Should You Pursue a Grant?

Grants provide seed money to startups.

Consider these points in determining whether or not you should pursue a grant.

Grant funds can only be used for the stated purpose in the grant proposal.

If you need funds for operations, inventory, or administrative tasks, then you probably should not apply for a grant.

Grant funding is typically used for commercialization of the technology, validating the market, and finding initial customers and investors.

Grants work best after you have some initial results with the technology and some funding raised.  

Grants should be used to further the business opportunity with clearly defined steps and objectives. 

Grants should be used to add on to the funds you are committing to the project.

Grants work best when the next phase of the project is clearly defined.

For example, the technology works well on the lab bench but now needs to be proven in a prototype to show potential customers and investors.

Grant funding works best when the goals of the startup and the goals of the granting organization are aligned.

For example, the granting organization wants to find a cure for a disease, and the proposed technology offers a potential cure for it.

Consider these points before pursuing a grant.

 

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

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Thank you for joining your host Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

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Disclaimer:
Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.