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Top 10 Reasons to Pursue SBIR/STTR

There are many reasons to consider tapping America’s Seed Fund to fund your business.

Here are my top 10 reasons:

  1. There are 11 federal agencies including NIH, DOD, NASA, NSF, USDA, DOE that are providing ~$2.5 Billion annually for early stage seed funding earmarked for small businesses developing new and innovative technologies.
  2. Up to ~$1.7M  is available directly to small technology businesses to research and develop innovative technology.  And multiple awards are possible growing this number into the $millions.
  3. The funding covers a broad range of opportunities each year: ~5000 SBIR/STTR awards, ~70 solicitations, ~1500 topics.  So there is a good chance that there is something relevant for you.
  4. This is non-dilutive early stage.  Since these are federal grants or contracts, owners and investors in your business benefit from significant capital without giving up equity.  But it’s not free — you do need to work for it.
  5. The SBIR/STTR program allows you to build Intellectual Property that you own.
  6. The program gives you the means to build key technical staff.
  7. SBIR/STTR is a vehicle to leverage other’s Facilities, Equipment and Expertise and to Build Relationships With Federal Agencies, National Labs, universities, and research and manufacturing companies.
  8. A peer-reviewed Federal award demonstrates credibility to investors, partners, and customers.
  9. The funding is used to develop new products or services for sale commercially, internationally.  The award establishes a sole-source marketing position with government – THIS IS A TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAM.
  10. The process is worth it for the customer development learning you acquire, the strategies you develop, the planning you do, and the people and partners you meet.

If you are a Wisconsin entrepreneur there are even more reasons to apply.  The Center for Technology Commercialization’s suite of assistance programing and supplemental funding takes you from business case formation, to proposal writing and expert review, to matching funds, and commercialization assistance!

Contact us today to see what extra funds and support is available for you.