Venture Validator

Helping entrepreneurs ideate, innovate and launch businesses that make an impact

The Venture Validator (VV) is free, open to all, and designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs test new business ideas over five weekly sessions. Offered each fall and spring, this virtual cohort program guides participants through customer discovery, market research, business modeling, and prototyping to determine if there’s a real opportunity there.

This hands-on process is a critical step in launching a successful venture, giving participants the tools to grow their business and avoid common mistakes. By engaging in customer interviews, product testing, and competitor analysis, entrepreneurs can tackle problems early and move forward with clarity. Sessions are led by experienced coaches from the Institute for Entrepreneurship, with office hours available for direct support.

Join Us For An Upcoming Cohort

Spring 2026 Cohort 30 Details

Dates: February 12, 19, 26 and March 5, 12

When: Thursdays, 5:00–6:00 p.m. MST

Location: Virtual via Zoom

Who is the Venture Validator for?

New Ventures testing ideas with real user feedback.
Early-Stage Startups seeking to enter the market by identifying target customers.
Small Business Owners exploring new markets through customer feedback.
Academic Researchers and Innovators evaluating the commercial potential of inventions based on market insights.

Venture Validator Learning Objectives

Understand Your Customer

Knowing exactly who your product is for helps you think like your customer as you build your business. For example, a product for a stay-at-home parent will likely look different than one for a retired couple. Defining your target customer also helps clarify who is not your customer.

Conduct Customer Discovery

There’s no way around it. You need to get out and talk directly to potential customers. Connecting with people who experience the problem you are trying to solve can give you valuable insights as you develop and launch your venture.

Clarify Your Value Proposition

What is the issue you see a need to fix or an opportunity to make better, why is your creative solution the right answer, and why do your potential customers care? Clearly answering these questions and explaining your product or service in a way that’s easily understood is essential to reaching your target customers.

Build Your Business Model

By utilizing the Business Model Canvas tool, you will explore how your venture creates, delivers, and captures value. You will identify your Customer Segments, Value Propositions, Channels, and Customer Relationships to clarify who benefits from your product, what makes it unique, and how you reach and connect with your customers. You will also define your Key Activities, Key Partners, and Key Resources to understand how your venture operates day to day. Finally, you will outline your Cost Structure and Revenue Streams to see how your business can sustain itself and grow.

Develop Your Competitive Landscape

It’s important to understand other companies in your field or those serving the same customers you are targeting. Studying these businesses can help you identify what you need to do to differentiate your business.

Explore Your Supply Chain and Partnerships

Supply chains link your product to both suppliers and customers. They are built to support business growth by identifying needs and opportunities and responding with strategies that enable the business to scale effectively.

Build Your Prototype

Creating a minimum viable product (MVP) doesn’t require significant money, labor, or advanced technology. It’s a basic version of your product that shows how your idea functions in the real world. An MVP is often the first prototype in the development process and helps you test assumptions before investing further. Identifying and fixing problems at this stage can save time and money as you refine future prototypes.

A panel of judges watch a case competition presentation.

"The things I learned were absolutely invaluable and allowed me to finally create and validate an offer I loved. I'm so grateful to CSU and to the people who created this program. The effort, expertise and genuine passion that was put into this program is so apparent. It's a fantastic resource and one that I will continue to recommend to other community members as often as I can."

- Heather C., Cohort 22

A student presents to a panel of judges at the Venture Rams Business SHowcase.

"My main takeaway is that it is important to get an unbiased answer, not the answer you want to hear."

- David D., Cohort 22

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