Phil Brooks, an entrepreneur and business consultant with 30-plus years of experience across multiple sectors — from manufacturing, mining, and information technology, to life sciences and entertainment — has joined the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute as a full time executive in residence.
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