Start-ups are a big deal these days – notable successes include Uber, AirBnB and Snapchat – and business communities, and even universities, want to get in on the action. The Virginia Business Incubation Association from the University of Mary Washington lists 39 incubators throughout Virginia, and one of those is at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. It’s called the i.LAB. WMRA’s Emily Richardson-Lorente spent some time there.
Trying to get 30-some would-be entrepreneurs together for a group photo is a bit like herding cats. Really smart and motivated cats, but still …
[PHOTOGRAPHER: If you can’t see me, move so that you can.]
This is the first day of the i.Lab’s intensive 10-week “accelerator” program.
[PHOTOGRAPHER: Okay, Mike, scoot over a little.]
These folks will spend a lot of time in the i.Lab behind us. Here, they’ll find a little slice of Silicon Valley. Funky furniture, free food, killer coffee … even a ping pong table. Sounds like fun, but this is work.
M. J. TOMS: They’ve dedicated this 10-week period to actually trying to build a business.
M. J. Toms helps run the i.Lab, recruiting mentors and helping to select participants.
M. J. TOMS: There’s a lot of different flavors of start-ups, you know, it’s a very interesting mix of people at different stages pursuing a lot of different concepts.
This year, about 50 companies applied, and 24 participated. Some are MBA students, some undergrads, and still others are community members or from other universities. The ideas they’re pitching are all over the spectrum — from a pet contraceptive to an energy gel for endurance athletes.
PHILIPPE SOMMER, iLAB DIRECTOR: What we look for is people, not ideas.
i.Lab director Philippe Sommer.
SOMMER: The big idea often is not doable, and so the students will morph into something else.
In fact, one of the companies participating this year is run by three guys whose own start-up ideas were rejected.
BART GONZALEZ: They pretty much said we like you but we don't like your idea.
What P.J. Harris and Bart Gonzalez ultimately ended up working on with a third student was a smart mapping tool called RouteMine.
BART GONZALEZ: We collect and analyze expert local running knowledge to provide you with a custom route that fits your needs.
EMILY RICHARDSON-LORENTE: Tell me what you’re getting out of the iLab.
P. J. HARRIS: Personally, I think the best resources are the mentors.
BART GONZALEZ: Oh, hands down the mentors.
P.J. HARRIS: These are people that have done what we want to do and have done it well, so to have access to those people, is easily the best resource.
In addition to mentoring, free office space, and workshops on issues such as branding and "design thinking," i.Lab participants also have what Philippe Sommer calls "aha" moments.
PHILIPPE SOMMER: Where they realize gee, other people are just as scared that they're going to fail as I am. And that's very important, because being entrepreneurial sometimes can be really isolating, it's not what all your friends are doing. And being part of a community and seeing other people struggle and surmount obstacles is very energizing.
Many of the start-ups make great progress over the 10 week session — building prototypes, recruiting customers, and perfecting their pitch.
[BART GONZALEZ pitching: That’s where RouteMine comes in. We collect and analyze expert local running knowledge to provide you with custom routes that fit your needs.]
In fact, on October 1st, the i.Lab participants will have the opportunity to pitch to potential investors at 1776, an incubator and seed fund in Washington, DC. But P.J. and Bart at RouteMine are already thinking beyond that.
P.J. HARRIS: I think the best case — we’re all agreed — would be to sell it to, like, a larger company like UnderArmour or Nike … hopefully.
Whether PJ and his partners ultimately sell, run RouteMine full time, or — dare I say it — fold, Philippe Sommer believes they — and everyone else in the i.Lab — will come away with one very valuable tool.
PHILIPPE SOMMER: It’s really a life skill, to have a process whereby you can try things and not be devastated if they don’t work out. That’s what entrepreneurs are good at, but that’s what everybody should be good at.