The subsequent programs will begin in the months below:

• February, 2018
• September, 2018
• February, 2019

Each program, or cohort, will include approximately 15 teams. Each team must have at least two team members, and a minimum of three is preferable (single-founder companies are ineligible). An experienced mentor from the business community will be assigned to each team.

The types of ideas and startups targeted by the Delta I-Fund are those based on innovative business models including:

• Patented university research, including medical, biomedical, science, and engineering applications.
• Software and other IT-based platform solutions.
• Any other patented or proprietary technology or innovation which provides a competitive advantage.

If you are an entrepreneurial team searching for an innovative idea or technology to serve as the basis for your startup, please contact Amy Hopper at ahopper@arhub.org prior to applying. She will provide you with information on Delta technologies available for potential commercialization.

As for the stage of the company, the Delta I-Fund seeks very early stage ideas and companies that need validation, including pre-revenue startups, and entrepreneurs still in the ideation stage. Companies that are post-revenue and already positioned for angel and venture capital funding are likely to be too advanced in stage.

Entry into the Delta I-Fund will be competitive and based on the quality of the team’s application. An Investment Committee comprised of experienced, early stage investors will review the applications and also conduct video conference interviews with teams prior to selection. Upon admission to the Delta I-Fund, each team will receive up to $50,000 of investment based on the attainment of milestones during the program. All investments into each team will be made via a SAFE agreement, in which teams commit to issuing equity ownership to the Delta I-Fund if a company is launched, and at terms tied to a future financing round. Please learn more about the SAFE here. 

The structured training provided during the 12-week program is modeled after I-Corps™, a program formed by the National Science Foundation in 2011.  Over 800 teams nationally have been through I-Corps, and the curriculum is founded on the Lean LaunchPad™ entrepreneurial training developed by Steve Blank and Stanford University.  Entrepreneurs in the Delta I-Fund are taught to develop and document their proposed business model on a lean canvas, and then to test their hypotheses through a rigorous, 12-week customer discovery process.

• Proof-of-concept funding is often one of the largest barriers young entrepreneurs face when attempting to launch a company. The Delta I-Fund provides both the capital and the training to enable entrepreneurs to make their ideas, research, and inventions a reality.
   
• Mentorship is a critical component to the success of any early stage company. The Delta I-Fund, in coordination with its partner ESOs, identifies world-class mentors from the business community, and pays those mentors for their participation in the program. The mentor assigned to each team will participate in every facet of the program alongside the other team members, as a “coach on the field.” The 2016 Delta I-Fund cohort told us the mentorship received was as valuable as the investment and the curriculum.
   
• The Delta I-Fund is administered virtually, with instruction provided by video conference. Additionally, customer interviews and instructional team meetings are scheduled around each team’s availability, ensuring flexibility with already demanding schedules.