-Corps is a valuable resource for Rutgers scientists seeking to maximize the potential of their innovations by understanding the fundamental needs of future customers and building strong business models.

More information about upcoming Regional Propelus and National I-Corps programs can be found [here]. For questions, office hours are available with:

• Mark DeGuzman – m.deguzman@rutgers.edu
• Dan Benderly – dan.benderly@rutgers.edu
• Lori Dars – lori.dars@rutgers.edu

You can also sign up for the NSF I-Corps Northeast Hub newsletter [here].

This article was edited by Junior Editor E. Beyza Guven and Senior Editor Joycelyn Radeny.