A recent First Gear team began on a mission to satisfy the need of a very passionate clinician long before they applied to participate in this program offered by the Innovation Institute. In response to a recent session the team estimated the size of their product’s pie at $25,000 a year. Some venture capital firms won’t consider an investment in a company unless the market is at least $1 billion a year.
The importance of interacting with your customers should never be underestimated. It is from these discussions that you learn about your customers and shape the future of your product or innovation. This is one of the most valuable lessons we provide in the Pitt Ventures First Gear program. You must "get out of the building."
It’s not enough to have a good idea. In order to be successful, a product needs a value proposition to clearly answer the question “Why would someone be willing to purchase this product?” A value proposition is a clear statement that explains your product’s relevancy, quantified value, and unique differentiation. Communicating this persuasively is difficult though.
Today we welcome Douglas Nelson, Jr. to the University of Pittsburgh’s Innovation Institute. Doug is a doctoral candidate with the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Bioengineering. He is a Pitt graduate with a dual degree in applied mathematics and bioengineering. Doug will complete his Ph.D. program and The Wallace H. Coulter Translational Research Partners II Grant Program in December. This program is led and administered by the Swanson School of Engineering's Department of Bioengineering in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Pitt’s Innovation Institute. Doug has spent the past several years focused on developing a medical simulation training product – BodyExplorer - to improve health-science education and is preparing to take the innovation to market. As an Entrepreneur in Residence with the Innovation Institute, I have had
American author and lecturer Helen Keller once said, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” At the Innovation Institute, we are optimistic about the commercial potential for your research. This attitude, combined with our entrepreneurial programs and invaluable network of experts, has recently afforded us the opportunity to be designated as a National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps program site. What does this mean for Pitt Innovators like you? It means a great deal. An optimistic outlook alone is not substantial enough to support your dream. You also need the resources and support necessary to commercialize your innovation and present it to society so that it can change people’s lives. The Innovation Institute’s NSF I-Corps Site program provides these resources and helps advance your discovery toward commercial use. We recently hosted an NSF I-Corps Funding Webinar, which you can view here for more details.