rainbows, unicorns & uncle sam: funding for your startup
DESCRIPTION
SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grants are viable source of funding for startups. They sound too good to be true, but it's a real program and an accidentally well kept secret.TRANSCRIPT
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
SBIRIt’s Like The Easiest $$$
Eva! Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
SBWhat?SBIR = Small Business Innovation &
ResearchFederally mandated grant program
– All agencies with $100M or more must set aside 2.5% of their budget for SBIR programs
– $2+B in awards per year– For small, US based companies– DOD, HHS, NASA, DOE, NSF, DHS, USDA,
DOC, ED, EPA, DOT
Companion program for tech transfer opportunities (STTR)
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Why Should You Care?
Phase 1 is typically $100k - $150k– Odds of getting a Phase 1 are ~1:8
Phase 2 is $500k or more– Odds of getting a Phase 2 are 1:3
Phase 3…– You’re on your own
It’s a grant!!!– No equity participation– Relatively few strings attached
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
My Assumptions
Too slowToo stupidUnlikely to be a fit for anything I was
interested in working on
a.k.a. A Giant Waste of Time
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Reality
Very ResponsiveProgram Manager very well informedSome agencies have very broad
mandatesPainful dotting of i’s and crossing of t’sBut a very viable funding source
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Typical NSF Topics
Very, very broad– Biological and Chemical Technologies– Education Applications– Electronics, Information &
Communications Technologies– Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials &
Manufacturing
[Click links to see detailed topic lists]
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
No Two Agencies Are The Same
DoD & NIH have bigger budgets– Phase 2 can be $1M or more
Nasa tends to be very specific– e.g. Glue for Space Shuttle tiles
Different process, different procedures– Application process– Budgets– Allowable costs– Overall goals
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Phase 1 / NSF Specific
Feasibility Study, not a full product– Research focused– High risk scientific research– Broad societal impact– Commercial potential
Six Month Project$150k budget, with strings attached~30 pages in standard proposal
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Timeline / NSF SpecificMay 2009 Initial contact with Program
Manager
Jun 9, 2009 Proposal due
Sept 24, 2009 Request for additional info & conference call
Oct 2, 2009 Conference call & decision to fund
Nov 17, 2009 Formal notification
Jan 1, 2010 Grant begins
Jan 4, 2010 Money in bank (approx 2/3 upfront)
June 30, 2010 Grant ends
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Budget / NSF Specific
* Mandatory allocations with set %’s & limits
*
*
*
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Metrics: Compare & Contrast
PREVIOUS STARTUP
MOVEABLECODE
Time spent trying to raise money
18 months 1 month + waiting time
VC Angel play (in principal) Yes Yes
Within scope of NSF SBIR Yes Yes
# Business Plans / Exec Summaries / PPT Decks
10+ / 15+ / 30+
0 / 1 / 2
Meetings: Bullshit vs Productive
30 : 1 0 : 1
% of Soul Sold or Destroyed 25% 0%
Actual Money Raised $20k $200k
Equity given up ~15% 0%
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Other Key Points…
• Takes a long time to write – you can’t do it in a week
• Next NSF SBIR Deadline is June 10, 2011
• Attend an SBIR overview class• Many agencies have matching funds
available– NSF has $550k for $1.1M in investment
or customer revenue
Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Useful Links
http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/
http://zyn.com/
& http://zyn.com/sbir/