Attendees Will Travel to Rutgers New Brunswick to Learn
How to Tap into Funding for Technology Innovation
(Newark, NJ – September 4, 2019) –The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) highly successful SBIR Road Tour is coming to Rutgers Cook Student Center in New Brunswick on Wednesday, September 18. The New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (NJSBDC) network is a key host and sponsor as are other SBDCs in the nation.
The 2019 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) road tour is an SBA national outreach project that connects entrepreneurs working on advanced technologies and innovations to federal funding opportunities and support like the SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
The New Jersey Stop is sponsored by the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (NJSBDC), EisnerAmper and McCarter & English, LLP. Other sponsors and supporting organizations include BioNJ, Rutgers University, New Jersey Business Incubation Network, New Jersey Economic Development Authority, New Jersey Innovation Institute, New Jersey Technology Council, Princeton University, TechLaunch, and Stevens Institute of Technology.
Each SBIR Road Tour stop provides participants with an opportunity to hear directly from the participating federal agency program managers that administer more than 5,000 new awards annually and to meet one-on-one with program decision makers.
The program starts at 8:30 AM. It includes a networking lunch and continues through 5:00 PM. Immediately following lunch (12:30 PM to 1:00 PM), Randy Harmon, senior consultant of SBDC’s Tech-Commercialization Program, will kick-off the seminar with introductory remarks and an overview of the program’s focus. This traditionally well-attended educational event attracts science and advanced/high-technology companies and an array of expert speakers.
The morning program will feature sessions about the SBIR and STTR programs that present funding opportunities for science-technology companies as well as individual agency programs, the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC), patents and trademarks, etc. There are also one-on-one sessions so that attendees can obtain customized feedback from the experts. A panel discussion will take place with program representatives concerning funding proposal writing tips and guidance on how to avoid pitfalls when formulating such proposals. The scheduled one-on-one appointments will run concurrently with the program.
In the afternoon, the attendees will hear about a variety of topics from experts Anthony Faugno, CPA at EisnerAmper LLP – SBIR Cost Proposals; Daniel Kelly, McCarter & English, LLP – Intellectual Property Protection; Judith Sheft, NJ Innovation Institute at NJIT, Vincent Smeraglia, executive director of the Rutgers University’s Office of Research Commercialization, Anthony Williams, Princeton University, and Alan Wink, EisnerAmper LLP – Collaborating with New Jersey’s Research Universities; and David Sorin, McCarter & English, LLP – Financing Strategies for Commercialization.
“The New Jersey Stop on the SBIR Road Tour is just one aspect of the services that the NJSBDC offers small businesses in the Garden State. The unique aspect here is that the focus is on all important science and technology firms,” stated Brenda Hopper, chief executive officer and state director of the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers. “Our specialized services in this important area help businesses reach success.”
“Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR gives small science-technology businesses in New Jersey the opportunity to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization,” observed Deborah K. Smarth, chief operating officer and associate state director of the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers. “Over the years, NJSBDC’s assistance has facilitated millions of dollars in grant awards to New Jersey-based firms and entrepreneurs that bring their technology innovations to the marketplace.”
Randy Harmon, senior consultant of NJSBDC’s Tech-Commercialization Program, said “I encourage science and technology entrepreneurs to participate in the Road Tour to tap potential funding that is available for this group of entrepreneurs and businesses as this a rare opportunity to learn directly from and engage one-on-one with program decision makers.”
Also known as America’s Seed Fund, the SBIR/STTR programs provide more than $3 billion in funding to small businesses each year in a wide variety of technology areas. The programs are considered by many to be the best source of early stage risk capital to develop a promising new technology and can serve small businesses as a pathway to equity financing.
Over a period of roughly four years, in two competitive phases, small research and development (R&D) businesses can receive up to $1,725,000. There are no loans to be repaid, no equity is given away and the small business maintains control of the intellectual property. However, the research must be in an area that is important to the participating federal government R&D agencies or solves one of their science and technology problems.
For more information and online registration, please visit https://www.njsbdc.com/SBIR.
