Intro to Lean Startup: NSF I-Corps Method

Respira Labs wouldn’t be what it is today without the help of the NSF Bay Area I-Corps node. As a first-time founder without business experience, learning the ins and outs of customer discovery positioned us to get into the most competitive national programs and secure almost $2M in grant awards from NSF and NIH.

Whenever I meet an early-stage founder, especially those who are not well represented in the tech industry (women and POC), I always tell them to complete this course before spending any time fundraising or building a product.

I-Corps was pivotal in my decision to pursue Intropic Materials. I came in knowing our technology platform was a deep innovation, but it was the customer discovery process that validated the real market need for our solution.

During I-Corps, I was taught how to apply my scientific training to the process of understanding a customer and humanizing their needs. This shift away from a purely technical focus, into one that brings value to an individual has been transformative to how I approach my business.

"I-Corps was a demanding and rewarding program! The teaching team forced us to identify and test our assumptions with real users. I learned to ask for help, ask well-researched but open-ended questions, and actively listen to the responses. Our team finished I-Corps with a better product, stronger narrative, evidence of customer demand, and a deeper connection to our users."

“As a computer science faculty with no experience in commercialization, I found participating in Bay Area I-Corps an incredible experience. The amazing team of faculty and teaching assistants gave me and my team a more practical attitude towards customer discovery and commercialization in a fun, educational and unique setting. The experiences we gained at Bay Area I-Corps prepared us well for our subsequent participation and completion of the NSF National I-Corps program.”