STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
& CONSULTING
Business Creation & Growth
In today's world, it is often difficult for early stage companies to obtain funding for development from outside sources. While 15 years ago entrepreneurs were able to secure seed money with little more than a great idea, huge market potential, and the drive to succeed - venture capitalists and other equity investors now want to see companies with minimal technical and market risk, measurable revenue, and an experienced team. This creates a chicken-and-egg situation - how can a young company generate revenue when they can't get start-up funding? ProNamix understands this dilemma and is committed to helping researchers and development teams to bridge this funding gap. By providing infrastructure, management, and marketing expertise, ProNamix enables technologies to be developed with funds from several governmental programs - Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.
The SBIR program is a set-aside program for small businesses to engage in research (or R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. The program has 11 participating government agencies, each of which is required to direct 2.5% of its budget toward small business. The current collective value of the program is in excess of $2.2B and is expected to double in 2008 when the program is renewed by Congress. In brief, the participating agencies send out solicitations that list the types of research they are interested in funding. Researchers then prepare and submit proposals for evaluation. Approximately 1 in 15 proposals are eventually funded. This initial funding is typically $100,000 over 9-12 months for the purpose of proving feasibility. If the Phase I contract is successfully completed, awardees may be invited to submit a Phase II proposal, of which 1 in 3 are typically funded. A typical Phase II contract is for $750,000 over 2 years and funds product development and initial commercialization efforts. In some cases, a Phase III award, to supply the product or service to the government, is granted.
The STTR program is similar in structure to the SBIR program but is designed to stimulate collaboration between small businesses and universities to bring new technologies to market.
Please find additional information regarding these programs on fact sheets available on the Downloads page.
The SBIR program is a set-aside program for small businesses to engage in research (or R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. The program has 11 participating government agencies, each of which is required to direct 2.5% of its budget toward small business. The current collective value of the program is in excess of $2.2B and is expected to double in 2008 when the program is renewed by Congress. In brief, the participating agencies send out solicitations that list the types of research they are interested in funding. Researchers then prepare and submit proposals for evaluation. Approximately 1 in 15 proposals are eventually funded. This initial funding is typically $100,000 over 9-12 months for the purpose of proving feasibility. If the Phase I contract is successfully completed, awardees may be invited to submit a Phase II proposal, of which 1 in 3 are typically funded. A typical Phase II contract is for $750,000 over 2 years and funds product development and initial commercialization efforts. In some cases, a Phase III award, to supply the product or service to the government, is granted.
The STTR program is similar in structure to the SBIR program but is designed to stimulate collaboration between small businesses and universities to bring new technologies to market.
Please find additional information regarding these programs on fact sheets available on the Downloads page.
Business Model and Example Process Using SBIR Funds
ProNamix partners with researchers and technologists to compete for government funding to bring viable technologies to market. ProNamix works with their partners to:
ProNamix partners with researchers and technologists to compete for government funding to bring viable technologies to market. ProNamix works with their partners to:
- match solicitation topics to researchers interests
- prepare and submit proposals which meet all the requirements
- successfully manage Phase I contracts to invite participation in Phase II proposals
- develop realistic, expert commercialization plans that are critical to receiving awards
Note: One of the requirements for winning a Phase 1 contract is that the Principal Investigator (PI) must work for the small business at least 51% of the time (PI cannot have another FT job). As such, ProNamix does not collect up-front fees but rather participates in the contract by providing infrastructure and support to researchers.
