Eric S. Smith

Eric S. Smith is a board member at the National Business Incubation Association. Eric was previously the commercialization network manager and NSF I-Corps site program manager at Tech Launch Arizona from February 2016 to July 2019. In this role, they managed communication with over 1,600 volunteer domain experts, investors, community leaders, entrepreneurs and business executives who contributed to University of Arizona technology commercialization. Eric also identified and onboarded new domain experts and business leaders from targeted regions and industries, placed experienced startup company founders with university startups, and represented Tech Launch Arizona on community boards and committees.

In addition, Eric managed the NSF I-Corps grant program, which teaches startup teams about lean startup methodology and has served 111 teams, 30 of which launched startup companies. Eric recruited and placed community mentors for each NSF I-Corps team, four of whom became leaders of the resulting university startups. Eric also developed and taught NSF I-Corps curriculum with a team of university and community instructors.

Finally, Eric led a group of universities throughout the western US to develop a regionally based software platform to help pool entrepreneurs and match them with university startups. Eric provided guidance on SBIR/STTR funding strategies for university startups.

Eric S. Smith has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arizona - Eller College of Management, a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies from the University of Arizona - McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Business Management from the University of Arizona Eller College of Management. Eric is also a Certified Entrepreneur Center Manager from the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA).