WheelsUp Accelerator Curriculum

First Flight’s WheelsUp Accelerator is a 12-week program that includes technical and business facilitation. WheelsUp teams will meet online weekly for approximately 3 hours, with additional time spent with mentors, coaches, technical teams and additional time spent with customers and investors via video meetings. Each session will be split evenly between business and technical topics with 90 minutes devoted to each.

 

A sampling of course technical topics includes (approximately 1 per week depending on the specific focus of the cohort):

A sampling of course technical topics includes (approximately 1 per week depending on the specific focus of the cohort):

1.     Course Overview

  • Overview of (Drug Discovery)

  • Healthcare Industry and Market Trends

  • FDA Regulatory Pathways: Therapeutics, Biologics, Diagnostics

  • Introduction to commercialization

2.     Intellectual property

  • Writing strong tech descriptions

  • Copywriting and trademarks

  • Patents and trade secrets

  • Drug exclusivity and licensing

  • IP Valuation

3.      Development of Therapeutics

  • Target Validation and Pre-clinical Activities

  • Extrapolating from animals to humans

  • Product optimization

  • Clinical studies

  • NIH and NCATS Programs

  • Role of Contract Research Organizations (CRO)

4.     Development of Therapeutics: Quality Requirements

  • Animal Studies (GLP)

  • Quality assurance and Manufacturing Controls (GMP)

  • Clinical Practices and Protection of Human Subjects (GCP)

  • Clinical Studies (Phase I-IV)

  • FDA Challenges and Industry Concerns

5.     Development of Medical Devices

  • Idea Generation/Evaluation and Customer needs

  • Design and Planning

  • Feasibility testing

  • Prototyping

  • Pilot production

  • Scale-up manufacturing

  • Product launch

6.     Articulate and Funding your Technology

  • Market analysis

  • Effective presentations

  • Costs of Product Development

  • Sources and types of Capital

  • Creating and funding a Company

  • Exit Strategies

7.     Corporate Partnering and Strategic Alliances

  • Collaborative arrangements (Outsourcing, licensing, Joint ventures, etc.)

  • Choosing a Partner

  • Academia-Industry partnerships

8.     SBIR/STTR & Other Federal Funding Programs

  • Participating Agencies

  • Phases and funding mechanisms

  • Evaluation areas and review criteria

  • IP issues

  • Solicitation examples

9.     Life Science Commercialization

  • Biotech model

  • Academic Technology Transfer

  • Startup and Early-Stage Experiences

  • Tactical Tips for Licensing Opportunities

  • Discussion of case studies

10.  Reimbursement considerations

  • Medicare and Medicaid Programs

  • Billing regulations

  • Limitations on Payments

  • Payer contracting

11.  The Researcher/Entrepreneur

  • Finding a balance between academic and business endeavors

  • Managing conflicts of interest

  • Finding the right business partners

  • Benefits of entrepreneurial undertaking

12.  Pitch Presentations and Demo Day

  • Presentation tactics

  • Presentation development / Pitch-deck preparation

  • Practice sessions

A sampling of course business topics includes (each of these broader topics will take 2-3 weeks):

1.     Business Concept

  • Business Idea

  • Product Portfolio

  • Revenue Model

  • Customer Portfolio

  • Market Position

2.     Organization

  • Ownership & Board

  • Employees

  • Partnerships

  • Business Processes

  • Legal Issues

3.     Operations

  • Financials

  • Funding

  • Production & Deliveries

  • IT Systems

  • Facilities

4.     Customer Relations

  • Networking

  • Marketing

  • Sales & Service

  • Communication & PR

  • Branding

Additional components:

 

Mentorship Sessions (with Navigators): each company will have mentors that will have access to the Company Assessment and Action Plan. The mentor(s) will be matched based on company gaps, mentor skills, schedule availability, and other factors.

Pitch Preparation: includes the necessary information a company needs to know to start fund raising, communicate value of products/services, and understand terms associated with early-stage funding.

Networking: these activities will focus on exposing selected companies to industry professionals, investors, strategic partners, potential customers and successful entrepreneurs.

Demo Day: Celebration of all that has been accomplished throughout the previous 12 weeks. Opportunity to showcase technologies for the ecosystem, including investors and key stakeholders.