Are You Interested in Working with the DoD? SBIR/STTR Phase I Is a Great First Step!

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are federal awards-based programs offered as incentives for commercial small businesses to contribute their technology and solutions for federal use.These programs, in most cases, will start in Phase I.

The objective of Phase I, as determined by SBIR.gov, is to “establish the technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of the proposed R/R&D efforts and to determine the quality of performance of the small business awardee organization prior to providing further federal support in Phase II.”

Successful execution of this first step sets your business up for prototyping in Phase II and production in Phase III. The primary objectives of Phase I are to:

• Fully understand the problem of the end user
• Articulate how your innovative solution meets the needs of the warfighter
• Demonstrate the technical feasibility of integrating your solution into the end user’s mission set
• Conduct customer discovery to find a wide swath of additional stakeholders

How Much Is Typically Awarded in Phase I?

Dollar awards for Phase I generally range from $50,000 to $250,000 for 6 months for SBIR and 1 year for STTR

The True Value of Phase I

At Long Capture, we see three main advantages to the SBIR/STTR programs:

1) Non-Dilutive Capital. Unlike many commercial means of funding, with an SBIR grant, you do not give up equity in your company. What the government gets in return from the R&D effort is a product that benefits the warfighter.

2) Dual-Use Commercialization. With a solution that benefits and is sold to the government as well as the commercial industry, you can dip into two markets simultaneously, helping to de-risk the solution for government stakeholders while still allowing your company to scale your technology much faster.

3) Sole-Source Eligibility. The biggest prize from a Phase I win is sole-source eligibility. This system allows companies to bypass some of the tedious processes for doing business with the government and provides the opportunity to shorten acquisitions timelines from years to months or, in some cases, even weeks, compared to the traditional competitive process.

Is Your Company Eligible for a SBIR/STTR Phase I?

Is your company…

• Located in the US?
• Organized for profit?
• No more than 500 employees (including affiliates)?
• More than 50% owned by one or more individuals who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States OR by other small business concerns that are each more than 50% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States.

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, then your company could be eligible for SBIR or STTR!

2022 and 2023 SBIR/STTR Phase I Schedule