Iterate — a program for budding entrepreneurs to check out their ideas for startups sponsored by the Oregon State University Advantage Accelerator/RAIN Corvallis — has expanded to include Oregon State campuses in Newport and Bend. The program, which consists of four weekly, two-hour workshops, gives entrepreneurs a basic understanding of what it takes to start a company and the tools to refine their ideas into concepts. Each workshop will provide the cohort with the knowledge and tools to move their business forward.

The expanded program will be based in Corvallis and co-casted via video conferencing with local facilitators, allowing industry experts to present simultaneously to groups in Corvallis, Newport and Bend. During the video conferences, local facilitators will be available to discuss resources, mentors, meetups for entrepreneurs and access to other associations and pub talks in their area.

”Being able to deliver the Iterate program beyond Corvallis allows us to serve not only our Oregon State community in these locations, but the larger entrepreneurial community,” says Karl Mundorff, co-director of the Advantage Accelerator program.

Now in its third cohort, Iterate continues to punch through barriers. More than 20 teams of potential entrepreneurs participated in the last Iterate session, working to develop business concepts in multiple scientific disciplines.

After completing Iterate, entrepreneurs may continue on to Accelerate, the next phase of startup development. Plans are in the works to add Accelerate to Oregon State campuses in Bend and Newport. Accelerate, the second of the three stages of entrepreneurial programming offered by the Oregon State University Advantage Accelerator/RAIN Corvallis, is a 10-week program that focuses on preparing a product or service for commercialization.

The third and final stage is Launch, a five-month, intensive program that emphasizes using strong market knowledge, executing a startup strategy, building a strong operational foundation, as well as obtaining a repeatable sales process.

According to Mark Lieberman, chief startup officer and co-director of the Advantage Accelerator, “Accelerate and Launch provide entrepreneurs with advanced knowledge and additional resources, such as committed mentors, interns and executives-in-residence, to promote and assist in rapid growth of the startup concept.”

For more information about the Iterate program, visit advantage.oregonstate.edu/iterate.