Lab2Market Halifax Program 2021 (L2M) Call for Applications Information Package 1. Program Overview 1.1 Application Process 1.2 The Team 1.3 Program Eligibility 1.4 Evaluation Criteria 1.5 Program Benefits 1.6 Additional rules and obligations IMPORTANT DATES Deadline for Applicants to Submit Online Application L2M Notifies Selected Applicants Mitacs e-Accelerate Applications Due Kick-off Workshop Incubation / Customer Discovery Period Wrap-up Workshop Fall 2020 November 20th 2020 First week of December December 21st 2020 March 15th – March 17th 2021 March 18th – May 9th 2021 May 10th – May 12th 2021 Page 1 of 5 1. Program Overview This national program generates a pipeline of more and better tech-based startups emerging from universities. Based on the U.S. I-Corps program, Lab2Market (L2M) focuses on the No. 1 reason for startup failure: building something that does not solve an industry or consumer problem. Teams follow a rigorous and rapid customer discovery and validation process to determine if there is a strong product or market fit, and translate their initial hypotheses about market, customers, and value into facts. Lab2Market’s techniques include customer surveys, usability tests, market trials and more. By talking to real customers and determining the size and attractiveness of the market, teams use customer validation to prove whether their assumptions are correct -- before they spend too much money. At the end of the program, Lab2Market participants gain an understanding of whether they should proceed with the development of a company based on their technology, whether they need to go back to the lab for more development, or whether an opportunity for industry collaboration may exist as a route to commercialization. This course provides L2M Teams with real-world, hands-on learning experience that improve the odds for successful products and processes that benefit society. The entire Team will engage with industry stakeholders – including customers, partners, and competitors. The team will also experience first-hand, the chaos and uncertainty of commercializing innovations and creating ventures. This course will not teach you how to write a research paper, business plan or grant proposal. It is also not an exercise to prove how smart you are in a lab / classroom, how well you use the research library, or if you can publish a paper. Rather, this course is about validated learning and customer development. You will spend a significant amount of time talking to users/customers and testing hypotheses around your business. You are expected to commit the time to talk to customers (assume a minimum of 15 hours per week talking to people) in addition to class time. The program is designed to generate a maximum impact over a relatively short duration and is a first step for anyone interested in commercializing a health technology or product, whether through a startup or licensing arrangement. Despite the role of L2M in commercialization, the primary benefit of the program is providing skills and experiences for graduate students and postdocs to transition to the innovation economy. The program requires a significant commitment of time, typically a minimum of 30 hours per week. By the end of the program, participants will: • • • • • • • Build critical thinking, collaboration, communication, innovation and entrepreneurship skills Define clinical utility before spending millions of dollars Understand their core customers, and the sales and marketing process required for initial clinical sales and downstream commercialization Assess intellectual property and regulatory risk before they design and build Gather data essential to customer partnerships/collaboration before doing the science Understand their regulatory pathway Understanding their pathway to market Fall 2020 Page 2 of 5 Participant teams will be awarded $15,000 CAD to cover expenses associated with conducting customer discovery, and to fund the graduate student for 2 months to allow them to ‘get out of the lab’ for the duration of the program. Some of our partners and funders include: 1.1 Application Process 1. Online Application: Teams apply with tech-based products, practices and solutions based on their research they wish to bring to market. The top 20 teams will be accepted into the program. 2. Mitacs e-Accelerate: Shortlisted companies will have 2 weeks to complete the Mitacs eAccelerate application form. We recommend team download this application and start completing it prior to being short-listed if the two-week window will be problematic. 3. Intellectual Property: Applications should be written in a manner that does not reveal any proprietary information or disclose information that is not yet publicly disclosed or covered by a patent/provisional patent. Consider any information that you disclose to be nonconfidential. 1.2 The Team This is a team-based class. Most importantly, everyone is considered equal on a team. Together, you will explore the potential market needs that your technology might address. If you find a Fall 2020 Page 3 of 5 suitable market need you will then work to turn your research and technology idea into a product, service, or process that benefits society. All three members of the L2M Team—Technical Lead (PI or Supervisor), Entrepreneurial Lead (Grad student or Post-doc) and Business Mentor—must participate in the customer discovery process. Each week you will test hypotheses (i.e. your best guesses related to business model elements) related to your evolving business model. During this process, you will also learn how to rapidly iterate your offering to validate that potential customers will buy and use it. This course also challenges teams and you may encounter issues working together. The teaching team will help you navigate some of these issues, but Teams must take the primary responsibility in working out differences. We also encourage Teams to recruit extra help and use all additional resources available to them. Please confirm that all members of your proposed team are committed to taking part in the full programming. It is preferred if you have your own business mentors, but if not, L2M can pair you up with someone from our network. Please indicate you require a business mentor on your application. 1.3 Program Eligibility 1. Applicant must be a graduate student (MSc or PhD) or postdoctoral fellow (graduated within 5 years) 2. Technology must be proven to be technically feasible (it doesn’t need to be implementable tomorrow; it just needs to be feasible e.g. don’t travel faster than the speed of light) 3. Technology must be the focus of the graduate student’s program 4. Graduate student must receive permission from his supervisor and funding agency to take 2 months to work on L2M full time (min 30 hours / week) 1.4 Evaluation Criteria All applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 1. Quality of Solution: How effectively does the solution address the identified problem? What is the quality of the existing evidence? How innovative, unique or ‘breakthrough’ is the solution proposed? 2. Strategic Impact: How clearly defined and significant is the problem being solved? 3. Market Opportunity/Commercial Merit: What is the demonstrated size and value of the potential market for the solution? What is the quality of the company’s business and service model? How ready is the solution to be scaled across Canada and beyond? 4. Project Goals: How will this project directly contribute to the company’s strategic approach and commercialization plan? What outcomes and metrics is the project seeking to produce? Fall 2020 Page 4 of 5 How will you involve target users in the testing of this solution? How will you share the evidence to the appropriate audience(s) once you have tested the solution in a real-world environment? 5. Company and Team Experience: Demonstrated track record of relevant successes and qualifications of key members of the project team. 1.4 Program Benefits The benefits of participating in the L2M program include: 1. An opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills and receive training from experienced innovation leaders. 2. The opportunity to validate practical uses for your technology. 3. The opportunity to explore and validate product-market fit. 4. Based on the statistics from the I-Corps program, greatly improve your odds for commercial success. 5. The opportunity to build your professional network. Benefits for Principal Investigators: 1. Translating and implementing your research, additional funding opportunities for you and your students. 2. Access to mentors, funders, and industry experts. 3. Building the capacity in your lab to implement research and have an impact. 1.5 Deliverables Overview Workshops and Weekly Classes 1. 2. 3. Els are expected to attend all sessions of the pre kick-off and kick-off workshop and Lessons Learned workshop. TLs and Mentors are expected to attend as much as possible. If they have prior commitments, please let the L2M facilitators know so alternative arrangements can be made. The team EL (graduate student) must attend all weekly classes (2 hours per week). To enroll in the course, the team lead must agree to required class time plus at least 15 additional hours per week for Customer Discovery. Interviews: 10-15+ Weekly and 100+ Overall You are required to interview at least 15 new people each week and log your interviews in our software platform. We expect every team to set a goal of 100 total customer interviews by the end of the course. Planning is critical to your success; please make your interviews the top priority. Fall 2020 Page 5 of 5
