Panel: Next Steps, Getting Started and Closing Remarks

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Good afternoon and welcome to the third and final day of America's Seed Fund Week. I'm Eldon Hawks, Jr. Partnership Innovation Specialist for SBIR's TTR and SBA's Office of Investments and Innovation. I hope you were able to attend some of the sessions held this week focused on our upcoming in person road tours. America's Seed Fund Road Tours plays an important role in encouraging participation in innovation by members of underrepresented groups while supporting the mission of SBIR STTR programs to support scientific excellence and technological innovation to build a strong national economy. You can learn more and sign up for an upcoming in person road Tour by visiting AmericaSeed Fund US. Right now we're going to discuss various places that you as an applicant or offeror can go to seek support and help on your SBIR STTR journey. Let's bring up our panelists as we talk about next steps in your SBIR STTR journey. So we have an all star panel here from various walks of the SBIR STTR ecosystem. And I'm going to go from and it's my screen, my right to left, left to right. I'm going to start out with Brittany Sickler. Brittany, can you introduce yourself, your title and what exactly do you do in your organization?

I would love to Elden. Thank you so much. I am Brittany Sickler. I am the Director of Ecosystem development also in SBA's Office of Investment and Innovation. It is my extreme pleasure to work with a team that supports across our office from the innovators from the SBIR program all the way through how we look at the investment landscape of companies trying to access private investment and other dollars to be able to grow their companies. So how do we support the organizations, the infrastructure, the framework underneath those areas which is obviously quite large and what brings many of you here today. So I'm happy to talk about more of what our team does and the programs we run throughout the panel.

Thank you Bradley. Next we have Eric Paige Lutherford from sba.

Thank you so much Eldon. It's a pleasure to be with you all again. I'm Eric Page Little Ford. I am the Acting Director for our Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer Office as well as the Program Manager for America's Seed Fund. My office has the distinct pleasure of being able to orchestrate activities like this, bring together innovators, our federal funded partners and other stakeholders to really try to help you all on your entrepreneurial journey. Our office oversees the federal wide governance and policy oversight on the SBIR STTR program, providing guidance and supporting our federal partners to make sure that SBIR and SCTR is a ample and available opportunities for our innovators. And we also fund the federal and state Technology Partnership Program which provides more engagement and support opportunities to all of you all. So I'm sure we'll touch on these a little bit more. Happy to be with this panel.

Thank you, Eric. Next up, we have Ruth Shuman from nsf. You're on mute.

All right. I was trying to be quiet. A little too quiet. I said hello. It's such a pleasure to be here with everyone today. I'm so happy to be able to share some information about NSF's I Corps program. Again, I'm Ruth Shimon. I am a program director at NSF responsible for the I Corps program. The I Corps program is very closely connected with the SBIR and STTR programs. And the purpose of the I Corps program is to actually give people who are developing technologies, both entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs, an opportunity to get a little bit of entrepreneurial training and to explore the commercial potential of their technology. And that may be important to those of you who are going to be applying for an SBIR or STTR award because it will give you some solid evidence that there are customers that might be interested in your technology and maybe a pathway to commercialization. So happy to share more information through this panel. Thank you.

Thank you, Ruth. And next we have Patricia from the Minority Business Development Agency.

Thank you, Eldon.

Hello everyone.

I too am happy to be here and joining the next SBI road tour. My agency, we're the Minority Business Development Agency and our role is to help grow and expand minority owned firms. My role in that agency, I'm the Technology, Innovation and Space industries contact person or expert, if you will. And I promote space industries, technology transfer, and of course SBIR to underserved individuals and institutions of higher learning businesses, whether they're small, medium sized or emerging businesses.

Thank you. Now, Patricia, I want to stick with you because I think when we talk, we have these conversations about sbir, STTR and innovation. I don't feel as though the MBDA is ever really brought up in these conversations. What sort of opportunities are available with MBDA to really assist entrepreneurs and small businesses with not just sbirstr, but really bringing the innovations to life in general?

Well, thanks to some recent legislation, we have expanded our agency. We now have permanent agency, but we have plenty of resources. One that I think is most relevant here today is called our Capital Readiness Program. Knowing that access to capital and research funding and so forth are one of the biggest obstacles for minority and underserved businesses. We launched the Capital Readiness Program, and it's a series of 43 incubators and accelerators located all over the country. And they work with early stage firms and emerging businesses. But their goal, the ultimate goal based on legislation, is to prepare these entrepreneurs and business owners to get to apply for and get funded, whether it's angel investments, venture capital, traditional funding from regular financial institutions, from the traditional ones. And so that's what we're doing right now. And so those have launched and they're all over the country.

