What Is a Grant?

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

A grant is funding to a startup to further the business but does not take equity nor must be paid back.

The government provides grants to startups to help commercialize the technology and foster economic growth.

Federal grants are given to startups to promote specific technology goals.

There are state and local grants to foster business development.

Research and development grants come in either an SBIR Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or STTR Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR).

These grants are structured in three phases:

Phase 1 -- feasibility study to determine commercial potential.

Phase 2 -- commercialization of the technology.

Phase 3 -- taking the product to market.

The SBIR and STTR are given by each department of the government, including:

Department of Agriculture

Department of Defense

Department of Energy

Department of Transportation

Environmental Protection Agency

Department of Homeland Security

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Institute of Health

National Science Foundation

National Institute of Standards and Technology

You can find specific information about grants from the US government at grants.gov.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

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Mistakes in Commercialization

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Commercialization of technology requires key skills in market research, product development, and customer engagement.

Avoid these mistakes in commercialization:

Focusing on researching the technology only.

Set aside time for selling, marketing, and product development.

Failing to maintain commitment.

Tech commercialization requires several years of work to achieve.

Recruiting only other researchers onto the project.

You’ll need skills from outside the research community such as sales and marketing skills.

It’s important to build a team with diverse backgrounds.

Failing to raise funding.

It’s important to build a network of investors funding your project both public and private.

Inadequate vendors and suppliers.

Make sure to recruit providers who can meet your specifications and criteria.

Skipping customer research.

It’s easy to admire your own idea but it’s critical to find customers who will pay for it.

Ignoring the competition.

It’s important to understand the competitors and their offerings.

Failure to follow the market.

Markets evolve and change over time so you’ll need to follow the market with product updates.

Consider how to overcome these challenges in your commercialization efforts.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.