our incubator programs
The NSU Innovation Center's quarterly business programs provide up-to-date information and materials to teach startup methodology to aspiring, established, and student entrepreneurs. These programs are intended to help business owners learn how to successfully launch and scale their enterprises, as well as secure seed funding from investors. Our network of mentors, consultants, and investors all help facilitate each of these programs. We not only serve the NSU student and alumni communities, but the greater Hampton Roads entrepreneurial community.
Learn more about each of our key incubator programs below.
The 3-Day Startup Program
Our Advantage
"We provide more convenience, accuracy, and speed than our competitors."
The NSU Startup Weekend was hosted virtually in October 2020.
The Startup Weekend at NSUIC is a three-day educational event that encourages students and alumni to develop and pitch new company ideas. It is a creative and collaborative environment. Pitching, business model formulation, prototyping, designing, and market validation are all part of the experience, which takes place in a friendly and supportive team environment. Participants spend the whole weekend starting a real business and creating real solutions to challenges faced by real, local businesses. It's also a networking opportunity to connect with business mentors, investors, and other participants. Students team up with each other to create business ideas and the top three teams win a cash prize!
The BIG IDEA Startup Program
The BIG IDEA Startup Program held virtually in July 2021.
The BIG IDEA Startup Program is an eight-week program that helps aspiring entrepreneurs turn their business ideas into actual business plans. The program takes you through the concepts required to legitimize your businesses – that is, to create a working business plan that will help you identify your customers and understand the problems you are attempting to solve with your product or service. This program is open to both NSU students, alumni, and the entrepreneurial community in Hampton Roads. Participants will learn about idea generation, team building, customer discovery, value proposition, and more! Learn more about the BigIdea Program here.
The Innovative Entrepreneur Incubator Program
The launch of the NSUIC's signature Innovative Entrepreneur Incubator Program in September 2020.
Our signature Innovative Entrepreneur Incubator Program is a 9-week intensive course that teaches entrepreneurs how to create a package filled with business and financial plans to pitch to investors for seed funding. This program is for entrepreneurs who need help building out full-scale business and financial projection plans. Consultants and investors will be on hand to help in this process. At the end of the program, all participants will pitch their business packages to actual investors! Learn more about this program here.
Business Resources
We have numerous resources and tools on our website that entrepreneurs can utilize for their own business management. Need help learning how to design a brand? How about forming and drafting a business plan? Head to the NSUIC website to find all of these tools and resources!