Get Involved
Apply now for the next I-Corps Hub training or join our mailing list to be informed of upcoming trainings, events, and other opportunities.
Get to Know The Teaching Team
In addition to our instructors, seasoned entrepreneurs serve as mentors, offering additional support to the teams. These mentors assist their assigned teams in navigating the business ecosystem, offering valuable advice and support throughout their I-Corps journey.
Serving as an instructor or mentor is a rewarding way to contribute to the local entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Desert and Pacific Region. Join us and make a difference in the future of innovation.
If you are interested in joining the NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region as an instructor or mentor, please fill out this form.
Ji Mi Choi
NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region Director
NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region Lead Instructor
NSF I-Corps: National Lead Instructor
Why am I an instructor?
It’s a wonderful way to support different teams (faculty, staff, students, community members, industry mentors) and their potential solutions, aiming to solve real-world problems with new products and services. Whether serving on a teaching team for regional or national programs, I-Corps instructors have the privilege to work with extraordinary people advancing technological and scientific inventions to impactful innovations. I-Corps instructors are like-minded in their focus to support people trying to create societal value – it’s a good group to be a part of!
What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
Teams begin I-Corps as experts in their research and solutions space, but participants develop skills to deeply understand customer needs and the value of their inventions. This shift from “my invention is great because…” to a deeper understanding of value is gratifying. Even when participants determine “there’s no there, there” – it’s a gift! To learn quickly if there is a real use case worth pursuing is valuable. I-Corps provides a rigorous, disciplined process to explore and make that determination.
What do I have to offer as an instructor?
With nearly a decade of experience in I-Corps (educator, Site PI, Hub Director, Lead Instructor), I offer extensive knowledge of the I-Corps method in an accessible and relatable way.
Denise McKenzie
Regional Cohort Lead Instructor
Lecturer, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Why am I an instructor?
I am passionate about helping engineers and scientists think like entrepreneurs.
What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
It’s exciting to watch teams iterate, pivot and grow.
What do I have to offer as an instructor?
My interdisciplinary skill set helps me advise deep tech teams. I have degrees in math, electrical engineering, and law. I started my career at a major aerospace company where I developed mathematical models of missile navigation systems. I also have more than 20 years of experience as a patent litigator. My practice focused on helping tech companies protect their ideas and inventions from theft by competitors. My education and experience allow me to meet teams where they are and help them explore commercial opportunities.
Nathan Friedman
Industry Mentor, CEO Morphologic
Why am I an instructor?
I am a mentor because I see the value in the I-Corps approach and am excited to lend some industry experience and knowledge to teams who have an exciting concept and are trying to understand the potential of that concept in the market. Through my industry experience, I have seen the value in utilizing this approach in bringing a greater clarity to an opportunity and increasing the potential for success.
What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
I am very excited to be exposed to a lot of interesting concepts and motivated teams around those concepts. I am always interested in learning more about new markets and novel ways that people come up with for accessing or building those markets.
What do I have to offer as an instructor?
I have spent 20 years in a role of medical device ideation and development, so I can offer some insight into the industry, the process of bringing a device to market, and contacts in the industry. I also have participated in an industry internal I-corps type program both as a mentor and a participant several times over the last 8 years, so I can offer some process insights as somebody who has been through this investigation process in a variety of areas.
Tiffany Reiss
Regional Cohort Core Instructor, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Idaho
Why am I an instructor?
I enjoy serving as an instructor and working with startup founders and teams because there is so much energy, passion and possibility.
What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
Working with possibility and helping the teams turn that into probability is a fun process for me. It’s not about the idea per se, it is about the execution of a strategy, and helping startups generate and think through their strategy is important. Beginning the process of customer discovery is the first step in that strategy generation.
What do I have to offer as an instructor?
I bring over 20 years of experience as an instructor in higher education, but also have worked in over 7 different startups throughout my career as well. Some were “failures”, some broke even and in a few, we are still generating our own strategy and customer development process. It’s key to startup success.
Paty Rubio
Regional Cohort Core Instructor NSF Certified Lean Startup Instructor
Why am I an instructor?
I decided to become an NSF Instructor in 2017 for the same reason that I continue teaching today: to help amazing ideas materialize. We need more entrepreneurs and we need to provide them with the tools to make them a reality. Guided Customer Discovery is one of the best tools they will have access to thanks to the NSF.
What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
I-Corps is a phenomenal tool that brings Academia and Aspiring Entrepreneurs closer to understanding the Market dynamics at a lower risk and in a safe environment.
What do I have to offer as an instructor?
I’ve worked with over 600 teams and I’ve specialized in helping them communicate how the uniqueness of their technology matches market needs to find their competitive advantage.
Steven Wood
Industry Mentor
Global Business Executive and Tech Advocate
Why am I an instructor?
I am an I-Corps Industry Mentor because, simply put, you can’t do this alone. Launching a successful business is a long journey where you will be confronted with countless decisions where you, as the entrepreneur, will need to act. Do not do this alone. Get a Mentor! Use your Mentor!
What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
As a mentor, the excitement lies in seeing entrepreneurial learning and reactions to various interactions with the teaching teams and, more importantly, with potential customers. It’s exciting to see teams persevere through their early challenges and grow even more committed to their ultimate success and their business mission.
What do I have to offer as an instructor?
As a mentor, I listen and I watch. I listen to entrepreneurs that hunger for success in their business even when they have no prior experience in a startup. I watch potential customers providing information to a would-be entrepreneur, as they get excited and energized to tell their story. Having traveled down the startup path before, I can interpret what I hear and what I see and guide the entrepreneur in avoiding the inevitable traps that exist.
Leith Martin
Regional Cohort Core Instructor
Executive Director, Troesh Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Why am I an instructor?
I love seeing teams change.
What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
If you commit to the process you will be fundamentally changed in the way that you approach not only your research but also other aspects of your life and career. The advantages to participating include, entrepreneurial education, networking, skill development and developing future funding opportunities.
What do I have to offer as an instructor?
I’ve been teaching the Lean Launchpad Methodology both in the classroom and in I-Corps for 7 years. That coupled with my past startup experience provides practical application in this unique learning environment.
Contact
Taylor Silverstein
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Hub Coordinator
Coordinator, NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region