Zero To One Program For Rural Innovation
In this 6 week bootcamp-style program, participants will learn actionable innovation processes to imagine new possibilities, turn concepts into rapid prototypes and utilize lean startup methods to identify their market and pitch their idea to customers and investors.
Students will build a compelling business case to pitch their idea while using ILT’s Nimble™ Innovation methods to refine, explore, test, and de-risk their startup idea.
Feb 4th, 2023 — Mar 25th, 2023
JAN
31
Application Deadline
*Program cost is sponosred by Greater Fergus Falls Development Corporation
**Limited spots available
Greater Fergus Falls Development Corporation
Applications Open
1/21/23
Applications Due
01/31/23
Program Starts
02/4/23
Founder Showcase
03/25/23
Greater Fergus Falls Development Corporation
Applications Open
1/21/22
Applications Due
01/31/23
Program Starts
02/4/23
Founder Showcase
03/25/23
“From value-added lean start-up training to an expanding network of resources, ILT Academy’s high-quality programming has significantly improved access to coaching, capital, and smart start-up methodologies for our underestimated and underrepresented entrepreneurs. The training itself cultivates confidence and fosters innovative thinking in ways that comparable programming has yet to achieve.”
NeTia Bauman
CEO, Greater Fergus Falls Corporation
Program Details
In this 5 week program, students will learn how to leverage design thinking, design innovation, with lean startup methods to identify problems worth solving, the needs of their customers and develop bold, new products and service ideas. Students will practice using new tools, frameworks, and processes to collaborate, communicate, create, and think critically about their ideas.
Participants will:
- Students will learn how to unpack their and refine ideas and explore surrounding opportunities.
- Understand market potential and validate their idea through market adoption and/or investor interest.
- Students will learn to use the lean canvas to identify, refine, and explore customers/navigate customer interview processes and assess the opportunity for a lean startup.
- Students will have mastered their elevator pitch & 30 second pitch.
- Students will have a 5 minute presentation/pitch deck and be prepared to pitch investors and funding sources for capital.
Session Location //
In Person at the Foundry (Fergus Falls)
and Online (virtual meetings)
How much does this program cost?
The program is *FREE* to all participants. The program is subsidized through the generous sponsors above.
Who should apply?
Participants do not need any startup experience nor a fully formed idea for a startup — just motivation and grit. The Zero to One Program will build startup skills as participants work on their business ideas.
Am I eligible to apply to the program?
Priority will be given to founders and startups based in Fergus Falls. There are a limited number of seats available; the acceptance rate will be very competitive. However, if there are additional spaces, the program will consider participants outside the priority areas. We encourage you to apply regardless of your current location.
Recent Graduates
Co-Founders // Ryan Graham (CEO), Cathy Nguyen (Director of Public Relations),
& Vassey Konneh (Director of Product)
“The magic of this course is that it works to build your ability to gather and decipher meaningful customer feedback. I learned new ways to share my idea and have a community of people provide new insights and feedback for me to take in.”
Ryan Graham
Co-Founder and CEO, Aromic
Co-Founders // Mattias Kostov & Jeremias Thiel
“The best part was learning about other MN entrepreneurs and building relationships with people you can learn from and support. This gives entrepreneurs a way to both develop their ideas and connect with other thinkers and makers.”
Jeremias Thiel
Co-Founder, Scobium
Co-Founders // Elaine O’Keefe & Tom Duenow
“This program provided a supportive and collaborative environment to get our startup idea off the ground. We had no idea there was a process to share our idea, get feedback from our peers and quickly test it in ways that aligned us for more successes from ideation to pilot launch.”
Elaine O’Keefe
Co-Founder and Transitions In Nature
Founder // Teri Market (CEO)
“This was a very unique learning environment that allowed me to grow as an entrepreneur and practice my startup skills. In a very short amount of time I learned new methods for idea generation, product and market exploration, and how to validate my idea with the confidence to move forward.”
Teri Market
Founder and CEO, Marketable Social Media
Founder Stories
“Attending ILT’s customer discovery class was a game-changer for Otrafy. The skills that ILT shared with us helped us create our discovery funnel, which allowed us to find product-market fit and build a pipeline of priorities for our development.”
Lucas Cunha
Co-Founder and COO, Otrafy
Co-Founders // Nhat Nguyen (CEO) & Lucas Cunha (COO)
Co-Founders // Allison Borum (CEO) & Abby Henstein (COO)
“Having ILT Academy’s support in our business has been a great experience for Virtuwoof. We have gained so much useful knowledge we’re able to directly apply to our business strategy. The activities we completed built up our confidence and were critical to our success in launching our first startup!”
Allison Borum
Co-Founder and CEO, Virtuwoof