SBA America’s Seed Fund Week Panel Event Hosted by SD Biotech

Check out this Community Event during America’s Seed Fund Week!

RSVP today.

Join SD Biotech on Thursday, May 18, as they present a lunch panel (11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. CDT) at Startup Sioux Falls (100 East 6th St., Sioux Falls) in part with SBA America’s Seed Fund Week.

This is a free opportunity for small businesses to learn about non-dilutive funding available through America’s Seed Fund that awards $4 billion annually to small businesses for R&D.

America’s Seed Fund powered by the National Science Foundation (NSF SBIR/STTR) supports startups with research and development funding to create technologies.

Panelists

• Katherine Cota, Director of Economic Development, DSU, will discuss how entrepreneurs identify the problem they are trying to solve and a general overview of how to conduct customer discovery.
• Mel Ustad, SD EPSCoR Director, will talk about the FAST grant and SBIR/STTR, and the Giant Vision competition.
• Tom Eitreim, Executive Director, Enterprise Institute, will talk about how an entrepreneur approaches angel funds and venture capital.
• Marc Niamba, Founder of Green Light Bionics, and a SD FAST Launch participant, will discuss his experiences as an entrepreneur.

Who Should Attend?

• Entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses based in the United States, especially those working in STEM Research & Development categories
• Venture Capital and Angel Investors, especially those seeking to fund startups and small businesses working on advanced technologies
• Entrepreneur Support Organizations, Economic Business Development representatives, Startup Accelerators, Business Incubators, University Entrepreneur Organizations
• Corporate partnership professionals and industry leaders looking to connect with innovative small businesses
• Representatives from Federal Agencies, State & Local Government, and other members across the ecosystem that support small business

RSVP today.

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About Startup Sioux Falls

Startup Sioux Falls is an ecosystem organization that empowers founders by offering resources to network, launch and grow their ventures. If you have ever aspired to launch something of your own, Startup Sioux Falls wants you to join its community.

Thank you to Startup Sioux Falls for generously donating their space and moderating the panel.

About SD Biotech

South Dakota Biotech is the state affiliate of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). This non-profit organization is dedicated to developing biotechnology through expanding research, advocacy, funding, education, infrastructure development and promotion.

About America’s Seed Fund

Also known as “America’s Seed Fund,” the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs’ mission is to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy. These programs represent the nation’s largest source of early-stage research and development funding for small businesses. SBA coordinates the programs, collaborating with 11 federal agencies, who collectively supported more than $4 billion a year in federal research and development funding.

Through these highly competitive grant programs domestic small businesses with the potential for commercialization are encouraged to engage in federal Research and Development (R&D); these programs are an important resource for a wide range of researchers, innovators, inventors, entrepreneurs, and startups working on big ideas. The program’s goals are to:

• Stimulate technological innovation;
• Meet federal research and development needs;
• Foster and encourage participation in innovation and entrepreneurship by women and socially or economically disadvantaged persons; and
• Increase private-sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal research and development funding.