Stacy Chin warns that too much university involvement in a startup, or a blurry line between the academic lab and the company, raises red flags for SBIR reviewers and investors. If your startup looks like a side project or a shell for academic work, you'll lose credibility and funding.
Too much university involvement can spook SBIR reviewers and even your investors. One of the most common missteps that university-based founders make is not creating enough separation between their academic lab and their startup. And this can raise red flags for both SBIR reviewers and even your investors. So while your technology may have originated from a university, the perception that your company is just a side project or an academic shell can seriously undermine your credibility.
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