At the ECoNA Advisory Council meeting last week, we took a deep dive into programs dedicated to cultivating budding entrepreneurs in northern Arizona.
The initiatives range from a free entry-level program to help potential entrepreneurs determine if their innovative ideas could be commercialized, to loans and venture capital investments for early-stage businesses.
Cristy Salanga, Patent Manager at Northern Arizona University, discussed the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, an immersive entry-level training program, which focuses on determining the potential customers of a business as well as the potential value proposition of a product or service.
“Before you get to a great small business program, this is the stepping stone you need to determine if you have a problem-solution fit,” she said.
NAU is one of nine universities in five states that comprise the I-Corps Desert and Pacific Region Hub, which also includes California, Idaho, Nevada, and Hawaii. Started in 2011 and originally only open to researchers with NSF grants, the free, five-week program has now expanded to the general public.
“All you need to join is an idea, some sort of solution that could be a start-up,” Salanga said.
The program emphasizes “customer discovery” and extensive interviewing of potential users, purchasers, or partners to determine if a proposal would make a viable business. Academics can also participate for ideas on how to refine their research projects, she added, and extend their focus beyond publishing or conferences.
Although the general public can participate, there are benefits to collaborating with NAU on our project, as NAU teams are eligible for a $3,000 mini-grant after completing the training.
For entrepreneurs further along in the start-up journey, there are a host of new financial resources available, said Arizona Commerce Authority President & CEO Sandra Watson. During her presentation to the Advisory Council, Watson talked about the Arizona State Small Business Credit Initiative, a group of programs that provide loan guarantees and venture capital investment.
Last February, the ACA was awarded $111 million, with $52 million earmarked for underserved communities, Watson said.
“Through this program, we’ve created several different mechanisms so that we can catalyze early-stage funding for companies that don’t necessarily access traditional bank financing,” she said. “We want to make sure that our small businesses have every opportunity to grow their operations.”
It is exciting to see the efforts being made at the state, regional and national level to ensure that entrepreneurs have the resources to transform innovative ideas into businesses, jobs, and revenue that will help northern Arizona thrive.
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