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National science foundation seed funding

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MHP368

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anyone heard of this?

government grant money for r&d and development.

how has this been hidden so well?

"

When you join our innovators:
You will receive the funding you need as a startup or small business to commercialize technically risky ideas.
You’ll retain full control of your team, your technical vision and business strategy, and the resulting intellectual property. We take no equity in exchange for funding.
You’ll work with a program director, who will serve as your mentor and advocate. You’ll also become part of the largest group of technology startups and small businesses in the country."
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Wow. I guess the big question is, what are "technically risky" ideas. And will they allow disruptive tech that can disrupt big economic industries and/or government, or just things that increase the GDP, not threaten it.
 

Scot

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Damn.. this just got my wheels turning on spin offs from my main business.. more science based R&D I could do...

Thanks for the shiny object! Haha

In all seriousness, if anyone’s wondering how they can build a big, billion dollar type business, grants like this are the way to do it.


Also, @Duane have you heard of this
 

Duane

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Damn.. this just got my wheels turning on spin offs from my main business.. more science based R&D I could do...

Thanks for the shiny object! Haha

In all seriousness, if anyone’s wondering how they can build a big, billion dollar type business, grants like this are the way to do it.


Also, @Duane have you heard of this

No I haven't heard of this one in particular, but I have gotten similar funding for my energy startup.

The government/private funding we got was nice and paid for everything, and they took 0 equity or control in my company, decision making, and purchases. However, to do the kind of research I was doing, it had to be in a high level research facility with all the multi-million dollar equipment.

The research facility that we worked in is not so generous. Getting in was insanely hard, your idea has got to be good. It took over a year presenting it to get in. Once I did, I got my own lab, got to build my own team, had a mentor to help me out with experiments, which was a guy with decades of research experience in my field and a PhD in chemical engineering. But for all of this, the research facility itself took a lot of the "control/equity" though. And if we hit a huge success, they would get the biggest piece of the pie and have the most say in terms of direction. I was okay with that though, because without them I would have nothing.

Getting the funding was challenging as well, everyone is fighting for it. And once you get the funding, you have to give presentations at events and show progress in your work. If you aren't progressing and showing you're going somewhere, they cut your funds.


The guy in the lab next to me was trying to make a breathalyzer for marijuana. Breathe into it and they can tell if you're under the influence or not, and if you are, how much you consumed. Man that was a good idea.
 
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Bertram

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anyone heard of this?

government grant money for r&d and development.

how has this been hidden so well?

"

When you join our innovators:
You will receive the funding you need as a startup or small business to commercialize technically risky ideas.
You’ll retain full control of your team, your technical vision and business strategy, and the resulting intellectual property. We take no equity in exchange for funding.
You’ll work with a program director, who will serve as your mentor and advocate. You’ll also become part of the largest group of technology startups and small businesses in the country."
Ask me anything. This is just one little program out of many more. There are also speedy funding programs with a turnaround or 30-90 days from proposal submission.
Ask, ask, ask. Call the funding program managers or PM me. There are thousands of R & D funding programs for small businesses.
I have been getting federal research funding for business, edu and orgs for twenty-something years. It was just always more satisfying to win grants than to publish ...
My slowlane life is grant-writing, which includes finding the funding sources to match the funding need for 3-5 years.

First, you need to start setting up your federal accounts on SAMS, Fastlane, etc. depending on your business. Do it first because vetting can take weeks and the applications process is bonkers. Get your EIN, contact info, bank account set up.
Then start looking at the thousands and thousands of grants on grants.gov.

If you're interested in energy grants, lucky you, because there is a program called DawnTreader that will mentor you through the whole process, if you're a first timer and even offer a free site visit!

SBIR - Small Business Innovative Research grants are fantastic. Up to 37% of funding goes unclamed each year. The SBIR's show up year round across many agencies. Start doing keyword searchs on Grants.gov. You will see that agencies have their own grant application seasons.

When you find a grant program that matches your needs, next look for program manager contacts in the agency in which the funding program is offered and make a phone call. Federal bureacrats are mostly lonely and want people with something to offer America to give them a ring. Seriously, for some grant program managers getting a phone call with friendly questions from a prospective applicant scores points.

Don't call the SBIR office for help or info in the initital stage, because they can't keep track of the thousands of different SBIR R & D funding subcategories offered annually. So they'll offer little help. They are more engaged during the contract stage. They will even tell callers there's no funding because they simply don't know.

Many of these programs look for disruptive technology.

What do you need to know?

