Shifting from Science to Market Reality

But when you step into the world of commercialization, and particularly when you apply for SBIR/STTR grants, the criteria shifts from scientific excellence to market relevance. Just because your technology works in a controlled lab setting, was published in Nature or Science, or earned citations, it doesn't mean it's going to attract customers or justify a viable business model. In fact, many brilliant university technologies die on the vine because their inventors never really validated a real-world use case or market pull. So here's the reality: reviewers don't fund science for science's sake.