2022 America’s Seed Fund Startup Expo: Closing remarks

Jen, I'd love to hear what your takeaways are, what you found as far as themes and whatnot.

Yeah, I mean, I love hearing many different origins of the entrepreneurs. Right. Like hearing the personal stories actually is what's so inspiring. Even though, yes, we come here to hear about the amazing technologies and innovations that are so futuristic, but even with all the variety that we heard today, it doesn't even cover the full breadth of the thousands of companies in the America Seed Fund portfolio. And I think though that all of these amazing presenting startups shared some common themes. Right? The importance of partnership, finding skills from partners that might complement yours, whether it's another company or it's people on your team. The importance of getting help, knowing that you're not alone and being persistent. There were quite a few that were open and sharing that they didn't get their first SBIR award when they applied, but they tried and they also there were a number of people who connected with the incredible resource partners we have across the entire country. And I know that they were in the chat as well. And the theme I kept hearing over and over again and probably why these startups are so successful already is that the importance of really knowing your customers and designing with your customers in mind and being flexible, that maybe even though you're the inventor, investor or innovator, engineer, you don't necessarily have all the answers. So being open to that, I do want to thank everyone here. A huge thank you to all of you in the audience for being here. I also want to give you some homework. So do you have resources or ideas for those startups that we're presenting? Be sure to connect with them. I think everybody put their information into the chat and you can follow up with them through their websites. If you want to learn more about those thousands of other amazing companies and innovations that were de risked through America's Seed Fund, be sure to go to sbir.gov there you can check out all the awards that have actually ever been made since 1982, the portfolio that exists there. You can also sign up for the newsletter. You know, stay up to date on the upcoming funding opportunities, the events, lots of information we send out monthly. And if you have an innovation that could meet an agency's mission when you're on that newsletter, do apply for those that funding and what you heard from these startups, right? In entrepreneurs and founders, they, they went out and talked to the potential customers, they talked to people and resource partners that could help them. So I want to invite all of you to join us to Meet federal agency program managers in person at the SBIR STTR Spring Innovation Conference that's happening June 13th through 15th at the Gaylord National harbor in the D.C. area. But if you're not able to join us in person yet in a few weeks, do watch out for more information about America's seed fund week, July 18th through the 22nd. There will be virtual programming for entrepreneurs, those who are brand new to the program that will be hosted by the Small Business Administration, funding agencies, and again, that incredible Innovation Ecosystem Network and our partners around the country. So you can check out some recordings from last year's national SBIR Week for a preview, but we do want you to come join in July and then keep an eye out, because if you were inspired by the startups today, watch out for an announcement about the Tibbets Award winners. These are companies and the support organizations who exemplify the spirit and intent of America's Seed Fund. And so this is our 40th birthday coming up for the SBIR program in July, and we probably won't send out cake, but maybe some virtual reality cake. Gotta do. So thank you, Jonathan.

No, thank you, Jennifer. And I think everybody can see why it is that this would not have happened without Jennifer being part of the team that delivered this incredible event. You know, over the past few hours, we, you know, we've been learning a lot about some incredible startup ventures who have all received support from America's Seed Fund. We've heard about the important role and impact that America Seed Fund and the critical research, development, innovation it supports. The company showcased today. They're a testament to American ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Innovative companies and leaders who continue to strive to define the state of the art, to thrive and to grow. These companies represent just a small cross section of the many incredible companies that are driving forward our economy and global competitiveness through innovation, as Jen mentioned. And each of these incredible companies are contributing their innovation, their ingenuity and entrepreneurship to finding solutions to the big challenges facing our nation and the world. And they're building tomorrow's future today. These are leaders in America's innovation supply chain. And America's Seed Fund is proud to support their research, development and commercialization efforts. So there are a lot of people that I want to thank for this amazing event, from our funding partners who actually provide the seed funding and more to our showcase startups and many others besides to our colleagues across the sba, notably Jen, Jennifer Shi, who you've already been meeting today, but also Nathan Putnam, as well as Bailey Devries and administrator Guzman who worked with us the last few months to make this event possible to the established team that produced this event and have been incredible partners and helped make this feel like the seamless, amazing experience it's been. Our resource partners and ecosystem builders who work with the passion of entrepreneurs. They serve to build a thriving national innovation ecosystem. And speaking of innovation ecosystems to our ecosystem building and thought leading moderators, Ryan Panchadzaram, Laura Appenzeller, Sorry, Javier Saday and Wes Spurlock. Again, just incredible as were our 12 presenting companies for their innovations and their spirit of entrepreneurship that they continue to bring to this world. So beyond that, to all of the SBIR SDTR awardees and future innovators and inventors alike who are helping build that future. So again, finally to you, our attendees, thank you for investing your time to share and learn and engage with America Seed Fund and the innovative companies we support. This is your seed fund. This is America's Seed Fund and we are here to support you and your growth. So reach out to us, engage with us, work with us. Thank you.

Thank you. Sam.