5 ms·

Does anyone have experience receiving funding through this sort of thing?

by ada1981 8y ago

codingdave 8y ago
They have a list of over 300 current awardees on the site - if nobody on HN has any direct experience, you could certainly take that list and start making some calls to ask about the experience.
gibba999 8y ago
It's a bit of a disaster. Government processes aren't rational; they're bureaucratic, with specific (and complex) procedures intended to guarantee fairness. The government receives a set of proposals, and must evaluate them based on objective criteria. Unless you know what those are, you won't be competitive. You basically want to be an expert grant writer; that matters more than anything. Proposals can be rejected without being read if you, for example, format your document incorrectly, or use the wrong way to project expenses -- nits no VC would care about. The result is that much of the funding goes to SBIR shops -- organizations with no business model aside from operating from government grants. They write proposals, and use those to fund operations. They keep going for many years with products tailored to the SBIR process rather than to real markets. If you want to play, my advice would be to talk to someone who has done it, and have them review your submission. My other piece of advice is talk to the program officer. Their job is, in part, to help you navigated the sometimes-byzantine process. All that said, I don't feel bad having my taxes spent there. Despite the mismanagement, it seems to have a positive ROI for the world.
- hpcjoe 8y ago
  I remember looking into and applying for SBIRs many years ago. My comments reflect the programs as last I interacted with them, so they may be dated in understanding. There are many issues, not the least of which are the very long lead times. From submission to decision/notifications can be 6+ months. Another issue is the Phase I/II gap. Sure, you can get more money, but there is another (at least) 6 month interval for that. And there is no guarantee that you will get the Phase II. You have to show very specific positive forward motion in Phase I to get Phase II. And Phase III, commercialization, is similar in that you need to show a nascent market. Back when I was looking into and applying for these, the VCs I spoke with suggested that they were a signal, albeit not a strong signal, that there was "something there". Not enough on its own to pull them off the couch to write a check, but enough to keep them interested if others did. This said, having participated in my fair share of government sponsored small business innovation programs, and seeing the most politically connected applicants get funded for fairly poor ideas, I'm kind of jaded about these programs. As bad as they are VCs have the right incentive (profit) albeit in the wrong structure IMO, to invest. The government is all about box checking to show their effectiveness.
- wmeddy 8y ago
  This is pretty accurate. I have both won and lost SBIR proposals with different agencies, and farther back in time was a reviewer of SBIR proposals from the government side.
idoh 8y ago
My mom runs an SBIR company. Happy to answer questions. It is in the hardware space, don’t know much about software SBIRs.
jseliger 8y ago
We've written a bunch and describe some ups and downs here: http://seliger.com/Should-your-startup-seek-Small-Business-Innovation-Research-SBIR-grants http://seliger.com/Should-your-startup-seek-Small-Business-I...
- snowmaker 8y ago
  This blog post is excellent. Thanks for re-sharing! I plan to send this to companies considering SBIR grants in the future.
  - jseliger 8y ago
    Glad you find it useful; while on some level there's a temptation for us to say, "SBIRs are the best! Hire us!", the real situation is more complex, and there seems to be a fair amount of misinformation or just misunderstanding about SBIRs and their strengths and weaknesses.
wdaher 8y ago
Yes, our first company (Ksplice) got an NSF SBIR Phase I. We had bootstrapped the company, and the grant was definitely helpful! (Having said that, the application process is pretty onerous and so are the bookkeeping/timetracking requirements.)
jayalpha 8y ago
No, but I know two people who had SBIR I+II grants. Again, this is not an open race. The mathematical chances that you get it are 10%. The real chances as an not insider? Probably below 1%. But ask. What do you want to know.

Does anyone have experience receiving funding through this sort of thing?

They have a list of over 300 current awardees on the site - if nobody on HN has any direct experience, you could certainly take that list and start making some calls to ask about the experience.

gibba999 8y ago

It's a bit of a disaster. Government processes aren't rational; they're bureaucratic, with specific (and complex) procedures intended to guarantee fairness. The government receives a set of proposals, and must evaluate them based on objective criteria. Unless you know what those are, you won't be competitive. You basically want to be an expert grant writer; that matters more than anything. Proposals can be rejected without being read if you, for example, format your document incorrectly, or use the wrong way to project expenses -- nits no VC would care about. The result is that much of the funding goes to SBIR shops -- organizations with no business model aside from operating from government grants. They write proposals, and use those to fund operations. They keep going for many years with products tailored to the SBIR process rather than to real markets. If you want to play, my advice would be to talk to someone who has done it, and have them review your submission. My other piece of advice is talk to the program officer. Their job is, in part, to help you navigated the sometimes-byzantine process. All that said, I don't feel bad having my taxes spent there. Despite the mismanagement, it seems to have a positive ROI for the world.

hpcjoe 8y ago
I remember looking into and applying for SBIRs many years ago. My comments reflect the programs as last I interacted with them, so they may be dated in understanding. There are many issues, not the least of which are the very long lead times. From submission to decision/notifications can be 6+ months. Another issue is the Phase I/II gap. Sure, you can get more money, but there is another (at least) 6 month interval for that. And there is no guarantee that you will get the Phase II. You have to show very specific positive forward motion in Phase I to get Phase II. And Phase III, commercialization, is similar in that you need to show a nascent market. Back when I was looking into and applying for these, the VCs I spoke with suggested that they were a signal, albeit not a strong signal, that there was "something there". Not enough on its own to pull them off the couch to write a check, but enough to keep them interested if others did. This said, having participated in my fair share of government sponsored small business innovation programs, and seeing the most politically connected applicants get funded for fairly poor ideas, I'm kind of jaded about these programs. As bad as they are VCs have the right incentive (profit) albeit in the wrong structure IMO, to invest. The government is all about box checking to show their effectiveness.
wmeddy 8y ago
This is pretty accurate. I have both won and lost SBIR proposals with different agencies, and farther back in time was a reviewer of SBIR proposals from the government side.

idoh 8y ago

My mom runs an SBIR company. Happy to answer questions. It is in the hardware space, don’t know much about software SBIRs.

jseliger 8y ago

We've written a bunch and describe some ups and downs here: http://seliger.com/Should-your-startup-seek-Small-Business-Innovation-Research-SBIR-grants http://seliger.com/Should-your-startup-seek-Small-Business-I...

snowmaker 8y ago
This blog post is excellent. Thanks for re-sharing! I plan to send this to companies considering SBIR grants in the future.
- jseliger 8y ago
  Glad you find it useful; while on some level there's a temptation for us to say, "SBIRs are the best! Hire us!", the real situation is more complex, and there seems to be a fair amount of misinformation or just misunderstanding about SBIRs and their strengths and weaknesses.

wdaher 8y ago

Yes, our first company (Ksplice) got an NSF SBIR Phase I. We had bootstrapped the company, and the grant was definitely helpful! (Having said that, the application process is pretty onerous and so are the bookkeeping/timetracking requirements.)

jayalpha 8y ago

No, but I know two people who had SBIR I+II grants. Again, this is not an open race. The mathematical chances that you get it are 10%. The real chances as an not insider? Probably below 1%. But ask. What do you want to know.