FOR FOUNDERS / VENTURE & INCUBATOR
Give your next milestone
a clear path.
Turn research, technology, professional expertise, or an early idea into a venture with evidence behind it. Start with where your project is today and the question you need to answer next.
FROM IDEA TO EVIDENCE
A practical
way forward.
For Yale graduate and professional students, researchers, and collaborators exploring a venture. You do not need every answer before introducing your work.
The 2026–27 program is being developed. The team uses your submission to understand the project and determine a relevant next step.
Share your project
Introduce your team, the problem, your work so far, and the support you are looking for.
Choose the next question
Identify the most important uncertainty and define a practical next milestone.
Build and test
Use customer discovery, prototypes, and project feedback to create stronger evidence.
Find relevant judgment
Seek specialized advice and expert routing where relevant support is available.
Make progress visible
Present the evidence, your team's capability, and a specific next milestone for further review.
THE NEXT DEVELOPMENT MILESTONE
What does Venture Ready mean?
Enough evidence that additional attention and resources may materially accelerate the project. A clear problem, identifiable customers, a prototype or technical evidence, founder commitment, and a specific next milestone make that case understandable.
Understand the problem
Define who faces the problem and what customer discovery has taught you.
Show what you can build
Share a prototype, technical result, early traction, or a defensible insight.
Name the next step
Explain the uncertainty you will resolve and the support that could help.
Venture Ready is a development milestone. Project submission does not guarantee admission, funding, or an introduction.
FOUNDER GUIDES
Start with a
clearer question.
Journal
Founder guide
What makes a project Venture Ready?
A useful milestone is built from evidence: the problem, the customer, the product, the team, and a next step that matters.
Read articleJournal
Founder guide
How to introduce your project clearly
Describe the person with the problem, what you are building, what you know so far, and the question you need to answer next.
Read articleBegin with what you know.
Save a draft, share the project when it is ready, and follow the team's review from your submissions workspace.