MIN-Corps' Impact on Commercialization and Entrepreneurship

MIN-Corps is coming to our third anniversary as a National Innovation Corps site. It has been gratifying to teach and coach University of Minnesota innovators as they take steps toward commercialization and entrepreneurship. We're achieving exciting results!

2016-2017 was our first full year delivering the complete suite of programs depicted above. We also piloted integrating Lean LaunchPad content into the UMN undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Senior Design capstone course. 

• Over 450 University of Minnesota students, staff and faculty participated in one or more programs, including 90 teams and 685 individual registrations
• 30% of the technologies in Office for Technology Commercialization Venture Center startup pipeline have participated in MIN-Corps programs

We introduced two ecosystem events to increase interaction between University of Minnesota innovators and the business community.  

• Our first annual Women Innovators Conference attracted 171 female students, staff and faculty, as well as women STEM professionals
• We also partnered with the Mayo Clinic to host the Walleye Tank Life Science Venture Competition, which attracted 18 ventures presenting to 120 executives and investors

Our two-year-old collaboration to provide the skills development component of the NIH-funded MN-Reach medical commercialization research initiative has begun to bear fruit:

• 6 startups
• 55 business strategies for health care products
• 6 industry partnerships and licenses
• $3 million commercialization research funding (NIH and UMN sources)

Additional outcomes include:

• 6 teams accepted to National I-Corp Teams program (100% yield),
• $500,000+ commercialization SBIR/STTR grants and angel funding 
• 3 additional startups launched
• 9 venture competition semifinalists and prize winners (MN Cup, Clean Tech Open, Walleye Tank) 

Thank you to our collaborators and participants!