Thank you, Patricia. Now, Eric, I want to jump back to you because you brought up a program in your introduction and I wanted to have you speak about that Federal and State Technology Partnership Program as a little bit more, as well as maybe talk about some of the other maybe overall SBA resources that are available for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Absolutely. I'm not surprised that Elder wanted to start talking about the Federal and State Technology Partnership Program and his portfolio within our office. But FAS is a great program. What we do with FAST is we really look to find organizations within local regions and states that can provide handholding support throughout the SBIR STTR process. That support looks many different ways. Some of our FAST recipients provide what we'll call Phase 0 support. What does this mean? Phase 0 support is really funding to help cover the cost of your time, your energy, the development of those proposals. Right. You want to put forward the most competitive proposal. Sometimes it's hard when you're running a business, especially in the early stages, that have the resources to dedicate that time. Phase zero sort of helps with that challenge. Our FAST recipients also provide a lot of outreach and technical assistance throughout the process and around the program overall. So right now we have 43 FAS recipients. So they're going to be in 42 different states as well as the territory of Puerto Rico. So I'm just going to encourage everyone to look@sbir.gov we have a list of all FAST recipients. A number of them was in some of the earlier sessions before we came into this main one where they're going to be hosting SBIR road tour stops. Beyond fas, sba, as the lead advocacy organization for small businesses, has resource partners throughout the country. These resource partners include our Small Business Development Centers. And they are a resource whether you're a technical company or if you're developing a overall small business and you're looking for general business advice, general technical assistance, general guidance. If you're looking to sort of access different Types of capital, whether these are loans, we have some of our own guaranteed loan programs, like our 504 Loan Loan Program as an example. Our SPDCs are really the source for you. Beyond that, the way SBA is organized, although we're here in headquarters, we have regional directors, district directors. So we often are trying to meet you where you are and just support you on that development journey, whether it's focusing on trying to Access America Seed Fund or just focusing on making your company the most successful company you can. So I encourage you all to sort of look at our resources and consider getting support from any of our resource partners. Not just fascinating.

Thank you, Eric. And I'm going to stick with SBA because there's a lot that I want to ask Ruth about, so I'm going to give her a little bit more time. But Brittany, Brittany Sickler, who has been around the sbir ecosystem for many, many years, she is now the Director of Innovation and Investment Ecosystem. May I get that wrong? But you have a great portfolio. Could you talk about your portfolio and exactly how that integrates into potential first steps for applicants or just entrepreneurs in general?

You know, I am biased, Alden. I obviously, I love this portfolio. I love this work. And, you know, I think a lot of folks here know that there, there is a lot of work in the space in terms of trying to make sure that folks who want to, well, in general start a business be able to get help. And then specifically here, as we're looking in the sbir world and the innovation world, there's added layers and challenges. So, you know, it's great to hear, you know, when Eric talks about the coverage around the country and where entrepreneurs are able to find, you know, local assistance that' can be tailored and can be one on one, very accessible. But, you know, there's obviously a lot of need and beyond that. So for years I have worked across different networks and, you know, there's other programs out there, including two that I have the privilege of supporting on my team, that are different but complementary in terms of some of the work and the resources available. So I'll actually start with the Regional Innovation Clusters is a program if we can throw out that link in for the audience. Right now we have 12 industry clusters and you can see if any of those areas are relevant to what you're working on. But these clusters work often alongside or hand in hand where there is a FAST or an SBDC that's close by. But they do dive deeper, often into some of those technology areas, whether it's helping in Terms of manufacturing needs, whether it's looking in the supply chain, it could be even on trying to find the right resources through a lab or other kind of research academic university. So those clusters are listed there. We'll be announcing and supporting additional clusters this year which is exciting as we again try to expand that assistance and looking for places where is really needed. Another program that we have out that I will preface as many people here are looking for direct funding to support their business. This is not a program where your company is going to be able to find R and D dollars. But our growth Accelerator fund competition does seek to support and directly fund accelerator incubator like programs that are working with entrepreneurs and especially in key critical technology areas. So we have some theme areas and across the board really trying to make sure that programs, as many of you know about a lot of accelerators and incubators that we are covering and making sure that all kinds of entrepreneurs at different stages are able to access that help. So right now we are open to applications for those programs. So for those of you on the call that are the entrepreneur support organization organizations or other kind of support entities that are looking to learn about sbir, SBIR is a huge part of what we're looking at supporting in what we call gafc. We like our acronyms. So if you look at that information, please do see what we have open now for those entrepreneur support organizations. Then you can also link to see our winners from this last year there was a huge effort to make sure that a lot of partners were connecting through GABC strengthening. And you know, it's at the heart of our division in terms of what is that ecosystem. So wherever you are, whatever kind of technology you're working in, how can we make sure that their partner is connected, that you can have that individual help and really see where you can go and how successful hopefully you'll be. And not only getting SBIR dollars immediate, but how does that work to really grow the company and build the technology in the long term? All right, Eldon, now you're on mute.

Now Eldon's been quiet.

Yes, now I'm being quiet. There's so much to share.

But I'll pause there, Eldon, and turn it back to you.

