The Marty Erbaugh (i3) Lab

i3: IDEATE • INNOVATE • INCUBATE  

The Marty Erbaugh (i3) Lab 

The i3 Lab houses student teams that ideate, innovate and incubate their ventures through a product accelerator program led by LaunchNET and Design Innovation. The product accelerator is designed to help teams advance to the next stage in their startup journey through customer discovery, business development and prototyping.   

The entrepreneurial work space features resources, co-working areas and private offices within the Design Innovation Hub at Kent State.

 

Summer 2024 Accelerator

The accelerator is a multi-week program designed to help teams advance their ventures to the next stage in their startup journey through connections to campus and regional resources, business model and business development, prototyping and other support depending on business phase. 

This program is open to Kent State undergraduate and graduate students that will be continuing enrollment in Fall 2024.

Marty Erbaugh i3 Lab participants will receive a $2,500 stipend for program participation and are required to be in-office at the Design Innovation Hub for venture work and programming from 10am-4pm during the following program dates:
June 25, 26, 27
July 9, 10, 11
July 16, 17, 18
July 23, 24, 25
July 30, 31 and August 1

Stipend will be for one individual per team/venture with potential for more depending on total number of ventures/entrepreneurs in program.

Applications are now closed for the Summer 2024 Accelerator.

 

J. Martin (Marty) Erbaugh

This space was created in honor of Marty Erbaugh, an entrepreneur, trustee and longtime advisor of LaunchNET Kent State. Marty was a man of great integrity, kindness and generosity who enjoyed serving God by serving others, particularly those in startup ventures. He was a great mentor and a high achiever, having served as one of LaunchNET's first advisory board members as well as a Burton D. Morgan Foundation Trustee.

 

Frequently asked questions

What does I3 mean?

Student teams apply for support on their entrepreneurial ideas. The i3 Lab cohort participants will continue to innovate their venture, with programming support to help incubate toward the next stages of development.  

What types of support does the i3 Lab offer?

The i3 Lab has co-working space, three venture offices and a formal product accelerator that runs two times per year. Priority for space access is given to teams within the cohort, but additional access to offices or co-working areas may open up during each semester. This will be posted on the i3 website.  

The i3 lab also has photography equipment such as cameras, light boxes and backdrops to assist teams with product photography for their venture websites/shops and customer interviews.  

How do I know if I should apply for the accelerator program?

If you want to take your project to the next level, explore business viability, and/or perfect your product design, then this accelerator is for you. The accelerator program is built to support new ventures as well as projects stemming from hackathons, design challenges, DI courses, and research projects.

What does participation in the accelerator program entail?

You and your team will work in-depth on refining business ideas and building out prototypes. This will involve workshops and speakers teaching Business Model Canvas components, individual work on adapting your venture, and customer research and interviews. Teams will be expected to develop their prototype concurrently using other DI makerspaces or capturing customer feedback if the prototype is ready. 

What is the outcome / end goal of the accelerator?

Team goals can range from being “pitch-ready” to acquire funding, having an MVP (minimally viable product), or recognizing the next resources to take the product to market.   

During what time frame will students receive I3 Lab support?

The i3 lab accelerator is a 9-week program. Approved teams can continue to use the resources in I3 on a case-by-case basis at the program completion.  

Is there venture funding available through the I3 Lab?

Venture funding for teams may be available through the LaunchNET Student Venture Fund. This fund features Venture Creation grants with a maximum of $500 and Venture Advancement Grants with a maximum of $2,500. Participating accelerator teams will receive more information on how to qualify for these grants. Additionally, there is a Marty Erbaugh student entrepreneur scholarship that is available for individuals to apply for starting Spring 2022.  

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