International innovation, design outfit wants a startup-in-residence

This is cool. International design and innovation consultancy IDEO is giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to be a startup in residence at its Chicago offices.

The consultancy claims that the programme, which lasts from 1 September to 1 December 2012, will see it “invest by committing to you, inviting you into our community, connecting you with our network of clients and thought leaders, and collaborating side by side with you to build a transformational organization and launch a new concept into the world”.

Oh and in return, you have to give it a small, we’re not exactly sure how small, amount of equity.

According to IDEO, the fund is open to “inspiring, seed-stage startup with a full-time, multi-disciplinary team (equal parts design, business, and tech)”.

According the Justin Massa, CEO of Food Genius and graduate of our IDEO’s startup-in-Residence program, your time at the consultancy isn’t about IDEO fixing your design so much as making you think about design in everything you do:

“When we first met IDEO, we expected them to solve our design issues. What we learned during our residency, however, was how to use human-centered design thinking to become a customer-centered company and sustainably solve our business problems. The experience was life changing.”

If you’re interested, the company has a process you need to follow:

Describe your offer
What problem are you solving and how are you solving it? Why are you doing this? What impact do you want to have?

Tell us about your team
Who are the core members of your team? Describe each person in 140 characters or less. Have any mentors? If so, we’d love to know about them, too.

Show us your stuff
Send along a short video, prototype, demo, or scenarios—anything that makes your startup offer tangible. We’re designers. We like visuals.

All submissions are due by 15 July 2012. Send them along to chistartup@ideo.com with the name of the referer who can vouch for you.

Headquartered Palo Alto, California, Ideo has 600 designers, innovators, and entrepreneurs in 11 offices around the world.