Congratulations to the thirteen small companies that completed the University of Akron’s I-Corps program yesterday! You all did great jobs gaining customer insights. As one of you told me, our customers didn’t want the product we thought they did, and we found out what they do want. Now we can build the right thing. I was thrilled to serve as an Executive Mentor for this program.

Businesses ranged from technical (alternative energy, environmentally friendly chemistry, motion control, drones, medical devices and diagnostics) to consumer products (artisinal clothing, scented candles) to professional (educational, safety, and business productivity products). Congratulations all!

I love the I-Corps approach for identifying customers and their pains and gains, and using these to develop a value proposition and business model. Let me know if you’re looking for growth tools that reduce the risk of launching the wrong product for the wrong customers.