Appreciate it. Now, Ruth, I Corps a program has been around for a while, but can you talk to us exactly, tell us exactly what I Corps is? Because I'm sure there are a lot of people in the audience who have maybe heard a passing of the program, but don't really know what it is. And also could you talk about how it could be beneficial to not just a businesses or innovators SPI CTR journey, but their business development in general?

Great big questions. Well, first of all, I should have mentioned that this is the first time I Corps has been included in the road tour. And so I'm so excited. You know, I also didn't mention I had been a SBIR program director for 10 years. And I always took information about I Corps out to people on the road tour. And I guess that was my fate because I was asked by NSF to take over responsibilities in I Corps about five years ago. So if you have not heard of I Corps, it's actually been around for almost 12 years now. So amazingly. So it's a program started by an NSF SBIR program director with the idea that if people had a little bit of opportunity to explore the market for their technology, they would submit better SBIR and STTR proposals. And that really continues to be our theme, although there has been some expansion. So the program itself is a process. I Corps is actually a process taught by very skilled instructors and they lead you through an exploration of whether your technology is going to solve a particular problem in your industry area. And you do this by interviewing people in that ecosystem in the full I Corps program. And now I'm going to start to get confusing, but I'll pull back in just a moment and explain. But in the full I Corps program offered by the National Science foundation, we're going to ask you to do 100 interviews in seven weeks. Does that sound like a lot? You better believe it's a lot of interviews. It's a very intense program. You're going to work very hard. But I can assure you after 100 interviews, you're going to come away with a lot of information that will help guide not only a proposal, but your business next steps. So it's been a really important program. In my five years in my program director position, I have never had a team come back to me and say it was a waste of their time. They really, really love this program because it does answer questions, gets them information. They don't even mind working so hard. They come back and they say it was all all worth it. So I hope that gives you kind of a general idea of the program. It's really aimed at people thinking about starting a business or those that have just started a business and need more information about how they're going to proceed. Let's see what your second. I hope that answered your first question, Eldon, and your what Was the second question.

How can it benefit a small business as they work not just toward an SBIR ctr but just in general, like how does it, how can it help a small business?

Well, I do really think that this is a skill set that, that the participants are going to take with them for the rest of their career. So it's really, in some ways you'll come in and think, well why didn't I just know this before? Why is this so unusual? But it turns out that being guided through an interview process turns out to be just a fantastic way to do a deep dive into your industry area. You know, the, one of the goals of the program early on was that we serve primarily engineers and scientists who don't have a lot of business or business development experience. And, and by the way, you can come in a complete novice. We don't require that anyone have experience of any sort. You're coming in to learn, you're coming in to explore. And coming in that way they, you come in very open with the idea that you will determine what your next steps are based on the information that you learn in this program. So it's been really fantastic. I should also add, you know, I was really lucky NSF provided a little bit of funding for what for a pilot for follow on program. So we have a pilot kicking off mid year this year to add even more entrepreneurial training to the I Corps program. So I'm very excited about it. But again it's a foundational program that anyone at that very early stage should do so that they don't come into a company without knowing whether they actually have customers and a market opportunity. So that's really the goal to save you. And I tell you about 50% of the, we call them teams going through the I Corps program come to the end of the program and realize they didn't have a market or they didn't have a solution that the market wanted. And so again it really saved them. They now they learned, you know firsthand what the market really needed. Many of them go back now and develop, change their technology direction and the focus of their company. So it's really important from that standpoint. It saves you a lot of time and effort and it really accelerates your path to commercialization.

Thank you.

I have two questions for you based on that. One, you say it is open to everybody, but there are any requirements as to who's eligible for I Corps.

Yes, actually it's tricky. So thank you for saying this. And let me, let me explain that there, there are two Parts to the program. There is a, what I mentioned, the National I Corps program. That's the program that we offer through nsf. That program is primarily aimed at scientists and engineers in academic institutions. So I know that probably some of you listening today are in an academic institution. You're interested in exploring translation of your technology. Maybe you ultimately hope to form a startup and apply for SBIR funding. That national program is really open to you. There are some eligibility requirements, two in particular. One is the technology needs to have been developed at a university. And to apply to this particular program you have to submit your application from a university. So that's very important. Now there is another part of this program. It is relatively new. We have regional centers that we call I Corps hubs. Over the past two years we've funded 10 of those and we will probably fund a couple more before all is done with this program. And the idea is to cover geographically the US and those programs are there to offer what we call regional I Corps training. That training, some of it is aimed at giving you an introduction to I Corps before you commit to the full national program. But some of it is there to serve people that are not eligible for the national I Corps program. So for example, if you are a small business that is not affiliated with the university, you can go to a regional program. Regional programs are now developing the full scale program for those small businesses as well. So I expect our regional programs to expand greatly. And one of the key goals for this program is to really to reach places in the US that don't have very much entrepreneurial activity, don't have the resources that some of the other parts of the country have. So this has been a very important aspect of what we're doing as well. The hubs are consortia of at least eight universities. Most of them have 10 or more now in their group and they are a combination of large R1 universities as well as smaller schools, HBCUs and other minority serving institutions. It has, I'm going to tell you, I just did the reviews for those 10 hubs and it is, the program is working in a really spectacular way. And so if you are listening to me and are not affiliated with the university, I would recommend that you contact one of our hubs for assistance. And if you and, and if you don't quite know how to reach them, write to me and I will send you the link to their websites and let you know what you need to do to join a regional program. So sorry for the complication of having two programs, but I think it does give everyone a lot of opportunities for this activity.

