John Williams (SBA) provides an overview of SBIR and STTR startup grants program, how the programs work, and which Federal agencies participate. SBIR grants are R&D grants that support concept development and product development. Grants are an attractive form of startup funding since they are non-dilutive funding. Many agencies participate in the SBIR program, including DoD, (Army, Navy, DARPA, Missile Defense Agency, and more), NSF, USDA, Homeland Security, and more.
Although some agencies use a “contract” model and some use a “grant” model, these are R&D grants – startup funding (startup grants) that are non-dilutive seed funding and even pre-seed funding to support early stage research and development. There are few startup grant programs for for-profit companies, but SBIR and STTR provide almost $3 billion in startup funding each year.
This was recorded at the Portland Oregon SBIR/STTR road tour.
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