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How to access 'America's Seed Fund,' the $3 billion SBIR program

How to access 'America's Seed Fund,' the $3 billion SBIR program

How to access 'America's Seed Fund,' the $3 billion SBIR program
Aug 07, 2020 2 mins, 39 secs

Well, there’s a bit more to it than that, so here’s a guide to getting in the door of the massive Small Business Innovation Research program.

First, as a bit of background: SBIR is a large network of programs, spread across a dozen federal agencies and the military, established some 40 years ago as a way to help out any American with a great idea but little access to capital.

That said, it’s not as if you just reach into the SBIR cookie jar and pull out a million bucks.

There are extensive official tutorials for later, but this article (informed by tips from officials in the program) should help get you up and running.

It should be noted that this is not the only tech-related government grant program by a long shot, but it is the largest, broadest, and arguably the most accessible to small business entrepreneurs and inventors like you — or it will be once you read this guide.

The first thing you should know is that the SBIR program operates with a specific (though not uncommon) type of entrepreneur in mind: Someone who needs money to develop and commercialize a new technology or intellectual property, but isn’t yet at the stage where they can attract traditional investment, and the risk or cost is too high for an ordinary loan.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s software or hardware, your first product or your tenth — just as long as you’re a self-owned, U.S-based small business and you’re building a new technology that needs some cash to get started.

The program is generally divided into phases, which you’ll probably want to do in order.

There isn’t actually just one SBIR program, there are a dozen, spread across as many federal agencies, from Defense and Energy to NASA and NOAA.

First, not every technology or business is a fit for every agency.

These are staffed with people whose job it is to help small businesses navigate the complexities of government grant programs.

PTACs are more focused on contracts, however, and for these awards you may want to look up your local Small Business Development Center instead.

Defense has numerous grant programs under several umbrellas, including each branch of the military.

The actual DoD SBIR program, however, overlaps the most with the others and as such should be considered alongside them.

The SBIR officials I spoke to emphasized that while understanding the program and finding the right agency or agencies to submit to are important steps, it all falls down if you phone in the actual application — something they’ve seen over and over, apparently.

The applications differ agency to agency, and different topics demand different information, naturally.

It’s important, officials said, not to focus just on selling the technology or science itself — you must also show that there is a viable path forward for the team and company that the government’s funding will enable.

And while it may sound like a lot of winnowing is being done, recall that there really is a ton of money going into these programs and the whole point is to support American small businesses

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