Thank you. Now, Ruth, one of the things that you brought up with I Corps, particularly that market research and market research leads into early commercialization potential. And it's something that's very important, especially when you apply. And that's something that was talked about a lot yesterday. I want to pose it for the rest of the panel. What sort of avenues are there? Because, Eric, you talked about that Phase zero as far as applying, but what sort of avenues are there for. For companies to find assistance with figuring out how. What the commercialization potential for potential product or service is?

Yeah, let me start one because I'm just always excited when I get to interact and re engage with Ruth. And I am really excited that the I Corp. Is going to be a part of the road towards this year. That is something that I am really excited for because a lot of times companies may get exposure to, say, America Seed Fund, and they may not be ready, especially if you're in that academic environment, you may not be ready to make that leap, make that jump, or form that team to transition technologies out. And I think this is going to give people a proven methodology to sort of think through and discover that process. Another reason I'm really excited for it is because one of the core goals for SBR SCTR is the commercialization of the technology. And that process is really helping people understand how they can find that path towards successful commercialization. And I've heard so many examples of where teams. Teams or companies have sort of gone through this process and then pivoted and went into a different direction to find success. Right. So I had to weigh in there. You know, Eldon, to your question, in terms of that that fit. There's a number of areas. Right. So I think you have to think about this sort of say before you win a SBIR award, as well as during the process of winning an award. Right. So before you win an award, you really are going to be looking at activities like I Corps or some of the Phase zero programs that are being executed both by our FAST partners and different states and other entities. Those are going to be some of those technical assistance sources to sort of help people think through where the potential commercial market is going to be. Now, once you're successful and you win a phase one or you win a Phase two award, one of the things you want to keep in mind is a number of agencies provide commercialization support services, commercialization assistance services, where they may have a suite of consultants or vendors to sort of help you understand whether it's thinking about the intellectual property protections, whether it's basically, you know, market research, trying to identify your, your customers, where you fit in that supplier base. So you always want to think about those agencies you're winning award for to see what other services and support they provide. One of those mechanisms is something we call technical and business assistance. And what this is is it allows a small portion of your, whether it's your phase one or your phase two funds, where you can either leverage some support from the agency or hire your own consultants to sort of around that path in terms of commercialization. So these are things I just want you all to sort of keep in the back of your mind. The core is, you know, understanding what your technology is, understanding that broad marketplace, demonstrating that the win the award. But once you are funded, keep in mind that, hey, ask the question, do that. Does that agency provide commercialization assistance? Do they provide this technical and business assistance? Because those are other mechanisms to sort of supplement what you're bringing to the table while you're developing that technology. Eldon mute again.

I was on mute. Thank you, Eric. Brittany, I'm gonna pose this question to you. Are there any sort of resources within maybe GABC or Ricks or anything else in your portfolio, or just you and your vast knowledge of the ecosystem in general that's available to help companies with that commercialization piece, especially in that infancy stage? Because, you know, a lot of us, well, all of us have been around SBIR for many, many, many years, and we've seen that change in the program where, especially in that phase one, there is become more of an emphasis on understanding your commercialization potential. And I think as much as Eric said, now more than ever, that's even more important as you start out to know who your market is, who your customer is. Do you have any competition? Is there anything in your portfolio that could possibly assist a small business in that discovery effort?

