By: Stephanie Robey
The SBIR/STTR Road Tour in Madison on July 18 was a hit! Thanks so much to everyone who participated! From panelists and federal agency representatives to volunteers, exhibitors, and entrepreneurs, everyone found big value in this event presented by the Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) in partnership with StartingBlock Madison.
A high-energy welcome from Margaret Ramey, CTC Director; Shayna Hetzel, WEDC’s VP of Entrepreneurship & Innovation; and Geri Aglipay, SBA Region V Great Lakes Administrator kicked off the event. This was followed by an overview of the federal SBIR/STTR program from Nancy Kamei, a Program Development Specialist at the Office of Investment and Innovation. Through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, non-dilutive funding is provided to entrepreneurs to develop innovative technologies and chart a path toward commercialization.
One of the big highlights of the event was the chance for small business owners to meet one-on-one with government agencies to ask questions specific to their own experiences. Participating agencies included several Department of Defense programs, National Science Foundation, National Institutes for Health, Department of Energy, United States Department of Agriculture, and many more.
Programming throughout the day included sessions presented by SBIR specialists, such as Matching Your Project to an Agency and Inside the Head of an Evaluator. Another panel discussion shared tips for finding support when using the SBIR and STTR programs, thanks to the Small Business Administration (SBA), the National Science Foundation I-Corps, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and CTC.
Regional SBA awards were presented to the UW-Madison Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and to StartingBlock by Geri Aglipay, SBA Great Lakes Regional Administrator and Eric News, Small Business Administration District Director. UW-Madison SBDC received the Great Lakes Region Excellence and Innovation Center Award and StartingBlock received their Growth Accelerator Fund Competition award. Congratulations to these hard-working teams!
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Eric Ness and Geri Aglipay of the SBA with UW- Madison SBDC team: Stephanie Achten, Amy Bruner Zimmerman, Anne Inman, and Michelle Somes-Booher.
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Eric Ness and Geri Aglipay of the SBA with StartingBlock’s Scott Mosley and Leslie Weissburg.
Rob Baranowski (CTC) and Emma Uren (UW-Madison Technology Entrepreneurship Office) gave valuable insights on commercialization in a session titled From Ideas to Products. UW-Madison’s Discovery to Product (D2P) as well as representatives from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), Forward BIOLABS, and StartingBlock focused on the topic of Accessing Wisconsin Resources, answering lots of audience questions about how to get help.
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Rob Baranowski (CTC) and Emma Uren (UW-Madison Technology Entrepreneurship Office).
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Kody Ova (CTC), Scott Mosley (StartingBlock), Jessica Martin-Eckerly (Forward BIOLABS), Cecily Brose (D2P), and Cat Johnson (WEDC).
Throughout the day, a resource fair was available for all participants to talk with Wisconsin small business resources as well. Thanks to all who spent the day helping our entrepreneurs!
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Shirah Apple helps participants understand SBA offerings.
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Rob Baranowski shares details on SBDC and CTC.
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WEDC team promotes Start In Wisconsin platform and WiSys VentureHome.
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Event volunteers: Gina Ferraro and Lora Bary from the Office of Business & Entrepreneurship (OBE) staff the registration table.
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Event volunteers Michelle Somes-Booher (SBDC)and James Wegener (OBE) keep the federal agent one-on-one sessions running on time.
To close out the day, a panel of entrepreneurs shared their own experiences with the SBIR/STTR programs. Thanks to Cellular Logistics, Medical Cyberworlds, Aquarius Systems, and Stem Pharm for providing your insights to help others!
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Kody Ova (CTC), Eric Schmuck (Cellular Logistics), Fred Kron (Medical Cyberworlds), Steve Visuri (Stem Pharm), and Jane Dauffenbauch (Aquarius Systems).
Kody Ova, Marketing and Communications Specialist for CTC, said, “We are passionate about connecting small businesses and innovators with the resources to help them succeed. Ending the day with the SBIR/STTR success panel was very exciting as we were able to showcase the expertise and innovation that the program helps to foster. These successes exemplify SBIR/STTR’s winding but rewarding path. Thank you to all panelists, organizers, volunteers, and others who helped make this event a success!”
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Kody Ova and Margaret Ramey (CTC) event organizers
Next steps:
- Reach out! If you are ready to take the next steps towards commercialization, book a no-cost, confidential appointment with CTC’s SBIR Consultants.
- Still not sure if SBIR is right for you? Sign up for our SBIR 101 monthly webinar.
- Ready to start a proposal? Make sure to apply for our micro-grants first.