Build a business based on insights.
Whether you’re starting something new or exploring a fresh offering for your existing business, Idea Factory helps turn your ideas into solutions grounded in customer insights, not assumptions.
Applications for our 2026 spring cohort open January 12
Idea Acceleration
Idea Factory
Creating a new business or product is an exciting journey, but having a great idea is not enough. Ideas must be based on insights, not assumptions, to ensure you build solutions people really want. At the Idea Factory, you’ll learn about customer discovery – the entrepreneur’s secret weapon. It’s the process of uncovering customers’ needs, wants, and pain points before building the product. It’s about getting out of your own head and into the minds of your potential customers.
1
Interactive Workshops
Learn the fundamentals of customer discovery in virtual and in-person sessions
2
Real-World Assignments
Apply what you learn by interacting with potential customers to shape your business idea
3
Mentoring + Cohort Support
Get one-on-one guidance from experienced mentors and learn alongside other entrepreneurs
4
Build with Confidence
Finish with clarity around your idea and a plan for what’s next, grounded in real customer insights
Who should apply?
Idea Factory is ideal for anyone in Virginia who is:
- Exploring a new innovative business idea
- Expanding an existing business with a new product or service
- Tackling a problem with a creative solution
What’s the commitment?
- Attend five evening sessions (predominately Mondays), 6-8 p.m. (two in-person in Richmond and three online)
- Spring 2026 Cohort: March 16 – April 28
- Fall 2026 Cohort: October 5 – November 17
- A minimum of five hours per week of independent work, including interviews and surveys with potential customers.
What will you achieve?
- Learn the customer discovery process
- Identify your potential customers
- Build a target customer database
- Sharpen your interviewing and surveying skills
- Gain insights and identify the best business ideas
- Receive guidance on your next steps
Why customer discovery?
- Increase chances of success: Understand your customers to invest in the right solutions.
- Improve communication: Ask the right questions, listen, and build relationships.
- Develop better products: Identify pain points and create solutions customers want.
- Stay ahead of competitors: Deep customer insights give you a competitive edge.
“We were looking at developing a new product for our business outside our existing market. We needed to test reactions to this new product and gain insights but were unsure how to begin. Idea Factory provided the guidance, and the specific framework to test the market and transformed our understanding of how market research is done effectively.”
Jon Dazeley & Jen Burch
Spring 2024 participants
“Idea Factory gave me an opportunity to learn more about how to better serve my current customer base by interviewing prospective customers in my target demographic. It was such an invaluable and risk-free environment to understand if my business could evolve into a viable scalable venture.”
Grace Mittl
Spring 2022 participant
“Idea Factory was a fantastic way for our team to validate our idea with customers– and as a result, polish our branding to give them exactly what they want. Highly recommend this for all the bold entrepreneurs out there!”
Omar Hafez
Spring 2024 participant
“Idea Factory helped me synthesize that launching an idea in the marketplace is both an art and a science. Idea Factory is a safe place to learn and grow.”
Nicole Mason
Spring 2022 participant
“If your business idea is a seed, Idea Factory is a little pot of topsoil, a watering can, and a whole lot of sunshine. What sprouts up may be different from what you imagined, but this program is powerful for unlocking potential, and getting started is what it’s all about.”
Philip Deng
Fall 2020 participant
Still have questions about the Idea Factory?
Get in touch with us and let’s get started.