Definitely, Elden and I'd be happy to try to flesh out a few examples here, because I think, you know, the, the great thing about panels like this is, you know, we're trying to put a lot of great deep information out there, but sometimes it can be hard, you know, as an audience member to, to connect that to where you are or to really see, okay, there's great resources, but is that going to help me? And so, you know, we, we feel that pain too. So we do try to make sure things are funneled in. And so some of the people and networks are mentioning today, you know, in particular, fast ends up being like A really good hub to be able to connect there. But, but other examples, especially on the commercialization going forward, I'll. I'll highlight a few. One is on the accelerator network. So looking at some of those past winners, I know in particular several of those groups have had cohorts where they've come around side and on the SBIR side, they've helped in terms of getting through the application, even being able to find the right agencies, being able to target and then go in beyond. So, you know, taking that accelerator approach in terms of like really, you know, almost like a bit of the I Corps esque, you know, really putting people under the fire of what's this going to look like? You know, how is this technology going to go out? It's not just about getting the dollars, the SBIR dollars, if that was the end goal. You know, a lot of people would check the box once they got that funding. Right? So a lot of those accelerator programs are taking beyond, you know, that's one element. But then once you continue, like, what are you using that funding for and how is that going into the market? So, you know, those accelerator programs again are going to range. They're run by different kinds of entities. But I think we do see great connection there on the cluster side as well, especially if some of you already connected or going to connect with some of those groups. You know, they are also looking at helping some of the companies be able to understand from an early time in this process, am I going, you know, am I working on an NSF SBIR or, you know, with an agency where I'm really going to have to understand my market well, of who I'm going to sell to, how that's going to approach, Am I working with an agency that actually does want to work with my technology, wants to acquire that, and do I have the right kind of understanding of how I'm going to do a larger contract agreement? And maybe not just with that SBIR agency. Maybe it's another program, you know, maybe I could use some of that help to, you know, sift through faster and earlier how many agencies might be interested and how many use cases and how that technology could look in a variety of situations. And the last one, even on that, is just one more program that's not SBA specific, but is a great partner, formerly known as the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers. Now the apex accelerators that are so specialized in helping on that contracting, in that contracting arena. And so they're, you know, getting even more up to speed on sbir. How can they come alongside and help folks in, you know, with that SAM registration, but also in that kind of business development realm. So maybe not as much on the technical side of the technology piece, but you know, definitely complementary in terms of, you know, how they're going to be able to commercialize.

Thank you, Brittany. Now, Patricia, I want to come to you with this as far as commercialization, I feel like this question kind of bows into that as well. We have a question about can someone find more information on the MBDA Capital Readiness Program and their 43 incubators?

Yes, absolutely. You can find information there about the Capital Readiness Program as well as our traditional NDDA business centers. And we have 42 of those. We also have specialty centers, for example, we have advanced manufacturing centers, equity multipliers. We have an enterprising women of color center project, and we have five of those. There's even entrepreneurship education for the formerly incarcerated, of which we have four centers, Inner city innovation hubs, universities, Coronavirus response and relief. So we've learned that we can't just do the traditional, that we have to reach out to different audiences in order to be more effective. So yes, and all of that information is on our website, mbda.gov thank you.

Now, Patricia, one, one follow up question that we have here. Are there any specific grants or support in general for minority owned businesses dealing with clean energy, particularly minority women?

I'm glad you mentioned that. We just did. We established a partnership with the Department of Energy and we're just launching it and so we'll be able to work more closely with them. But yes, there are grants for entrepreneurs who are in the energy sector.

Thank you.

And we'll be posting that information very soon.

Thank you. Now, Ruth, I want to pivot back to you with a question from Leon. If we asked a couple other questions in regards to I Corps, one the question was if I've already run one in sbirsttr, does that preclude me from applying or becoming part of an I Corps cohort?

Not at the regional level. But I should also just mention that several agencies offer I Corps training to Phase one SBIR and STTR grantees. Of course, NSF is one of those. But also NASA is involved with our program. So if you're a NASA grantee, you should look into this. DHS has a program, NIH has their own program for SBIR Phase 1 grantees and DOE has their own program. So some agencies have their own program. Some agencies use or send their grantees to our NSF program. But if, if you're outside of all of those opportunities. Write to me and I will see if we can find a space for you somewhere.

Thank you. Now this next question I'm going to kind of leave out there, but I think it's more targeting Eric and Ruth based on your SBIR background. So this, this participant asked, as a new startup in the biomedical field, I do not have access to a laboratory equipped with several thousand to millions of dollars of equipment. Since I do not have such a lab, how can I do 50% of the research? If I apply for STTR grant with the university, can I hire and supervisor person at the university and have that work be done? Be the company? 50% of the research? That was the question. So I guess they're asking what's the allocation for once you get SBIR of phase one or phase two or phase one particularly what's the allocation for hiring others to do work and how much of the research can you actually farm out?

I guess I'll take this one, Ruth. So there are minimal work performance requirements, whether it's SBIR or sttr. I think when you're really looking at this particular question. Right. I'm going to make it more broader. What do you need to bring to the table to be to execute your research and development? This is a startup program looking for early stage entrepreneurs. So the expectation is not there that you're going to come with a fully equipped lab with advanced technology equipment. That's not the expectation. Right. What you're going to need to demonstrate is your access to the tools you're going to need to execute what you have proposed under that award. How do you do that? So one, a lot of times if you're coming in under sbir, you may rent space. You may rent space and you're as a part of that process, you're going to demonstrate your lease that gives you access to that particular space. But I think this is really a great opportunity for the STTR program, the small business technology transfer program, because that requires you to partner with a research institution, a non profit research institution and often people are going to pursue STTRs in this type of scenario where you're going to be able to leverage that additional capacity that they may bring with their labs as well as some of the technical expertise. So that should not be a barrier ultimately within the program. Within a STTR, you're able to do a minimum of 40% of the research and development and the research institution will be able to do either up to the remaining 60%. So you can find space within STTR. I think the real key is to understand that this is a small business program. Think about who you can partner with. If it's under sbir, you're going to always do the majority of the work under sbir, and in that particular area, you can subcontract or sub grant activities to try to give you the access to the facilities you're going to need. Thank you.

