Innovators to Entrepreneurs Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5086, the ``Innovators to Entrepreneurs Act.'' Congressman Lipinski's legislation makes crucial investments in business literacy by requiring the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop an I- Corps course to support commercialization-ready innovation companies.

The I-Corps program helps scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the university laboratory and accelerates the economic and societal benefits of NSF-funded basic-research projects that are ready to move toward commercialization. Once a team completes an I-Corp course and wants to introduce their product to the markets, they're left to form and develop a business plan without any prior training or knowledge. However, not all scientists and engineers have the proper educational background to create and run a successful business and many fail in the early stages. In. response, the NSF created ``I-Corp Go'' to teach business skills that are essential and fundamental to a company's success. After the program's initial success, H.R. 5086 was introduced to make it a permanent addition to the I-Corp program.

As a representative of Atlanta, a place where hundreds of small businesses seek to compete with large corporations, this legislation is near and dear to my heart. H.R. 5086 will provide constituents in my district and new innovators with access to high quality educational opportunities and I support this legislation.

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