powerpoint presentation · key considerations for sbir/sttr (government-wide) 18 non-dilutive...

•

•–––

••••••••••

—

—

Down Payment,

$100,000

10%

Bank Loan,

$500,000

50%

SBA 504 Loan

$400,000

40%

•

•–

–•

––

•

•••••••

•

••••

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants

The NSF perspective

Ben Schrag, Ph.D. Program Director, SBIR/STTR National Science Foundation

November 12, 2014

17

Key Considerations for SBIR/STTR (government-wide)

18

Non-dilutive funding (but, if a contract, there may be deliverables) – usually ONLY for R&D, usually at the early (prototype or earlier) stage

Small businesses keep their technology and resulting IP

No unified process or timeline, document-driven

Lead times (esp. until “the big money”) can be long

Drivers are toward higher funding levels, and higher emphasis on commercialization (esp. private-sector)

Reference points for SBIR/STTR 19

2011 Reauthorization Changes http://www.sba.gov/content/key-changes-sbir-and-sttr-policy-directives

General jumping off point, award search http://www.sbir.gov/

Congressional legislation http://history.nih.gov/research/downloads/PL97-219.pdf

Data at 60,000 feet http://www.sbir.gov/awards/annual-reports

History of SBIR at NSF 20

Program originated by NSF in 1970’s, Congress mandated government-wide in 1982

Total: 10,000 investments, $1.7 billion

Companies with EARLY NSF SBIR support include QualComm, Symantec, Intralase

Our Sweet Spot 21

Who: Small, early-stage businesses/start-ups aiming to become scalable, commercial revenue-driven entities

What: High-risk, high-impact technology with significant commercialization potential

Stage: Seed or pre-seed stage investment before (or in conjunction with) friends/family or angels

Angle: Non-dilutive R&D funding to de-risk the technology – and enable the next step

Not a Good Fit 22

Contract R&D as a business model

SBIR/STTR funding as a business model

Our funding won’t “move the needle”

Technology is proven, needs “tweaking”

No technology

How It Works 23

Two phases of funding: 4-6 months to decide at each phase

Phase I: $150-225k grant for 6-12 months of R&D

Phase II: $750k grant for 24 months of R&D

… plus up to another $500k (at Phase II) with qualifying third-party “match” investment

First Steps into NSF SBIR 24

Program website: http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/

Follow us on Twitter: @NSFInnovateSBIR

Email listserv: send a blank email to:

INNOVATION-SUBSCRIBE-REQUEST@LISTSERV.NSF.GOV

Current SBIR and STTR solicitations (close in December):

SBIR: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14603/nsf14603.htm

STTR: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14608/nsf14608.htm

Email (questions and/or 1-2 pg executive summary) to a Program Director

General Advice 25

Understand NSF SBIR’s unique perspective

Don’t sweat topics or “our needs”

Use SBIR/STTR as one piece of the puzzle

Start early (in terms of date, AND in terms of stage)

Get comfortable with paper!

More Info 26

Ben Schrag: bschrag@nsf.gov

Program website: http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/