Inside the I-Corps Initiative Innovation Ignited
starting their company. Upon completion of the program, they’re expected to deliver a final presentation on their startup ideas and products for the rest of the class. “Once you graduate, you’re ready to present to a venture capitalist or a bigger company,” Smeraglia says. To help encourage a smooth transition, Smeraglia regularly welcomes representatives from law firms — including Crowley Law LLC — to visit the Cohort sessions and provide expert insights. “To make those companies successful, we also had to create a network of experts that could help. So, we work with lawyers like Phil Crowley to advise these small companies. Phil attended one of our recent I-Corps events and gave some free advice.”
Having an innovative idea for a startup company is only half the battle; you also need a firm grasp of strategic planning and networking to elevate your concept to the marketplace. Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation (“NSF”), Rutgers University is leading the charge in bridging the gap between startup concept and market rollout. As a partner institution with NSF’s Innovation Corps program (“I-Corps”), the university has hosted free, multiweek Cohort training programs for new entrepreneurs throughout the state for the past seven years. I-Corps Cohort sessions — held 3–4 times annually at Rutgers’s Newark, New Brunswick, and Camden campuses — apply the Steve Blank Lean Startup philosophy to creating a new company with limited staff and resources. Vince Smeraglia, executive director of new ventures in the Office for Research at Rutgers, works with RU colleagues to oversee the I-Corps initiative and works to provide attendees with an essential overview of the steps necessary to succeed in the increasingly competitive startup space. “I-Corps is essentially an NSF entrepreneurship boot camp,” he explains. “It’s designed
to teach scientists how to become entrepreneurs through an extensive didactic training and some hands-on experience.” I-Corps Cohort sessions explore the basics of intellectual property law, contracts, business planning and company formation (e.g., creating a C corporation or an LLC). Most importantly, participants are encouraged to network with the entire ecosystem involved with their product’s evolution and ultimate success. “The heart of the program is a requirement in the boot camp to essentially cold call 25 potential customers or at least folks in the distribution network or somehow connected to the commercialization of your product,” Smeraglia observes. “For example, suppose you’re working with a student or a professor who has a new idea for a medicine for diabetes or weight loss. In that case, you’ll want to contact physicians who deal with diabetic patients, but you’ll also want to contact companies working on diabetes. Then, you might want to contact insurance companies to see if they would be willing to pay for the cost of the drug you’re developing.” Following these interactions, participants can adjust or update their business plans accordingly, leading to the next step of
I-Corps training is available to all entrepreneurs across New Jersey,
regardless of their affiliation with Rutgers. Smeraglia advises new attendees to read up on the Steve Blank Lean Startup approach before attending their first I-Corps Cohort session. Additionally, he recommends that prospective attendees use Google and generative AI to research their specific technology area to gain greater knowledge of similar products and services already available and better determine how theirs would differ. For more information on I-Corps training and to register for upcoming events, please visit EcoDevelopment.Rutgers.edu/ strategic-programs/i-corps.
“The New Jersey Innovation Institute (“NJII”) is an independent nonprofit corporation that operates as a think tank and research institute to foster innovation and economic development in New Jersey. Unlike other think tanks that focus on policy, our mandate is to leverage the resources of the New Jersey Institute of Technology and serve as a conduit between them and the outside world. We work with corporations, other higher education institutions and governmental organizations to accelerate innovation, foster translational research and upskill workers in NJ and beyond. NJII’s Venture Studio program encompasses four business divisions: defense, entrepreneurship, health care and artificial intelligence. “At NJII, we’ve seen many startup companies struggle and make irreversible mistakes when attempting to raise their first funding. These businesses need access to a nimble, experienced law firm that can help them avoid common pitfalls and that’s why we work with law firms in New Jersey like Crowley Law LLC. I’ve known Phil for over a decade — back when we both worked at Johnson & Johnson — and his services proved invaluable to me as a client when I launched my startup company before my role at NJII. Additionally, he’s been an essential asset to our Venture Studio program and related efforts to accelerate business growth and innovations.” New Jersey Innovation Institute Ventures, Vision, and Value –Michael Johnson, Ph.D.
2 — CROWLEYLAWLLC.COM
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