VentureWrench Launch! 2026 – Fourth Year of Customer Discovery and Lean Launchpad-based program sponsored by Utah’ Nucleus Grow

Enclavix, LLC announces Dates for the 2026 MarketEdge Discover Program led by the VentureWrench Launch! team

A new Opportunity for Utah’s SBIR/STTR companies to be supported in a Lean Launchpad-style program in early 2026

The VentureWrench™ Launch! team from Enclavix™, LLC announces the fourth year of leading the MarketEdge Discover program (formerly the Utah Innovation Center commercialization cohort) for 2026.

Utah’s Nucleus Grow (formerly the Utah Innovation Center) sponsors the MarketEdge Discover program which is run by the VentureWrench Launch! team.  This fully sponsored program for the Utah SBIR/STTR small business community in Utah is based on the well known Lean Launchpad curriculum pioneered by Steve Blank and his colleagues at Stanford University.

Applications for 2026 are open now until February 3, 2026 or until all the available seats are filled. The program will run for 10 weeks from mid-February 2026 to April 2026. Applications gather basic information about the company and the solution and take about 10 minutes to complete.
Ideal applicants are part of Utah’s SBIR/STTR small business community.  This means that the company is interested in applying for SBIR/STTR funding, has submitted an SBIR/STTR application to a federal agency or has received one or more SBIR/STTR awards.  Ideal applicants have not yet successfully launched the target product or technology into the market OR are potentially ready to re-introduce their solution after market issues.

U.S. Small Business Administration.There is no cost to participants, all costs have been covered by the Nucleus Grow and funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Applications are open and gather basic information about the company and the solution and take about 10 minutes to complete.  

Only Utah companies are eligible to apply.

Benefits to participating companies

  1. Successful completion of a valid Business Model Canvas and Deep insights into customer needs and how best to deliver their innovation successfully to market
  2. Hours of course content and tools to assist team in building out their Business Model Canvas, a requirement for most investors and a powerful tool for building a successful business
  3. 4+ hours of one-on-one from VentureWrench co-creator Nicole Toomey Davis, an experienced serial entrepreneur who has raised both SBIR funds and Angel and Venture Capital for her companies.
  4. Live online teaching sessions and peer learning from other members of the cohort each week for 8 weeks
  5. All content and resources available for a full year in an easy to use learning management system
  6. Successful participants who complete all requirements will also be eligible for a grant directly from the Utah Innovation Center to defray hard costs related to the program.

Program Details

  1. Participants will be selected in a competitive application process
  2. Applicants must be headquartered in Utah with the bulk of their operations in Utah
  3. Ideal applicants are part of Utah’s SBIR/STTR small business community. This means that the company or team is interested in applying for SBIR/STTR funding, has submitted an SBIR/STTR application to a federal agency or has received one or more SBIR/STTR awards.
  4. Ideal applicants have not yet successfully launched the target product or technology into the market
  5. Applicant must have a specific SBIR/STTR – supported innovation in mind for this commercialization cohort
  6. Innovation must not yet have been introduced to the market or, in some cases, have been unsuccessfully introduced into the market with the need for a re-launch.
  7. Teams must have at least 2 members available to attend every session of the 8 week program.  Mentors are welcome although not required and constitute a third member of the team.
  8. Teams must be committed to conduct at least 75 business discovery interviews during the 8 week program, and be prepared to build out their Business Model Canvas
  9. Teams must be prepared to share their breakthroughs in a peer learning process and to share their Discovery videos with the cohort.

If you are an eligible Utah small business which has received or applied for SBIR/STTR funds and are committed to the work required to bring your innovation to market, apply to join the cohort. Future cohorts may be conducted in 2027.

Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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