Venture Lab The Venture Lab is IE's startup incubator, which is designed for students and alumni to explore market opportunities, incubate ideas and accelerate business.
Venture Lab
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Description
The Venture Lab serves to train and mentor teams to explore, validate and develop ready-to-launch startup ventures.
The aim of the Venture Lab is to aid teams in creating ready-to-launch startup projects. It gives teams hands-on experience in the world of high impact entrepreneurship. This means that their ideas have been thoroughly developed to the point where there is validation data (metrics) that shows customer interest, user engagement, and revenue potential from future clients.
IE’s Venture Lab is a program that is open to all IE students and alumni. It is also an elective within the International MBA program. The ultimate aim is to complete the program with a short list of fully engaged users of your product/service. The entire focus of the Venture Lab is market validation and obtaining enough data to be ready to move from Pre-Launch activities to Launch.
Success in entrepreneurship lies not only in the value of the idea but even more so in the execution of that idea. A successful Venture Lab experience is not necessarily the launch of a company but one in which each team completes the program at best with a business idea developed sufficiently to be prepared to launch and at a minimum with an understanding of what is truly required to launch a startup.
You can expect your original idea to morph, change, and evolve over the duration of the program – which is also a key aspect of the entrepreneurial process. Validating a market opportunity is about trying to get the right product-market fit, offering a solution that people not only want but for which they are willing to pay.
Ultimately, the goal of the Venture Lab is to prove that your idea is more than an idea and that through Manual Simulation, short of charging customers for the product or service, you can show that the idea has real traction.
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Requirements
Eligibility Requirements*:
- Teams must consist of at least 2 team members and no more than 4 team members;
- Teams must include at least one current IE student or alumni that graduated within the last 6 months. The IE team member must be physically present in Madrid and play an active, key role in the team;
- Individuals can only participate in one Venture Lab application, i.e. individuals can neither submit more than one startup-idea application (as team leader), nor can they be team members on more than one Venture Lab application.
(*Note that IMBA elective-credit seeking students have additional team requirements. See the IMBA tab to the right) - Admissions to Venture Lab are final and not subject to appeal.
The 3 main selection criteria are:
- INNOVATION – We seek applications from dynamic teams who put forth innovative (novel, extraordinary, revolutionary) ideas, solutions and business models; preferably those that incorporate emerging technologies into their solutions (products/services) and/or business models.
- SCALABILITY – We seek applications from innovative teams, whose ideas or solutions target hyper-growth markets and are potentially attractive for angel investors and venture capitalists.
- TEAM – We seek applications from innovative teams who are passionate about solving the problem they’ve identified and absolutely committed to executing a prototype of their scalable solution during Venture Lab. We seek those teams who are eager to complete Venture Lab and graduate so they can launch as soon as 90-days after completing the program.
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Non-IMBA Venture Lab: Dates & Info
Acceptance into IE's Venture Lab is highly selective. We're looking for the most committed and diverse teams, as well as the most innovative ideas and business models.
The information below is ONLY for IE Students and Alumni who are not in the IMBA program.
Crucial Dates for Venture Lab Spring 2023 (April – June, 2023)
- Spring ’23 Applications Open: February 1, 2023
- Applications Close: March 22, 2023
- Acceptance Decisions via email by: March 29, 2023
- Venture Lab Begins: April 12, 2023
- Venture Lab Semi-Finals: Week of June 26, 2023
- Announcement of Venture Day Madrid Finalists: July 4, 2023
- Venture Day Madrid: July 13, 2023
The following Venture Lab will take place in Fall ’23.
All non-IMBA, current IE Students and Recent Alumni (within 6 months) apply here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do MIM Students get credit for this Venture Lab?
The MIM students are offered the option to take Venture Lab for credit. You should apply for that version as part of your electives. This version, relating to the info and application in this document, is not for credit. The advantages of no credit are that you are able to include team members who are not IE students and there are no required deliverables.
Are Classes Face-to-Face or Online?
The classes are offered in liquid format, both online as well as face-to-face.
In what language are the Venture Lab sessions conducted?
Venture Lab sessions are conducted in English. However, teams are permitted to submit deliverables in Spanish. Pitches for the semi-finals to be considered for Venture Day must be in English.Can I fill out the application in Spanish?
Yes, applications for Venture Lab can be filled out in either Spanish or English.Is there a minimum and a maximum amount of people who can be on a team?
Yes, you must have at least 2 people on a team and you can have a maximum of 4 team members.Can I apply with more than one project/startup idea?
No, you may not. Individuals cannot be listed as team members on more than one application.Does IE expect or require any equity in the startups accelerated in Venture Lab?
No, absolutely not. We do, however, reserve the right to brag about your success.I’ve heard that only apps are accepted into Venture Lab, is that true?
No, this is not true. Venture Lab is aimed at startup ideas that are innovative and scalable. Therefore, we are looking for dynamic ventures that provide scalable solutions to big enough problems/markets that they can grow dramatically and be attractive to investors. -
IMBA Venture Lab: Dates & Info
There are two Venture Lab tracks. One is an elective of IE Business School's IMBA program, and the other track is for all IE non-IMBA students and IE alumni.
The information below is ONLY for IMBA students.
IMBA Venture Lab Spring 2023 (April – June, 2023)
Application Spring ’23:
Access the IMBA Application (Coming Soon)IMPORTANT DATES for IMBA Sep ’22 intake:
- Applications Open: March 10, 2023
- Application Deadline: March 26, 2023
- Acceptance Decisions via email by: March 31, 2023
- Venture Lab Begins: April 11, 2023
- Venture Lab Semi-Finals: Week of June 19, 2023
- Announcement of Venture Day Madrid Finalists: July 4, 2023
- Venture Day Madrid: July 13, 2023
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the dates for the next Venture Lab – IMBA elective?
Our next incubator intake (Venture Lab Spring 2023) will begin April 17, 2023 and culminates with Venture Day on July 13, 2023.What is the Selection Process?
The Selection process will consist of Committee Reviews of the applications, based on the Selection Criteria. Acceptance decisions will be announced via email to applicants: March 31, 2023.What are the eligibility requirements to apply to the Venture Lab?
Teams must consist of at least 2 team members (seeking elective credit) and no more than 4 team members. (Exceptions will be made for IMBA teams from the Startup Lab of 5 members, but we highly advise against such large teams at such an early stage).- Individuals can only participate in one Venture Lab application, i.e. individuals can neither submit more than one startup-idea application (as team leader), nor can they be team members on more than one Venture Lab application (simultaneously in a single round).
What are the selection criteria on which acceptance decisions are based?
Please see the “Requirements”.In what language are the Venture Lab sessions conducted?
Venture Lab sessions are conducted in English. However, IMBA elective teams are permitted to submit deliverables in Spanish. You may also conduct your final pitch in Spanish, but please know that if you are selected to pitch as a finalist or a semi-finalist at Venture Day then those pitches must be in English.I am not enrolled in Startup Lab; can I still apply?
Yes, all IMBA students are eligible to apply to participate in Venture Lab. Some students may not be able to receive academic credit (e.g. dual degree students, etc.). Please contact the IMBA office if you have any doubts.
Is Venture Lab a continuation of Startup Lab?
No, the two programs are completely separate and different. In the SUL you dedicate 5 weeks exclusively to attending classes and working in teams on your startup project. In SUL all business ideas are feasible and anyone who wants to participate is eligible. Every Friday you make a pitch and the momentum is fast and forced!In Venture Lab, the dynamic is radically different. Venture Lab is the only IMBA elective that you must apply and be accepted to participate. We only accept ideas with scalable business models and high-growth markets. Large teams are strongly discouraged. We are seeking the most committed and enthusiastic teams who want to launch after graduation. All other students are encouraged to explore other electives that are designed to continue to guide and support you in your entrepreneurial journey (like the Knowledge Incubator, for example). In Venture Lab, the momentum and drive is designed and expected to come from the teams themselves. While there are academic obligations required for all IMBA teams, the additional resources and support are personalized for each teams. You will get out of the Venture Lab, what YOU put into it. There are no classes per se in the Venture Lab for IMBA teams. You will receive mentoring and access to industry experts as well as the option of participating in one-to-one clinics (Legal; Digital Marketing, Branding & PR; TechTeam Planning; Human Team Dynamics, etc.) as well workshops on topics such as Wireframes & Prototyping your MVP, Dynamic Equity, Productivity & Execution, etc. and you will receive specialized mentoring from early-stage investors in general and related to pitching.
Can I fill out the application in Spanish?
Yes, applications for Venture Lab can be filled out in either Spanish or English.Is there a minimum and a maximum amount of people who can be on a team?
Yes, you must have at least 2 people on a team and you can have a maximum of 4 team members (some exceptions will be made for SUL teams of 5). IMBA teams must have at least 2 IMBA students on the team who are eligible for academic credit for Venture Lab (and therefore who are also taking Venture Lab for credit).Can I apply with more than one project/startup idea?
No, you may not. Individuals cannot be listed as team members on more than one application.Does IE expect or require any equity in the startups accelerated in Venture Lab?
No, absolutely not. We do, however, reserve the right to brag about your success.I’ve heard that only apps are accepted into Venture Lab, is that true?
No, this is not true. Venture Lab is aimed at startup ideas that are innovative and scalable. Therefore, we are looking for dynamic ventures that provide scalable solutions to big enough problems/markets that they can grow dramatically and be attractive to investors.
