What worries you?! Ideadvance Seed Funding to Test Innovation Risk.

The Ideadvance Seed Fund is expected to return with a later, July 16 application due date. We have made changes, which we hope will encourage more applications from across the state. Today, I want to focus on one big shift- A PITCH DECK APPLICATION.

No longer do we expect for you to pack all your ideas into 5 limited pages. The Application Pitch Deck is designed so YOU illustrate your innovative idea, process, technology, or service. Then YOU pitch the plan and team by submitting a narration of your pitch via youtube, Vimeo or another file sharing service. Access our template and stay tuned for recordings to help make this process work for you.

What hasn’t changed about the Application Process is our interest in your business model goals and learning. Ideadvance is designed to help you reduce risk in your business so you can sell, partner, gain investors, access critical loans or apply for technology grants. The Committee wants to hear all about what worries you and how you will prioritize learning to address those risks in Ideadvance. This is communicated in the Project Impacts and Project Milestones slides.

Project impacts: Think goals & Outcomes- especially goals that help you get to some follow-on funding outcome

Project Milestones: Think, “How will I will reduce my worry?” Where will you go to learn? What will you do to learn from customers?

Project milestones are where you can think creatively about minimal viable experiment tests; social media testing; CAD drawings into videos that you present to potential customers, partners or investors. Project milestones may incorporate various product design tests or pitch decks that you put in front of customers or investors. Project milestones may also mean testing elements of the business including revenue models; process for certifications; understanding legal and operational barriers. Sometimes, the innovation is more about the business model than the actual product.

So, get creative and share your worries but tell the Committee how you hope to overcome these concerns to get started, to grow, or to expand into new areas. Not sure where to begin?  Reach out to the Ideadvance Program and let us help you prepare for the expected July 16 due date.