Know Hub Ignition: the program that supports the early and global growth of startups
Know Hub News
· Santiago
KNOW HUB IGNITION: THE PROGRAM THAT SUPPORTS THE EARLY AND GLOBAL GROWTH OF STARTUPS WITH THE SUPPORT OF LEADING MENTORS FROM THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECOSYSTEM
Developed by Know Hub Chile and UC Riverside, the program focuses on the value proposition and customer segment of science- and technology-based ventures, accelerating their early and global growth. The current edition has two categories: the first open to all startups, and the second focused on cybersecurity, circular economy in agribusiness, and climate change.
Scientific and technological advances drive economic performance. The ability to create, distribute and exploit knowledge is an important competitive advantage; it creates wealth and undoubtedly improves quality of life.
Science-based startups (EBCTs) make that progress possible. But to achieve it, they need support from their inception to strengthen their capabilities. Know Hub Chile took on this task in 2019, with the international collaboration of the University of California, Riverside, in one of the country’s first EBCT maturation programs: Know Hub Ignition.
The initiative helps EBCTs mature by strengthening their capabilities with the support of national and international mentors, focusing on the value proposition and customer segment to accelerate their early and global growth.
It has had two successful calls, in 2019 and 2020. In 2023 it returns for its third edition, with two categories: the first open to all kinds of science and technology ventures, and the second focused on three important issues for today’s society: cybersecurity, circular economy in agribusiness, and climate change.
I-Corps training
Know Hub Ignition stands out for implementing a methodology that identifies technologies with high transfer potential, along with teams capable of bringing those initiatives to market, through early validation processes with industry and the venture capital ecosystem.
Javier Ramírez, executive director of Know Hub Chile, explains that in parallel, the team works with the ventures on all the technology-related elements (protection strategy and business model), “and on the legal aspects of creating companies that are able to operate properly in the market and/or are ready to raise investment.”
The program includes immersion in the I-Corps methodology, created by the National Science Foundation in the United States, which helps ventures discover and consolidate their business model by focusing on their value proposition and customer segment and validating it early with industry. This work is carried out with international mentors from the University of California, Riverside.
It also includes support from leading mentors from the national innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, plus personalized guidance from the Know Hub Chile team on business models, commercial prospecting, technology commercialization, intellectual property strategy, marketing and roadmap design, among other topics.
Since 2019, this initiative has driven the innovation and development process of science- and technology-based companies in Chile. It is aimed at national or international entrepreneurs, researchers, and undergraduate and graduate students from Chilean and foreign universities who have research results with some degree of intellectual property and the potential to create technology businesses.
The call is open to the entire national innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. In addition, at least 50% of Know Hub Ignition’s spots will go to proposals led by women (the inventor of the research result and/or technology on which the application is based, or the person who heads the team on the application form).
The Know Hub Ignition experience
In the first edition, in 2019, 53 applications were received and 11 ventures were selected to take part in the program. After completing the training based on the I-Corps methodology and company set-up, the vast majority of teams changed their business model (73%), value proposition (82%), intellectual property strategy (64%), corporate and tax structure (64%) and team composition (64%). The second call, launched in March 2020, had 54 entrepreneurs organized into 14 teams.
As in previous calls, in 2023 three winning teams will gain access to the innovation ecosystem of the University of California’s Riverside campus for one week, each represented by one team member.
In 2020, Photio was one of the winning EBCTs. Using nanotechnology, they developed an additive that can be used in different materials and purifies the air. “We were looking to make the link between development and the commercial side, between the scientific and the commercial. We knew R&D well, but we were far removed from the commercial side,” says Matías Moya, CEO of Photio, describing how they made commercial contact with the key stakeholders in their value chain, validated their technology in the market, and obtained the legal and intellectual property backing they needed to move forward.
Since the program, Photio has earned multiple awards, including best Chilean EBCT at the 6th Technology Transfer Awards, organized by the Ministry of Science, the Production Development Corporation (Corfo) and the Red de Gestores Tecnológicos de Chile. In 2023, they were joined by angel investor and soccer player Guillermo Maripán, who invested USD 600,000 to strengthen the startup’s research and development area.
Silvana Herrera, CEO of Mov Design, a winning team of Know Hub Ignition 2021 and a science- and technology-based company dedicated to devices for independent mobility for people with visual impairments, notes that thanks to the program they gained the tools to understand the entrepreneurship ecosystem from the university to the minimum viable product, “which was what we wanted to achieve,” she says.
“The I-Corps system and working with other mentors from the University of California, Riverside also helped us a lot, because they showed us other approaches aimed at science- and technology-based projects. They also helped us with the national patent: we have an invention patent in Chile and are pursuing an international patent in several countries, such as Mexico, the United States and Europe,” says Herrera, who encourages teams of entrepreneurs to take part because, in her case, three years after that experience, “we continue to make progress with investors, clients, potential users and also relationships with other organizations in the field of visual impairment, which also help us grow and advance this science and technology company.”
Ariel Crespo, CEO of Elementum, a winning team of Know Hub Ignition 2020, also highlights that they gained many tools to strengthen their business model and value proposition. “We were fortunate to be among the winning teams of Know Hub Ignition 2020, and since then we have had a lot of advice and guidance that has allowed us to strengthen and further improve our proposal and reach more clients with a more solid and concise offering. That’s why we invite you to be part of this enriching experience, which really helps to strengthen the team and, at the same time, the business model, and to develop your startup even further.”
Applications are open from April 13 to May 18, 2023 at:
