Skip to content
Newsismybusiness.com
Grupo Guayacán Inc. (GGI) will offer the upcoming third edition of its I-Corps Puerto Rico program at the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez Campus, marking the first time that the program is offered outside of the San Juan metropolitan area and directly on a university campus, organizers said.
I-Corps Puerto Rico is an intensive customer discovery boot camp for innovative entrepreneurs looking to build and develop scalable business models.
I-Corps Puerto Rico is offered through a partnership between GGI and the Georgia Institute of Technology, whose VentureLab manages the regional node for the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps.
The program includes a two-day kick off, three weekly meetings and a two-day conclusion workshop where each team presents the findings from the customer discovery process. Keith McGreggor, Venture Lab Director, entrepreneur, and veteran I-Corps instructor, will lead the local teaching team.
“We are very pleased that, following two successful I-Corps cohorts during 2015, we are able to expand the program’s reach in order to continue discovering the great potential of our entrepreneurs and researchers,” said Laura Cantero, GGI’s Executive Director.
“The UPR’s Mayagüez campus is a distinguished center for research and innovation and we are proud to have the university’s support in bringing this program to campus and offering professors, researchers, students, and the community at large the opportunity to learn proven methodologies for the successful commercialization of innovative products and services arising from academic research,” she said.
Like its recent second edition, the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust is the main sponsor of the upcoming I-Corps session.
“Sponsoring I-Corps Puerto Rico is aligned with the Trust’s mission of investing in the knowledge economy so it can become a driver for economic development. Our entrepreneurs and researchers are the human capital in which we must invest and who we must support on their road to commercialization,” said Lucy Crespo, CEO of the Science Trust.
Meanwhile, UPR President Uroyoán R. Walker-Ramos said providing access to I-Corps’ customer discovery methodologies is an important accomplishment for the UPR.
Through the intensive five-week program each team will learn about their potential markets by conducting more than 100 customer discovery interviews with likely customers and market influencers.
Based on the feedback and evidence gathered through the customer discovery phase, each team will build a business model canvas, detailing the venture’s value propositions, customer segments, key activities, resources and partners, sales/distribution channels, cost structures, and revenue streams.
The program, which began last year, was awarded the “Startup Program of the Year” award at the recent H3 Tech Conference. Interested teams must submit a brief online application at www.icorpssouth.com/puertorico. The application process will be open until Jan. 30th.
[button class=”” link=”http://newsismybusiness.com/guayacan-announces-edition/” bgcolor=”” textcolor=”” bordercolor=”” target=”_self”]Article[/button]
