
Steve Hanlon is a high-technology executive experienced in product development, operations, and senior management in the medical device sector. He has held Vice President of R&D, President, and CTO positions in both large and start-up organizations, and has enjoyed operating his own consulting company. He serves as the Director of the Health and Bioscience Innovation Hub at University of Wyoming. Hanlon has a bachelors in electrical engineering from UW, a masters in electrical engineering from ASU, and an MBA from the University of Colorado. He resides in Wyoming.
Could you share your journey with I-Corps and how you became the Hub's lead instructor? What drew you to this program?
“My first direct exposure to I-Corps was as a mentor to a team in a national cohort. It was an enjoyable and eye-opening experience. As the Great Plains I-Corps Hub was getting underway and searching for instructors I became involved, first as an adjunct but gaining instruction time quickly. The opportunity arose to serve as the Faculty Lead for the University of Wyoming as a partner in the Great Plains I-Corps Hub.
I am enthused about the I-Corps program because it is serving a real need. Entrepreneurs need to apply critical thinking, employ evidence-based analysis, and understand customer issues very early in their journey. I have been in product development my entire career and I’ve seen the need for this approach regardless of the company size.”
In your experience, why is I-Corps such an important part of the entrepreneurial journey for researchers and innovators?
“Researchers, innovators, potential entrepreneurs are all enthusiastic about their ideas and seeing their efforts embraced by others. The better they understand customer problems and needs from an objective, evidenced based viewpoint, the more likely they are to be successful in getting established and making an impact.”
Can you share some of the most memorable moments you've witnessed while working with I-Corps teams? Any particular team breakthroughs that stand out?
“Whenever I see a team begin to appreciate the approach and they learn about the day-to-day life of a potential customer it becomes enjoyable and memorable. I remember teams who learn customers may not value a problem high enough to warrant the entrepreneurs approach, they are a bit sad but appreciate learning this so early in their process.”
What are some common challenges or misconceptions that teams face when they first join I-Corps, and how does the program help them overcome these?
“The common challenge is entrepreneurs may fail to realize how their concept and planning is based on assumptions, enthusiasm, and limited first-hand knowledge. They believe everyone will want to embrace their idea. We get the chance in I-Corp to modify their approach to a much more objective analysis of customer issues and to appreciate the ecosystem within which the customer operates.”
Could you describe a moment or a specific team that made a significant pivot during the program? What was the initial idea, and what did it evolve into?
“I enjoyed assisting a team focused on drug identification, but diligence in the process resulted in the team learning that a wider scope of drug identification is what would be valued, and they learned a great deal about the day-to-day process in the field. Another learned an app alone was not enough and pivoted to begin development of a full system that could be unique to address an issue.”
What advice would you give to new instructors or mentors who are considering getting involved with I-Corps?
“I was teaching in a National cohort and a team was working on a technology that measured hydration levels in trees. They started the program thinking their customer was the US Forest Service and firefighters or forest fire wardens as an early detection system for which trees would be more prone to fire. After seven weeks, their beachhead market changed to almond farmers in California because they were significantly impacted by drought conditions and stiff regulations on water usage.”
Being a part of the teaching team or mentoring a team requires a significant time commitment. What drives you to dedicate your time and expertise to helping entrepreneurs? What do you find most rewarding about the experience?
“I spend a significant amount of time supporting I-Corps because I think it serves a need in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and in the economic development environment. I enjoy the reaction and progress of each team. I also enjoy the chance to incorporate our I-Corps offerings as part of the entire spectrum of services a state can bring to bear to support entrepreneurs. The reward is hearing a team at the end of a session say how much they learned, how much they enjoyed the process, and how they plan to proceed. I really appreciate hearing from colleagues that they will encourage the groups they deal with to get into an I-Corps program.”
How do you personally stay inspired and motivated in your role as a lead instructor, especially when guiding teams through challenging moments?
“I stay motivated with challenging teams because I know we have tools to help them, and we now have experience seeing teams falter and then make progress. I am also fascinated by all the great things these teams want to start and accomplish, and I want each one to succeed.”
How do you see the future of entrepreneurship education evolving, especially concerning customer discovery methodologies? What trends or innovations do you anticipate playing a significant role in shaping the entrepreneurial landscape?
“I think I am seeing a trend toward embracing and asking for customer discovery from funders and supporters. I’d personally like to see this take higher importance relative to market size and revenue predictions that are often only hopeful exercises. I hope this challenges the herd mentality funders can fall into if they can instead differentiate technology offerings by the customer knowledge exhibited by founders. The trend toward embracing more detailed, clear-eyed, objective understanding of customer issues should enable more comprehensive broad-based solutions rather than narrow, technically focused changes.”