Energy I-Corps for SBIR/STTR

Energy I Corps
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Program Description

In collaboration with the Office of Technology Transitions, the Office of SBIR/STTR Programs has developed a version of Energy I-Corps training aimed specifically at DOE SBIR/STTR Phase I awardees.

The Energy I-Corps for SBIR/STTR program was originally piloted in October 2020 and has grown to support over 190 Phase I awardees. All FY 2023 Phase I Release 1 awardees are eligible to apply (regardless of previous experience) and are highly encouraged to sign up for this unique opportunity.  

Energy I-Corps for SBIR/STTR is designed to help you, the awardee, evaluate fundamental business assumptions, develop a robust go-to-market strategy, and reduce operational risks in your business. The program prioritizes customer (stakeholder) development, paired with strategic curriculum to help solidify key commercialization concepts. These concepts, paired with active coaching and customer engagements, enable participants to draw valuable insights about their proposed business model.

The program is 100% optional and 100% funded by DOE, with no direct cost to participant companies.

Program Outcomes: Strengthen the Phase II Commercialization Plan

  • Validate initial market applications and customer needs/expectations
  • Clarify competitive advantage and customer priorities
  • Expose channels to access your customers
  • Identify how you will make money (i.e., direct sales, services, licensing)
  • Assess alternative approaches to improve viability of your business model
  • Establish partnerships to support commercialization activities
  • Increase your chances for Phase II funding and beyond
The methods of the lean startup were really enlightening and an excellent tool for examining and developing our business. The instructors were fantastic, they knew the subject matter very well and were very clear in their communications and very approachable in their methods. Can't say enough good about them.
This program gave me confidence to take the leap into relentless cold calling and customer discovery. The outcome was insightful dialogue and proving/disproving our value proposition while learning what is truly important to the customer and what it will take to make a sale.

Program Commitment:

Selected applicants will participate in an engaging 2-month training program, facilitated by world-class coaches in innovation management.  

The training includes a series of interactive in-person workshops and webinars focusing on learning and applying the process of customer development. During the training, participants will be asked to conduct a minimum of 30 customer discovery interviews and will interact among each other and the instructors to share lessons learned. The training will end with final pitch presentations in-person by participant teams to an audience of instructors and DOE program managers.

Full engagement from the participating companies includes:

  • In Person Opening & Closing Workshop
  • 4 virtual workshops
  • Planning and conducting > 30 customer discovery interviews
  • 1:1 coaching sessions, with your assigned coach

Here is the schedule for the FY 2023 Phase I Release 1 Program:

APRIL 27-28 : In Person Workshop 1 & 2 [Customer Development & Discovery]
MAY 01-05: [30 mins each]: Instructor 1:1
MAY 12 : Online Workshop 3 [Small Group Lessons Learned]
MAY 19 : Online Workshop 4 [Go-To-Market Strategy]
MAY 22-26: [30 mins each]: Instructor 1:1
JUNE 02: Online Workshop 5 [Small Group Lessons Learned]
JUNE 09: Online Workshop 6 [Go-To-Market Strategy]
JUNE 12-16: [30 mins each]: Instructor 1:1
JUNE 20: In Person Workshop 7 [Final Presentations]

In Person Workshops will be full day commitments: 9am - 5pm ET
All Online Workshops will be held from 1pm - 4pm ET / 10am - 1pm PT.

Selected participants are expected to remain open to the process:

  • Open to customer (stakeholder) feedback
  • Open to practice intellectual honesty
  • Open to new uses of your technology – “Pivot”
  • Open to alternative commercialization pathways

All activities will be conducted virtually until further notice.

How to apply

Interested applicants should apply at Application Form before the application deadline of March 17, 2023. The application form requires each application to include the following information:

  • DOE award number
  • DOE program office funding the award (e.g., ASCR, BES, BER, NP, etc.)
  • Personnel that will be participating in the training. Please include the role (e.g., PI, business development manager, . . ) as well as the name of personnel that will be taking the training. Travel will only be reimbursed for two participants per team. Personnel must come from the small business awardee or a subawardee.
  • Commitment statement. In your commitment statement, please state that participants agree to attend all the required workshops and final presentation, commit to complete the scheduled assignments, and state why the I-Corps training will improve their commercialization efforts. The statement should be 150 words or fewer.

Selection Criteria

This cohort will be limited in the number of participating companies. Participants will be selected based on their commitment statement. In addition, selection officials will aim at obtaining a fair distribution of participants across the participating DOE program offices.

Because training sessions are costly and highly sought, we urge awardees to apply only if they can commit the necessary time and effort. Dropping off after the beginning of the program leaves resources unused and prevents others from taking advantage of this opportunity.

Expense Reimbursement

Please note that time spent by the participants for the Energy I-Corps training cannot be directly billed to an SBIR/STTR award because these are not research and development expenses.

FY 2023 Phase I Release 1 Cohort: Travel related to Workshops 1, 2 and 7 will be reimbursed. Each team will also be provided with up to $5000 for travel expenses related to meeting with customers during the program dates (April 27-June 20).

Informational Webinars:

Be on the lookout for communications regarding our upcoming informational webinars with Q&A. We’ll have both SBIR Program Directors and program facilitators available to answer any questions you and your team may have.

References from your peers, and what they’re saying about the program:

Even though I had 15 years of prior (corporate experience spent with marketing / business teams), the I-Corps training helped integrate all the scattered pieces previously learned, blended with the ones I needed but had not learned, all essential for giving commercialization a great shot. I would only say, for startup leaders, this class is a must, make or break. Don’t do a start-up without it
I'd highly encourage SBIR teams to apply if they can commit to the I-Corp schedule and deliverables. Going through the customer discovery process proved invaluable to accelerate our understanding of the potential non-DOE market.
It does not matter whether what you build is cool – it matters whether there are sufficient numbers of customers who will pay enough for your product so that you can make sufficient money.
When I started the program, I saw a confused mass of possible markets for our technology and a simplistic idea of what the customer needs were and I felt discouraged.  By the time we finished, we had built a complex network of information from which a simple - and implementable - business plan emerged...
I have run a successful 20-person business for 34 years and learned more in six weeks about venturing into a new space than I could ever have imagined.
The single best thing you can do for commercialization. My approach to commercialization has completely changed (and for the better).