Specialists from the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) at Georgia Tech are holding a Lunch and Learn session at the Clubhou.se on Sept. 25.
“It is a state-funded incubator program, and they work to help technology companies start and grow in the state of Georgia,” Eric Parker, Founder and President of theClubhou.se explained for ABD. “This event we’re hosting so that people can learn about the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) process. Those are two federal grant programs to help fund startups to do commercialization research.”
The program is designed to help small businesses and startups secure financing that will maintain their full ownership of their company. Called “non-dilutive funding,” there are several options business owners can pursue.
“It could be a grant or a contract,” said Connie Casteel, Senior Extension Professional Research Faculty and SBIR/STTR Connect Catalyst. “There are multiple phases to receiving an SBIR or STTR award. Phase one is small, what they call a feasibility study or a proof of concept. That’s usually going to be about six months of work and can be anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000. Phase two is up to two years. Some agencies say it’s called full research and development. You can use that for prototype development or beta testing of your product, maybe in a real-life situation.”
Casteel said these programs are for companies with fewer than 500 employees. The amount of money available changes each year, based on the federal budget. Currently, a little over $4 billion is set aside for these programs.
Parker said the federal government is trying to address challenges within each of its agencies.
“If you imagine every agency within the federal government, they will have their own groups of solicitations about different project theme areas. And what they are hoping for is that you as a startup or an established company have an idea for something that could solve that,” he said. “They will fund your research to do that, and then to commercialize it.”
He added this can be particularly impactful for local small businesses and startups.
“The large number of solicitations that go out from the federal government, are DOD (Department of Defense). So, there’s a heavy list of what you know the armed forces are looking for within that,” said Parker.
Casteel said small businesses and startups in the Augusta area are in a particularly advantageous region based on the top three agencies with the most seed money.
“The Defense Department has the largest budget of all the agencies. The second largest, which ties in with Augusta, is Health and Human Services, which is the National Institutes of Health, also the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration all fall under Health and Human Services. The Department of Energy is the third biggest. That could be something with anything from nuclear down to a building that’s been in existence that we want to preserve, because it’s 150 years old, but it leaks air. So, how can we make it energy efficient?”
The Lunch and Learn will be held in theClubhou.se’s offices in the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center. It runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
“So, if anyone is developing a new product, if they have enough hurdles to overcome still, then this might be appropriate for them, either SBIR or STTR,” said Casteel.
Although billed as Lunch and Learn, Parker said attendees will need to “brown bag” their lunch.
The workshop is free to attend. Registration is at www.theclubhou.se/events/2024/9/25/atdc-lunch-and-learn