Now, we're going to stick with you because these next questions are targeted for you. The first one is what is the process to get through commercialization to the market?

That's a journey, right? So there's no clear path from A to B. Like fundamentally, what we're talking about is you are taking innovative, scientific, creative ideas that have the potential to create a product, a service, or some activity that the commercial marketplace is going to want to buy or a federal agency is going to buy. Right. To get there, it is a SB entrepreneur, you're ultimately the one responsible for getting there. So you have to understand the customer base. Right. That's why I'm so excited that I corps is going to be a part of the road tours and that this is the type of program because through that discovery process, what it really is doing is helping you refine, understand that marketplace base as well as the different areas where they could be receptive. Right. Because sometimes your technology may be too soon, maybe there's another solution and yours is too costly. So you do have to sort of detangle and understand that. And then ultimately you have to develop it and sell it. Right? So there's no, there's no cheat code in terms of going from the innovative idea to finding that commercial success. You have to be able to develop that technology into a product or service that the market is going to be able to absorb and then really drive it into that particular market segment.

Thank you, Eric. Now, this next question for you is also still sticks with commercialization, but it is a little bit more nuanced. I think, especially based on your background, you'll be really perfect to answer this. What would a commercialization plan, commercialization plan look like if the target market are federal agencies? Would it be letters of interest? Do agencies provide these?

Wonderful, wonderful. So broadly speaking, a letter of interest is basically a statement from either a federal agency entity or a commercial entity, basically saying, hey, you know, this particular concept is something we may potentially be interested in if it's developed and if it's successful. I'm just going to start here. Most agencies, when they're evaluating, they are not putting a lot of weight on that. What they're putting the weight on is your commercialization plan as it relates to that particular proposal. And that plan really is trying to develop and tell the narrative that you understand where your idea fits within that market. So if we're talking about a federal agent, I'll use an example. The Department of Defense is one of our largest, is the largest single agency participating in America Seed Fund. And they do acquire technologies through America Seed Fund. So for them, sometimes they even use different language. They may not even think about it as a commercialization activity. They may say it's a transition activity. And what they're really looking for is for you to demonstrate the understanding that this technology helps them attack this particular problem or program. And when you're attacking that particular problem or program, you have a sense of when they need that capability and you have a game plan to develop that technology and meet the milestones to allow them to have that fulfill that requirements gap on their time. Right. So practically, what does that look like? One, every time you're applying for SBIR sttr, they're going to give you the guidance on how long your conversation plan can be, right. It's going to be smaller in a phase one, more expansive going towards phase two. So you have to one respond within that framework, but you're basically trying to just convey that this particular technology is being requested by this particular entity and demonstrate the overall understanding of why that gap is there, how they can leverage your innovation to fulfill that particular gap, and then the capabilities that that will then provide them. That's often what they're looking for. If it's the Department of Defense or NASA or some of the other agencies that may acquire the technology.

Eric, I have another question based off of that. With those agencies that they are targeting to purchase, would it be beneficial to an applicant to not just pigeonhole themselves with just targeting the agency when it comes to commercialization plan, does it benefit them to show that this is a broader commercial application outside of the agency's needs?

Sure. So when we think about America's seed Fund, whether it's an agency that's going to procure that technology or if it's an agency just supporting you on your entrepreneurial path and looking for the broader commercial impact, all of these activities have a dual use component, Right? So if there are applications outside of what they are directly looking to, you should express that because. Because it shows you have a fuller understanding of what you're working on and the different pathways it's going to be able to attract. I think we take a big A larger picture. Step back. One of the things you just sort of see happening, you can see this in the space industry. You can see this within defense. The federal government more and more is trying to leverage activities that are occurring in the commercial marketplace versus doing it from scratch. So if you have a technology that can benefit the Department of Defense, but you know there's also ample commercial sectors where it can benefit from, that's very enticing because it lets the Department of Defense knows there's a broader long term supplier base that's going to help us get the capabilities we need without us having to fully fund the entire development. So you always want to be able to demonstrate and express your understanding of the broader market length. Now, with that said, in certain instances it may be a very niche application for the Department of Defense or NASA or the Department of Energy, and that's fine. They also will understand this is a very unique niche application and you just want to convey to them that this is how it's going to solve their particular area.

Thank you, Eric. Appreciate that. I think that gives a lot of clarity to everyone out there. Now, Rube, I have another question for you with I Corps. Not just I Corps, it's I Corps related. So that's why I'm directing it to you. And the question is, I was hired to do an I Corps market study by a company with a market similarity and personally interview over a hundred customers identified, excuse me, identical to my company's offer. Does this history help in my NSF SBI application?

