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
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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:
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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
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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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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