Off the top:
--look for exact matches in funding and your needs.
--get a sense of measures of success, and a calendar for performance.
--have a strong track record in business.
--having some kind of institutional affiliation really helps. One reason is because you might not be interested in building any quality assurance resources from the ground up in a proof-of-concept stage, so your R & D will contract that work to a sub-insitution.
--have a college degree of some kind if you're unproven.
--have a half page, one-page, and three-page summary or explanation of the project.
--did I mention picking up the phone and calling with open ended questions?
--what is your data management plan?

And so on.

Oh, one more amazing thing. With NSF and DOE (Energy) small business R & D funding, Phase Three funding cycles include major funding for manufacturing R & D to scale-up to market, and usually award something like a
dollar-to-dollar funding match for marketing .... up to one millions dollars.

America is a great country. The national character is sparked by an undeniable history of audacity and innovation.

Have fun getting deep into Home | GRANTS.GOV .



.
 
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Bertram

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Wow. I guess the big question is, what are "technically risky" ideas. And will they allow disruptive tech that can disrupt big economic industries and/or government, or just things that increase the GDP, not threaten it.
Yes, they truly want the big disruptions. Even the DOE. There are thousands and thousands of federal grant funding programs, hundreds and hundreds for business R & D for innovation.
Tesla turbines in garbage dumps. Gravity batteries. Tiny backpack-sized steam heaters to use off-grid. Hydrogen generators for homes and schools. Cardiology using gravity waves. Music to treat M.S. If you have a great track record and a sensible budget they'll grant you opportunities.
I love this country every time I go to Home | GRANTS.GOV .
 
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D

DeletedUser0287

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Goddamn...never heard of this stuff. My biggest gripe with borrowing money was that I lost control/equity.

Looks like this is perfect for me as I have so many out there ideas, but no money to handle the full execution. Finally They understand, true innovation and value generation costs money.
 
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lowtek

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I was vaguely aware of this as I did some quick consulting for a guy trying to get a grant for machine learning. I tucked it away in the old noodle and promptly forgot about it.

Thanks for reminding me. I see one or more applications in my future.
 
D

DeletedUser0287

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Wait...so if I do get money do i technically have to report this stuff to IRS as income?
 

lowtek

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Wait...so if I do get money do i technically have to report this stuff to IRS as income?
I'm not an accountant, but yes... from what I gather, most of it will be income for your business. There is also your salary as the principal investigator that will be taxed.
 
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Bertram

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I'm not an accountant, but yes... from what I gather, most of it will be income for your business. There is also your salary as the principal investigator that will be taxed.
Not always. Grant support doesn't always translate to income. If some or even most of the activity is accomplished at one of the funding sub-institutions you collaborate with (university or industrial collaboration) it is not income.
 
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Scot

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With all the information about grants from @Bertram no one has any excuses on executing a high level business plan.

If you want to be the next Elon Musk and create technology of the future, here's the money to do it!
 

aflores

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Hi, I have been helping startups for more than 5 years in preparing the application process for government grants and, recently, I decided to prepare a training course for anyone interested in applying to SBIR programs.
As many people suspect, there are very few companies applying each year and the chances are decently high. And you'll not only get the money. It'll also force you to prepare a solid business plan based on facts, which will make you think about your strategy and future incomes.
I hope the course may help you. Anyway, if you want to ask me something about past experiences, I'm here!
 
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WestCoast

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@aflores your reply is timely.

I've been considering applying for an SBIR grant to develop a unique technology for measuring sound waves.
A friend of mine started his business with one of these 10-15years ago, and they went public in 2018... so he is a believer.

If you had some information based on your experiences on getting applications through the process, I would be interested in learning more.
 

aflores

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@aflores your reply is timely.

I've been considering applying for an SBIR grant to develop a unique technology for measuring sound waves.
A friend of mine started his business with one of these 10-15years ago, and they went public in 2018... so he is a believer.

If you had some information based on your experiences on getting applications through the process, I would be interested in learning more.
Hi @WestCoast,
Nice to hear that! For your project and purpose to develop this new technology, you can find more information about the course in SBIR link or contact me privately to discuss about your specific objectives.
Best
 

MJ DeMarco

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Hi @WestCoast,
Nice to hear that! For your project and purpose to develop this new technology, you can find more information about the course in SBIR link or contact me privately to discuss about your specific objectives.
Best

@aflores your reply is timely.

I've been considering applying for an SBIR grant to develop a unique technology for measuring sound waves.
A friend of mine started his business with one of these 10-15years ago, and they went public in 2018... so he is a believer.

If you had some information based on your experiences on getting applications through the process, I would be interested in learning more.

Just an FYI, this person is not associated with the government and is soliciting people on this forum for his coaching program. Could be perfectly legit of course, but his interest in the forum, at this point, is purely commercial. As with anything posted at the forum, I'm not responsible for your actions ...
 
