Entrepreneur teams from the Mid-Atlantic region recently completed I-Corps Next, a five-week, intensive workshop that guides startups through advanced startup development.

Offered exclusively to 17 companies that previously completed a regional I-Corps cohort, I-Corps Next was hosted by the Maryland Innovation Extension and the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps Hub, Mid-Atlantic Region from July 1-July 29, 2024.

Workshop participants navigated deeper into customer discovery, after which they built out an entire business model. They also identified key partnerships, key resources, key activities, channels, customer relationships, cost structure, and revenue streams for their ventures.

I-Corps Next culminated in a day of final presentations at the University of Maryland, College Park, on July 29.

Participants included: three teams from the University of Maryland; one from Johns Hopkins University; two teams evaluating Morgan State University technologies with UMD team members; two teams evaluating UMD technology with Morgan State team members; two teams with University of Baltimore alumni; one with Bowie State University alumni; one from the University of Washington; two referred by the U.S. Economic Development Administration; and one regional entrepreneur.

Three past participants of I-Corps regional cohorts and I-Corps Next, Basil Udo, founder of Xeddy Inc., Paul Aiyetan, founder of Neopathology Corp., and Sam Choe, co-founder of UCleaner LLC, shared their I-Corps experiences and how they continue to positively impact their respective ventures.

The I-Corps Next teaching team included: Daniel Kunitz, Mid-Atlantic I-Corps Hub Director and Maryland Innovation Extension Director; Edmund Pendleton, Mid-Atlantic I-Corps Hub Lead Instructor and NSF I-Corps Instructor; Dave Sandrowitz, Associate Director, NSF I-Corps Hub: Mid-Atlantic Region; Glen Hellman, UMD I-Corps Instructor and Program Manager; GP Saggese, UMD I-Corps Instructor; Jainaba Ceesay, UMD I-Corps Instructor and Program Manager, Maryland Innovation Extension; and Glenn Watson, I-Corps Instructor, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University; Rachel Frazier, Instructional Associate Professor, Gene Fraser Teaching Professor, University of Florida Leadership Institute; Qyana Stewart, CEO & Principal Consultant, GlobalForce Tech Consulting, LLC; and Alexis Slupe, Early Stage Innovation, Customer Discovery, Coach and Teacher.

View photos from the cohort here.