The first community affiliate to offer the acclaimed National Science Foundation’s (NSF) I-Corps Lean Startup program to high-growth entrepreneurs in Central Florida is Starter Studio.

Starter Studio was launched by Gregg Pollack, founder of Envy Labs and Code School, as a passion project to help tech startups in Orlando thrive. Starter Studio provides education, mentorship, legal and financial resources, networking opportunities, and the right culture to help innovative solutions grow.  Ninety-day accelerator classes are offered for aspiring tech startups.  Currently, the third class is preparing for graduation.

“The partnership with UCF gives our Starters additional support to grow their new venture.  Participating in the UCF I-Corps program opens up the opportunity to apply for the National NSF I-Corps program as well as SBIR/STTR grants,” said Pollack, founder of Starter Studio.

As a Community Affiliate, organizations such as Starter Studio, will receive training and support from UCF on delivering a tailored version of the Lean Startup education, as well as access to software and other tools for providing the various program elements.

“We are pleased to have Starter Studio as our first Community Affiliate.  This is the first step towards our goal of offering this proven program through a premier network of affiliates to university researchers and technology entrepreneurs throughout the region,” said Ivan Garibay, program director for UCF I-Corps.

Local area entrepreneurs selected for the program, receive I-Corps seed grant funds along with other legal and financial services offered by the Community Affiliate.  The I-Corps funds are applied to business, market, or early product prototype development.   UCF was awarded the NSF I-Corps grant in November 2014 for a three year timeframe.  Plans are in process to support the program through the network of affiliates beyond the period of the grant.

“This is an example of UCF as ‘America’s Partnership ����ֱ��’.  We have shown that contributing like this to the entrepreneur ecosystem in Central Florida benefits the entire economy through increased high-wage jobs and wealth creation”, added Thomas O’Neal, founder/director of UCF I-Corps and the.

Meanwhile, Starter Studio is preparing for its on April 14th where each team from its accelerator class will showcase their work.

Teams include:

For more information about UCF I-Corps, please visit or contact Ivan Garibay at ivan.garibay@ucf.edu or via phone at 407-882-1163.  Information about Starter Studio visit .

UCF Campus Event
Thursday, January 29th
Networking lunch: 12pm – 1:30pm
Live Oak Event Center
Who’s Invited: Students, Faculty and Community
Event is Free!  Seating is limited so register today!
Register at 

Industry Mixer/Reception
Thursday, January 29th
5:30pm – 8pm
at Canvs (Exchange Building) – located at 101 S. Garland Ave., Orlando, 32801
Who’s Invited: Aspiring Entrepreneurs, Industry Mentors
Event is $15 per person 
Register at 

The Lean Startup movement promotes a non-traditional classroom approach to entrepreneurial learning.  This hand-on methodology requires students to propose and test their hypotheses in “real world” scenarios.  Industry mentors review findings with students, helping them make appropriate adjustments to their innovation and/or launch plan in preparation for bringing their ideas to market. Lean Startup emphasizes engagement and experiential study.

“We consider it a great privilege to welcome Jerry Engel to Central Florida,” says Ivan Garibay, Ph.D., Program Director for UCF I-Corps.  “Having the co-founder and leader in the Lean Startup movement here to spend time with students, faculty, aspiring entrepreneurs and industry leaders is an incredible opportunity.  We look forward to learning from him as we develop and shape our own I-Corps program.”

For more information or to RSVP for either event, please visit  or call Ivan Garibay at ivan.garibay@ucf.edu or via phone at 407-882-1163.

UCF has been selected by the National Science foundation (NSF) to provide Florida’s first implementation of one of the agency’s flagship programs, an I-Corps Site. The I-Corps Site’s purpose is to foster innovation among faculty and students, promoting regional coordination and linkages in the innovation ecosystem, as well as develop a National Innovation Network.  The primary goal of NSF I-Corps is to provide ����ֱ�� scientists and researchers the program, process, and resources to investigate and validate the commercialization of their science.  UCF has one of the nation’s best innovation and entrepreneurial networks and is one of 15 universities nationwide that is leading an I-Corps Site program.  The UCF I-Corps program is administered by the university’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), a department that consolidates and coordinates UCF’s major innovation and entrepreneurship support activities.

Jerry Engel is a leader in the Lean Startup movement. Collaborating closely with Steve Blank, chief architect of the Lean LaunchPad method, he helped develop the curriculum and co-authored the LaunchPad Educators Guide. He has taught the Lean LaunchPad at U.C. Berkeley and across the U.S. as National Faculty Director of the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program, which has trained over 300 teams of the nation’s leading scientists. Internationally he is supervising programs in Asia and Europe. Additionally, as Faculty Director of a highly rated faculty development program in the U.S., conducted a Berkeley, Stanford and Columbia, he has trained several hundred faculty in the method. Professor Engel is a graduate of the Wharton School at the ����ֱ�� of Pennsylvania and the 2010 recipient of the NCIIA – Olympus Corporation Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award.