At the Venture Center, we’ve developed a first-in-class program, based on years of experience and the study of other business models, to help translate research into commercial success. Our University Startup Pipeline highlights the startups we are actively supporting on their journey of translating their ideas into commercial impact!
Venture Center Startup Stages
In partnership with the founding startup team, we have designed a curriculum that includes six phases of development and can be tailored to the needs of each team.
Stage 1 – Customer Discovery & Value Proposition
At this stage, teams have identified a discovery or innovation and are taking initial steps to bring it to market through a startup. Their primary focus is defining their value proposition by conducting voice of customer interviews to validate the problem and solution.
Stage 2 – Market Understanding
Teams in this stage have a clear grasp of the problem they are solving and the customers they are targeting. The focus shifts to market research and competitive analysis, determining if the opportunity is viable, valuable, and winnable.
Stage 3 – Business Formation & Operations
With a strong understanding of the market landscape, teams begin laying the foundation for their business. This includes filing company formation documents, developing an operational plan, and de-risking the technology to prepare for commercialization.
Stage 4 – Technology Development
Teams work to advance their technology to a commercially viable state. This may involve additional R&D, product refinement, and securing funding such as SBIR/STTR grants to support continued development.
Stage 5 – Business Planning
Once R&D is complete, teams shift their focus to building the business. Many of our startups at this stage enroll in Discovery LaunchPad, UMN’s internal accelerator, to develop a structured business plan and prepare for market entry.
Stage 6 – Business Operations & Execution
In the final stage, teams graduate from Discovery LaunchPad and begin executing their go-to-market strategy. Some may already have early customers, while others are securing additional external funding to scale their operations.