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Partnering With Grantee For Post-Phase II Commercialization Effort

    The SBIR Phase II Grant requires 100% of funds for the continued research and development efforts to prove out the science and create a working prototype, in most cases, that can be scaled, replicated and commercialized. Unfortunately, these funds do not cover salaries of business professionals. Thus, many of these scientist-led small companies are ill-prepared for the challenges of turning their science into business.

    MindForce can help. Through our Venture Team program (and our process in fielding a team), we will work with the Phase II SBIR Grantee to establish a Venture Team for them that can address the market opportunity and execute. During this process, our team will propose what needs to occur to get the product/service to market-ready stage, how we will leverage the experiences and skills of our team, how we can execute to make it happen, and, in context, the financial incentives earned when we reach certain agreed-upon milestones. Upon contractual agreement, we will get to work. The word "PARTNER" is a strong word that is our approach from Day One.

Writing and/or Reviewing NSF Phase II Grant Applications

    Scientists are excellent at scientific research. MindForce excels at turning science ideas into the right business opportunities. MindForce has acquired the hands-on expertise to write or review the 15-page commercialization plans required by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of their Phase II $500K applications. Our top consultants reviewed these plans by being mentors to over 50 NSF companies during the past three years. We also successfully wrote a Phase II commercialization plan that was funded in late 2008. We have also partnered with our sister firm, MBA GlobalNet, to tap over 150 seasoned professionals who have provided these same mentoring services to over 300 NSF Grantees.

      Writing NSF Phase II Commercialization Plans
      The NSF requires companies to write detailed 15 page commercialization plans as part of their Phase II grant application. These plans must contain typical business plan sections such as market opportunity, company and management team, product/service, and detailed 5 year cash flow projections. There is a precise methodology in writing these plans. The plan needs to tell a coherent and consistent story about the market potential, problem being solved and why your IP and company is the solution.

      We will work with our client to write this commercialization plan by forming the right team, consisting of senior MindForce management, as well as one or two subject-matter industry experts. Our fee structure usually includes a small upfront fee, a modest success fee if the NSF decides to fund the company, and a minority equity stake in the newly funded company. Through this equity stake, we also will agree to work with the company as needed during the next two years as the $500K NSF funds are used for further IP development, usually including the building of a prototype.

      Reviewing NSF Phase II Commercialization Plans
      Through our mentoring services of past NSF Phase II Grantees, we have reviewed "initial" and "final" commercialization plan drafts from over 50 Grantees. As one would expect, some plans are detailed and clearly the depth of information is impressive, and other plans lack the necessary market data and are not as detailed as their competitors. In almost all cases, scientists who write these plans focus on the science more than the actual business prospects, and many of them fail to completely describe to the reader, stating as simply as possible, why the NSF should care and fund their solution to their identified market problem.

      MindForce can work with a Grantee to take their existing completed plan (or work in process) and provide review input to transform their plan into a succinct story for funding, with an easy to understand identified problem and solution. We can, in effect, see the forest from the trees, for our clients, and paint the right story to NSF specifications.