powerpoint presentation · key considerations for sbir/sttr (government-wide) 18 non-dilutive...
TRANSCRIPT
•
•–––
••••••••••
—
—
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:
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!
