Phase 1:
Establish technical feasibility and commercial potential
Funding: $50K-$250K
Duration: 6-12 months
SBIR/STTR: Non-Dilutive Research Translation Funding
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs provide substantial funding to translate research into applications—without sacrificing equity.
Three Funding Phases
Phase 2:
Continue R&D and develop a commercialization plan
Funding: Up to $2M
Duration: 24 months
Phase 3:
Pursue commercialization with additional contracts
Participating Agencies: NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE, NASA, USDA—each with different focus areas and requirements.
How the Auster Center Helps
We work with you through the entire SBIR/STTR process: assessing whether your technology meets program criteria and timing requirements, identifying which agencies (NIH, NSF, DOD, etc.) are most likely to fund your specific research, and helping you build market-validation evidence through NSF I-Corps customer discovery. For STTR applications that require small-business partners, we facilitate those connections. Throughout proposal development, we provide feedback on your commercialization narratives and broader impact sections.
The I-Corps Advantage: I-Corps participants significantly increase their SBIR/STTR success rates because they can demonstrate systematic market validation rather than just claiming “commercial potential.”