Welcome to the NIH Entrepreneurship Bootcamp!

The NIH Entrepreneurship Bootcamp program is designed to equip life sciences innovators, particularly those at the pre-application/Phase 0 stage, with specialized innovation and entrepreneurship training.

The course requires no prior participant experience regardless of background and uses a life science-focused customer discovery process to assess customer and stakeholder needs.

The NIH Entrepreneurship Bootcamp will provide teams with instructions on how to utilize data gathered from a minimum of 30 discovery interviews and observations of customers and stakeholders in real-world environments to validate or invalidate hypotheses.

Teams will learn about stakeholder ecosystems, including users, decision makers, payers, influencers, and beneficiaries. The course will teach teams how to test and validate the value their project or proposal offers the full ecosystem.

Additionally, participants will learn critical skills including:

  • when, why, and how to talk to diverse stakeholders;
  • how to approach stakeholders without offering remuneration;
  • when to talk to regulators and third-party payers; and
  • how to approach potential partners, funders, or acquirers - and how this differs from customer-focused discovery.

The course is not a classroom, lab, or clinic focused curriculum. It is exclusively dedicated to offering an immersive, skills-based approach achieved through direct practice and iterative learning within the course.

The NIH Entrepreneurship Bootcamp is taught by experienced instructors with decades of innovation and entrepreneurial experience working with life sciences teams. Instructors will actively guide teams through the immersive customer discovery process to develop stronger business models, market strategies, and successful products. In addition, teams will be grouped during instructional feedback sessions, to allow them to learn from one another, collaborate, and network.

The course places teams on a path to take advantage of other NIH innovation programs, particularly the I-Corps and SBIR programs. Critically, this course will improve the commercialization potential of a project no matter what direction teams ultimately pursue.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

  • Pre-Course Webinar: Thursday, July 11, 2024; 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET
  • Kickoff: Thursday, July 25, 2024
  • Pod #1: July 29 - 30, 2024
    • Office Hours: August 5 - 8, 2024
  • Pod #2: August 12 - 13, 2024
    • Office Hours: August 19 - 22, 2024
  • Pod #3: August 26 - 27, 2024
    • Office Hours: September 3 - 5, 2024
  • Presentation Day: Tuesday, September 10, 2024

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS
Attendance and active participation in all scheduled activities of the NIH Entrepreneurial Bootcamp are required. This engagement is crucial for a holistic learning experience and the successful completion of the program. Should any participant anticipate an inability to attend a session, prior notification to the program administration is mandatory.

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION
Capacity for the NIH Entrepreneurial Bootcamp is limited to ensure an intimate and impactful educational environment. Prompt registration is advised to guarantee placement.

For inquiries regarding registration, contact Elana Diaz at ediaz@venturewell.org.

 

Registration must be finalized by Monday, June 24, 2024.

Register