Well, first I guess I would caution that, but there is only one I Corps and that's the NSF I Corps. So you have to be a little bit suspicious of someone calling their program I Corps. I do think so. I would just double check to be sure that you're working in the right program. I guess the thing that I would say is when you submit a proposal, you're using the information from those customer discovery interviews to create evidence that there's a need for your technology and that you understand especially who the target or beachhead customers are probably the most important things here. And that you understand that what you would need to do to expand from there. So. So I do. I would just tell you that NSF, especially reviewers in SBIR panels, really love, if you've gone through the I Corps program, they respect the program, they know that the information is believable. And so they have a very, very positive response to that. So I would encourage you to really go through that process to get that information to support your proposal. And Eric, if I could just tag on to your comments. Having worked with NASA in our SBIR program, their SBIR program providing I Corps for Phase one grantees, you know, of course they are looking at acquiring technologies, as you know that a lot of their funding in SBIR is along that path. But what they want to do now is to make sure that those companies stick around. Let's say NAS doesn't need that immediately. They want you to have a sustainability plan. So they are putting their companies through I core to look at other commercial opportunities for their technologies so that they are sustainable. I think it's a really creative way to look at this and probably a very important way. It's not just their interests in your technology. You know, they're interested, they funded you. Right. But what you want is to find out if there is a commercial venue outside of that organization that can help sustain your company and grow and build your company so that you'll be around to serve the government needs.

Thank you.

Well said, Ruth.

Yes, thank you, Eric. This next question is I'm giving it to you considering the nature of it. So the, and I'm paraphrasing, what is the percentage of Phase one award winners that transition to Phase two across sbir?

Ballpark. Sure, sure, sure. Great question, great question. So typically at the Phase one level, when we just look at it across all the agencies, the win rates right around 15 to 18% on average. It's a very competitive program. Now, the population that went to phase one and then translates that to a phase two, it's really around 50%. It's really around half of them going forward and then receiving a Phase two. So the Phase one is the most significant doorway in terms of the initial gate. And then we would anticipate half of those winning phase ones to win a Phase two award.

Now I'll stick with you. Thank you. But I'll stick with you. This follow up question. So we know that with sttr, small businesses are required to have a research institution as a partner. Sbir. That is not a requirement. They're asking what is again, ballpark, the percentage of those companies in SBIR that are doing or that are conducting their research, their proposal, their award with a research institution compared to those that aren't.

So that's actually a difficult statement to answer in this sense. Right. So one, we know by definition, sttr, you're required to have a nonprofit research institution. They have to give us all of that data, identify who that nonprofit research institution is when you're otherwise working underneath a project, whether it's an SBIR or sttr and you have what I'm going to deem subcontractors or consultants or sub grantees, other entities who are working with you. That layer is going to be reviewed, evaluated as part of the selection process from the individual agencies. But that is typically not going to become sort of broad public information. Right. If you think about it, in many ways it's like the composition of your overall team. So we wouldn't be able to talk about that statistic. I will say this, and I often won't, don't do this. But I will share that there was a Government Accountability Office, a GAO study recently on subcontracting within the SBIR in the STTR program. Within that study they looked at both a sample of SBIR and sttrs and what they basically found was when you look at it, a large percentage do subcontract for different needs. That doesn't mean they're subcontracting for research institution. It could be for certain materials or activities or supplies that you may need, which may represent a small dollar amount of your proposal, but they'll still count it. So if you are interested in sort of just digging deeper there, I would encourage you to look at the GAO SBIR subcontracting study. It would have been released maybe in October or November this past year. Thank you, Eric.

Now I'm going to just start off with so well end up with some closing comments to let everybody get some last minute information and tidbits to everybody. And we'll start with Brittany. Brittany, just you know, give any last words of rice but also any links to where you think our audience would find beneficial to find information to move forward.

Yes, I, you know, as we talk about these things, I can't help but, you know, still think about how daunting it can be as you try to navigate it. And so, you know, we do have some places where we try to distill that down. I think Eric, earlier mentioned on sbir.gov, there's some great local resources. We try to capture some of those as well on SBA.gov in the local resources section so you can see our clusters and those Apex accelerators there to complement. You know, NSF has quite a bit of information. Don't want to steal your thunder, but so, you know, I do recommend going to those for, for those of you out there who are the support organizations, we have a monthly call that we try to bring together all of these ecosystem builders where we share information, we highlight some of Those new programs, you can find information on that americaseed Fund us. So there's ways that we try to get it out to you. And I do say that, but you know, we have seen so much positive change over the last five or six years in terms of all of the organizations that are supporting sbir. And you know, we can probably speak to this over the decades. So we appreciate everyone's feedback, especially on the entrepreneur side of the things that are, you know, really needed because that does end up often coming back into how we run our programs and try to support, you know, at sba, we really do care about all the companies that are looking at this that are going towards it. And together I think we can definitely see a more positive future for not only the companies created, but, you know, looking at our other agency partners that want to see such positive technology driven change as well.

Thank you, Brittany. Eric.

