Session dates: 

May 21, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm (in-person Kickoff)
May 28, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm (Zoom)
June 4, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm (Zoom)
June 18, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm (in-person Finale)

Our four-session Propelus program helps researchers explore the customer perspective to inform how a discovery or innovation can become the basis of a successful startup or venture.

Through the program, we provide training and grants to support team-based customer research aimed at investigating the viability and societal impact of scientific and technological discoveries.

To apply to attend the Propelus program, researchers must form a team of at least two people involved with the scientific or technological discovery. The team must include:

• An Entrepreneurial Lead (often a postdoctoral researcher, graduate student or undergraduate) and
• A Technical Lead (usually a faculty member)
• (optional) Industry Mentor (someone from outside the university with warm connections to industry and/or has demonstrated commercialization success for another similar technology)
  • Please note: Non-university teams of 2+ are also eligible if they have a tech-enabled innovation.

Benefits

Training: Four sessions introducing the Lean LaunchPad methodology, which focuses on customer discovery research to evaluate the potential of your idea to solve problems and provide value. View a sample course agenda.

Funding: Stipends of up to $1,500 are provided to each selected team and can be used to fund expenses related to customer discovery research, including conferences and marketing tools.

Resources: Selected teams will receive mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and innovators. Teams may also utilize many other programs offered by the Hub-affiliated institutions.

Follow-on opportunities: Upon completion, academic teams are eligible for the national NSF I-Corps Teams program which provides an intensive 7-week training course and a $50,000 grant.