Research-to-Market (R2M) Customer Discovery Program

Research-to-Market (R2M) is a four-week program that teaches scientific and engineering inventors and teams the process of customer discovery and how to find a market for their technology by getting out of the lab.

Derived from the National Science Foundation's I-Corps™ program, R2M leverages the nationally-recognized Lean LaunchPad and Business Model Canvas methodologies specifically designed for university researchers commercializing their inventions.

Program Components

• Virtual workshops focused on customer discovery and finding a market for technologies
• Team presentations and instructor office hours
• 30 interviews done virtually in a target industry
• Meeting and building connections with industry experts and mentors

Program Benefits

"It drove me out of my comfort zone of hard technology research and made me think more about the business side of the puzzle."

"This type of program seems almost like a necessity when trying to develop something from within the University. It provided a lot of information."

Application and Eligibility

Our I-Corps programming is available to deep tech innovators from any Colorado research or teaching institution. If you are in another demographic and would like to see if you are eligible, please contact us at vpcontact@colorado.edu. 

To participate in R2M, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Teams must contain two or more people and have a technology or innovative idea.
• Teams must complete the pre-homework, which includes readings, watching short videos and setting up first interviews.
• Teams must be able to work part-time for four weeks to transform their technology into a potential product.
• CU Boulder teams must disclose their technology or innovative idea to Venture Partners.

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