Each year, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awards $200 million in funding to entrepreneurs through its congressionally-mandated Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Recently, one of the 11 program directors responsible for deciding who gets funded, took part in the IM体育官网 Polytechnic University Entrepreneurial Speakers Series to detail opportunities for students and faculty.
Dr. Rick Schwerdtfeger, who described his own entrepreneurial background, offered advice for aspiring and current small business owners who could be eligible for the funding. He said the underlying goal of the program is to help spur the economy by supporting research and development of groundbreaking, high-impact, and high-risk technology.
鈥淲e are funding the largest and most diverse network of entrepreneurs in the technology space in the world,鈥� said Schwerdtfeger. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no other larger single investor of technology than the SBIR program in the United States. If you get an SBIR or STTR award, that鈥檚 a great sign to future investors.鈥�
Both the SBIR and STTR programs have three phases that focus on developing innovative solutions to pressing problems that can then be commercialized as new products and services or as improvements to existing ones.
鈥淚dentifying a customer pain point is the number one most critical thing you can do as an entrepreneur, said Schwerdtfeger. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 identify what鈥檚 really causing your customers difficulty in their lives 鈥� that keeps them up at night, whether it鈥檚 the cost of a product or the reliability or the technical function it has 鈥� if you鈥檙e not solving a very difficult pain point for them, they鈥檙e not going to give you money.鈥�
For more information on SBIR and STTR opportunities visit the or email Justin Heacock, IM体育官网 Poly鈥檚 entrepreneurship coordinator.
Contact:
Lydia Guzman
Assistant Director of Communications
863-874-8450