Stacy L. Chin, who has secured over $50 million in SBIR grants, explains how to know if a startup is ready to apply. She evaluates five things before writing any proposal: the technology and its stage, how the money will be spent on R&D, the team's capacity, whether the tech fits an agency's mission, and whether the founder will actually do the work.
So after 10 years of working in SBIR grants and securing over $50 million of funding, I can tell pretty quickly when a startup is not ready to apply. And here's a secret: it usually has very little to do with the writing, because the proposal is rarely the first thing I actually diagnose. When I get on a first call with a founder, I'm not just trying to get you to hire me and my team. I'm actually evaluating you. So here's 5 things I'm checking out, with the first being your technology. I want to understand what are you building, what makes it innovative, what What stage are you actually at? Because before we talk about funding, I need to understand what we're trying to fund. 2, what will you do with the money? An SBIR award needs a job. What R&D still needs to happen? What technical milestones will the funding help you reach? 3, I'm evaluating you and your team. Who's actually going to execute the work? I'm looking at you guys as the founders, your technical expertise, the collaborators, academic Partners, facilities, and the other resources. I'm trying to evaluate whether your strong idea has the right people to back it up. 4, I'm making sure you fit the agency's need. NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE. I'm not looking for a solicitation where we can just squeeze your technology in. I'm actually looking to see if there's actually a real fit. 5, and the most important one, I'm looking to see if you're willing to do the work. And this one matters a lot more than most founders realize, because hiring a grant writing consultant doesn't mean, here's my company, go write me a grant. Nuh-uh. I need your technical information. Your decisions, your feedback, your team, and your time. I can't read your mind. And that's why my first conversation with the founder is really about the proposal itself. I'm trying to figure out if there's a competitive SBIR application hiding inside the company, because before I can write you one, I need to believe that there's something worth writing about. So if you're interested in more content like this and want to learn more about how to secure non-dilutive funding for your startup, make sure to follow along.
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