Sure. I think, you know, one of the things I'm always going to say is start@sbr.gov right? I mean, I think the real key when we just distill it, you want to understand if this is a potential fit for you, right? If you're working on innovative early stage R and D with the potential for commercialization, really you want to understand if this is a worthwhile program for you. So I encourage you to start with sbir.gov. the other thing I would just lift up is throughout federal and state technology partnership program, if we have a FAS recipient in your state or your territory, that's always going to be a great place to just start with the conversation. They're going to help talk you through what you're working on. They're going to help you understand the different entryways into the program. They'll help you zero in on an agency or two that can fund your technology and then they may have other resources and technical assistance to sort of help you on that journey. So I'll always start there. If we don't have a FAS recipient, that's where, you know, Brittany talked about it. On sbir.gov, we do have a local assistance tool that brings in other sources that are not necessarily funded by us, but they provide support to early stage entrepreneurs in this space. So that's always why I encourage you to start is sbir.gov, think about fast and then broaden it out from there.

Thank you, Eric.

Ruth.

I guess to keep it very simple, you know, there is an I Corps website at nsf. So they, you know, I would just Google NSF I Corps and our Website will pop right up. It has information about our regional programs as well as the national program. And if you get terribly confused by that website, just send me a quick email and I will get you to the information that you need to connect with a program. And I'm thinking most of you would be connecting, at least initially, with a regional program. So I will give you that link. And, you know, just to give you kind of the scale for these programs. Our regional programs run anywhere from 20 to nearly 50 regional training programs per year. So it is huge, lots of opportunities for you to get started so you wouldn't have to wait, you wouldn't have to worry. And I will get you to the right information. So I think that's the best thing. And again, I Corps is a foundational program. Do it first. Get that particular training going so that it helps you drive the direction of your next steps.

Thank you, Ruth. Patricia.

Yes. In my closing remarks, I'd like to say that my agency, we're just, we're new to the innovation and to the innovation game in terms of what better resources are available. And so I work a little bit differently. There are two of us at our headquarters, ndva, and what we do is we work with individuals. And so if you're having a hard time navigating or you just get stuck between this website and that website and you can't make a decision, what you can do is email me. It's the first initial P, and then my whole last name, which is in the agenda for this program for this session@mbda.gov and I'll do the best that I can. And I have a colleague who covers technologies that I don't cover. He is a rocket scientist, so he's really good at this. But between the two of us, we can typically tell you where to go or even make an introduction to someone who can help you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Patricia, Eric, Ruth, Brittany, thank you so much for your time today and thank you for the wealth of information that you all gave out to our audience.

You, Alden, what a pleasure being here with you and everyone for the next.

Bye, everyone.

Wonderful.

See you on the road tour.

Yes.

See all of you on the road tour. Sign up. Can't wait to meet you.

Thank you all.

Bye. Wonderful. So thanks, everyone. I actually will be closing out the main stage portion of the America Seed Fund Virtual Week. So again, my name is Eric Page Little Ford. And I just want to start with just thanking you all for sharing your time with us. I am the acting director of the SBIR and Tech Transfer Office at sba and as I said during the panel, our office focuses on coordinating with the 11 SBIR STTR funding agencies to expand access to federal research and funding for small businesses through events like our Road Tours, our SBA funded FAST Resource Partners located across the country, and through our Spring and Fall Innovation Conferences. Our goal this week was to expose more tech entrepreneurs and startups to the $4 billion in annual funding that the Small Business Innovation Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer Programs provide. We refer to these programs as America's Seed Fund. America's Seed Fund encourages the participation in innovation and entrepreneurship by members of all races, genders and localities while supporting the mission of the program to support scientific excellence and technological innovation to build a strong national economy. The impact of this program would not be possible without our 11 federal agencies offering this America Seed funding, and I hope you've taken advantage of the multiple opportunities we provided to interact with them directly. There are still additional opportunities to do so this afternoon as Program Directors Sessions Meet Program Director Sessions are going to be continuing through 5 until 5pm I do want to offer a few thank yous. 1. I would like to thank our Associate Administrator Billy de Vries for her support of America's Seed Fund. Without Belly de Vries as well as our Administrator, Administrator Guzman, it's no way we'll be able to provide this type of engagement and platform for you all. I want to note that over the course of these three days we've had more than 80 speakers representing these Federal Agency partners and our Federal and State Technology Partnership Program partners. These individuals have devoted a number a significant amount of time leading up and through this event, so I am grateful for their contributions and I also want to just thank our whole team here in our office who work behind the scenes to put on this three day program. Over the last 41 years, America's Seed Fund has awarded over 30,000 grants and contracts to small businesses. Several of those were successful in the tech world like Qualcomm 23, AndMe, Symantec, iRobot and many more. As you all continue on your entrepreneurial journey to translate your innovative high tech ideas into commercial products and services. I truly hope you consider America Seed Fund as a part of that journey. Thank you all and I look forward to seeing you all soon. Hopefully many of you in our in person road tours later this year. Thank you all for joining.