Mentor a Team

Role of I-Corps Mentors

The I-Corps Mentor plays an essential role within each project team: providing insight from the private sector. This individual is typically an experienced or  emerging entrepreneur with experience in transitioning technology out of academic labs.

I-Corps Mentors are advisors that have two primary roles. First, by being a third-party resource for the team, the mentor can help the team recognize and reduce confirmation bias during the customer discovery process. In this role the I-Corps Mentor is in some ways an extension of the Teaching Team in helping the team absorb and apply the relevant lessons. Second, the Mentor should be someone that has industry contacts and knows the ecosystem of the target market area. I-Corps Teams will be interviewing more than 100 potential customers and potential partners in person. A good mentor can help the team find the right people to interview.

Interested in mentoring? Contact Marissa Siero at siero@illinois.edu