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aflores

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Just an FYI, this person is not associated with the government and is soliciting people on this forum for his coaching program. Could be perfectly legit of course, but his interest in the forum, at this point, is purely commercial. As with anything posted at the forum, I'm not responsible for your actions ...
Hi MJ!!!
Thanks for your clarification and congrats for your books (I've read The Millionaire Fastlane and Unscripted and they are absolutely recommended). You are totally true! Obviously, I am dedicated to consulting activities related to SBIR programs. However, as I said in my previous posts, I am also open to contribute with my knowledge to assist in the forum to all the community.
So, to anyone: please feel free to ask for initial advice, as I'll be glad to help you in your initial assessment of your idea to be eligible for a SBIR grant. I find it a very useful source of initial revenue to launch an idea so many Fastlane entrepreneurs could speak about their success here in the future!
I hope that it helps to enrich the forum and strengthen the community as well.
Best,
Antonio
 

aflores

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@aflores is it helpful to network with people who could possibly be judging the proposals?
Of course! If you know anyone else, it'd be glad to have a connection. Most of the tips and tricks I give in my course are precisely thanks to having been part of the panels for years. I can't say that I'm proud of that but the fact is that many evaluators are accustomed to look for special expressions, graphs, illustrations and a somehow standardized way to express the ideas on the proposal documents, and it'll help a lot somebody who has experience about that.
For example: in the application process, you can even propose recommended evaluators (people from the field of expertise, e.g. your former university professors) and people to avoid (somebody that collaborates with your competitors, somebody against you...). It's interesting to network potential evaluators to make these lists.
 
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WestCoast

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@MJ DeMarco noted!

@aflores I've decided I'm going to submit a Project Pitch, and if I get a thumbs up, I'll do the full effort for a Phase I submission.

There are some really dreadful youtube videos... but not a ton of super comprehensive guides.
I see your course on Udemy and the link you sent.

What makes your course effective for a first time applier like myself?
What do you think you bring to the table that a person like me can't get anywhere else?

Sell me this course sir.
 

aflores

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@MJ DeMarco noted!

@aflores I've decided I'm going to submit a Project Pitch, and if I get a thumbs up, I'll do the full effort for a Phase I submission.

There are some really dreadful youtube videos... but not a ton of super comprehensive guides.
I see your course on Udemy and the link you sent.

What makes your course effective for a first time applier like myself?
What do you think you bring to the table that a person like me can't get anywhere else?

Sell me this course sir.
Hi @WestCoast,
I'm not sure if I should do that here. Anyway, the purpose of making this course is to simplify the work required to apply (tons of videos, tutorials, websites...) and dedicate instead 2 hours of your time. It will depend on how one values his/her time. The idea is that you get the grant as early as possible (consider the period from applying to having the money in your bank account is typically 4-6 months, so who wants/can afford failure and then reapply some months later?
Additionally, I'll share lifetime insights (tips & tricks, trends, changes in the program, etc.) with all people enrolled in the platform, so the course will be valid for Phase I and subsequent Phase II, and even other future Phase I applications.
Of course, you personally will be more than welcome, because I can say we already know each other, somehow :)
Merry Christmas
 

WestCoast

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Thank you sir. I'm watching some basic videos now and determining if this is the right way to go.

For the tech I've envisioned, and spent a year on with engineers... it seems like the right way to go.
So, imagine you'll get money from me here in a week or so as I keep learning more.

Thanks for posting.
 
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aflores

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Thank you sir. I'm watching some basic videos now and determining if this is the right way to go.

For the tech I've envisioned, and spent a year on with engineers... it seems like the right way to go.
So, imagine you'll get money from me here in a week or so as I keep learning more.

Thanks for posting.
Good luck!
 

WestCoast

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@aflores

Been watching a lot of free webinars, to get some basics.
With that, I purchased your course today on Udemy.

Will go through it next week and I'll report back how it goes.

I've decided SBIR funding is the way I want to go for my technology, so, this is the first steps of a likely very long journey.
 

aflores

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@aflores

Been watching a lot of free webinars, to get some basics.
With that, I purchased your course today on Udemy.

Will go through it next week and I'll report back how it goes.

I've decided SBIR funding is the way I want to go for my technology, so, this is the first steps of a likely very long journey.
Great. Once you have finished it, please tell me in what state are you planning to set up your company. Maybe I could further help depending on that...
 
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WestCoast

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@aflores

Have to give you credit here. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the course, and it's very very solid.
One of the best Udemy courses I've taken so far.

Thanks for posting here.

Edit: Finished it. I would give it an 9/10. Very very solid content.
And the RESOURCES wow. An amazing list.

I'm investigating deeply the ability to do this for my idea.
I still end up with a few questions, but I feel I have a much stronger base to sound mildly intelligent from.

100Euros well spent.
 
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