Stacy Chin walks through how startups pitch to the NSF. You fill out an online form with prompts, and if approved, the NSF emails your principal investigator with an official invitation to submit a full Phase I application.
So to submit a project pitch, startups have to respond to a series of prompts in an online form. And if the project pitch gets approved, the NSF would send an email to the principal investigator, or PI, confirming that the innovation is of interest to the NSF. Not only does this email serve as your official invitation to submit and prepare a full Phase I application, but this email is actually a mandatory component of your application as well.
