Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship

Webinars

Lab to Impact: Explore the Commercial Potential of Your Innovative Technology or idea

Join our workshops to understand the process of taking a technology concept or idea from the university to the market. Tailored for graduate students, postdocs, researchers, staff, and faculty, these interactive sessions cut through the complexity. Leveraging the proven methodology of the NSF I-Corps program, we cover crucial content to help you validate if your technology or concept can qualify for early-stage, state, and federal Technology advancement funding, including OSU accelerator, SBIR, STTR, and NSF PFI. If you're a university innovator eager to explore the path to market for your technology or concept, this series is designed to guide you. Please note that a video presence is required for this straightforward and informative learning experience. Registration is limited.  

Value Propositions 

This workshop will guide participants through the process of creating clear and compelling value propositions that answer “what problem are you solving, what benefit are you creating and for whom?” We will discuss product-market fit, features vs. benefits and provide templates and examples.

Ecosystem Mapping 

This workshop will delve into the concept of stakeholder and ecosystem mapping, guiding participants through the process of identifying key stakeholders, understanding stakeholder roles and pain points, and aligning the value propositions accordingly.

Customer Discovery 

This workshop will provide participants with tips and strategies to conduct effective customer discovery in order to understand customer needs and pain points, test key assumptions and synthesize information to continue to refine the value proposition.

Market and Competitive Analyses 

This workshop will discuss market opportunity, target and beachhead markets, the importance of key differentiators and provide participants with tools and tips to conduct market analysis and a framework to create a competitive analysis.

If you have questions, please contact:  

Caroline Crisafulli, crisafulli.1@osu.edu  

2024 Accelerator Award Pre-Proposal Information Sessions

Accelerator Award pre-proposal sessions provide applicants with an overview of the funding opportunity and are geared to assist applicants in understanding the proposal content and critical components. Workshop are delivered by Caroline Crisafulli and Corine St. Gelais, Entrepreneurial Education, Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship. Contact accelerator_awards@osu.edu for more information or if you have a question.

 

Introduction to Accelerator Awards

Information session on the funding opportunity (30 mins).   

 

Understanding the Unmet Need, Solution and Market Opportunity

Provides applicants insights into defining the unmet need or problem an innovative solution uniquely solves, and guidance on understanding and communicating the relevant market opportunity and prospective customers (45 mins).

 

Technology Competition and Informing Proposals through Industry Expert Engagement.

Provides applicants guidance on identifying other similar solutions/products on the market or in development and understanding of differentiating features or benefits of proposed products. Highlights the importance and benefits of engaging an industry expert, who they are, what role they play, and guidance on what questions to ask them (45 mins).  

 

Commercialization-Oriented Milestones 

Provides clarity on commercialization-oriented milestones; what types of activities are appropriate, can be funded and how to propose milestones that are specific, measurable, and achievable with key deliverables and success criteria outlined (45 mins). 

 

Open Session for Questions  

Open session to drop in and ask any questions regarding the pre-proposal submission.