The Support Provider's Dilemma: Is this Person Coachable?
If you're an entrepreneur seeking to improve your chances of
winning SBIR/STTR funding for your technology, ask yourself this:
Are you coachable?
According to author and international consultant,
Timothy R. Clark, "Coachability is the willingness to be corrected and to act on that correction. When we are coachable, we are prepared to be wrong. We can withstand a high degree of candor. We are willing to let others evaluate - and perhaps even plumb the depths of our performance because we understand that the journey of personal development cannot be traveled alone."
At BBCetc, we coach hundreds of entrepreneurs each year. They are in the process of developing amazing technologies and are usually intensely passionate about what they're doing. They want to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Competing for SBIR/STTR money requires the discipline and patience to follow the steps that are required.
Our challenge at BBCetc is to harness that passion and help entrepreneurs keep an eye on the prize - funding to go to the next phase; one step closer to commercialization. We are their best friends, worst critics and most ardent editors. If they are willing to accept feedback, process it, and act on the new information while sticking to a timeline, we keep them on task and on deadline.
No entrepreneurial support provider expects a client to lie down and surrender. We thrive on the exchange of ideas and the challenge of giving your project every possible opportunity for success. But ask any support provider and they will be glad to share story after story of their coachable clients who learn and improve versus the uncoachable people whose projects never get off the ground or fail utterly.
In our estimation, uncoachable people tend to be: Read on
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DoD's FY'17 Rapid Innovation Fund BAA Available for White Paper Submission
The Department of Defense Rapid Innovation Fund (RIF) is a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for technology R&D issued with the goal to transition innovative technologies that resolve operational challenges or save costs into acquisition programs. The DoD seeks mature prototypes for final development, testing, evaluation, and integration. Those selected for award may receive up to $3 million in Rapid Innovation Funding and will have up to two years to perform the work. There is a source selection preference for technologies from small businesses. There are two phases in the source selection process: White Paper submission and full proposal submission. Full proposal submissions are by invitation only based on evaluation of the submitted White Paper. White Papers shall address one of the requirements listed in the BAA and should focus on one requirement per paper. There is no limit on the number of White Papers an offeror may submit in response to the BAA.White Papers are due by 3:00 pm ET on May 19, 2017.
Proposers must be classified under either NAICS Code 541711 (R&D in Biotechnology) or Code 541712 (R&D in the Physical, Engineering and Life Sciences) and noted as such in SAM. Companies also need an active registration in
System for Award Management (SAM) prior to the BAA close date.
Links to the 2017 RIF BAAs are found at FedBizOpps:
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How to Manage Your SBIR/STTR Grant or Contract
Getting Ready for Your Phase II NIH SBIR/STTR Proposal
Granting vs Contracting Agencies: Determining the Best Fit for Your Technology
SBIR/STTR Proposal Prep for NIH
Grant Writing Workshop
SBIR Summit
ABCs of SBIR/STTR Funding
Webinars
May 4 -
How to Prepare a Budget for Your SBIR/STTR Proposal
May 11 - What You Should Know About Gov't Audits
May 18 - QuickBooks and Compliance for SBIR/STTR Recipients
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Opens May 23; closes June 21
(8 a.m. ET - note new time)
National Science Foundation
Opens May 14; closes June 14
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National SBIR/STTR Conference, Washington, DC May 15-17, 2017
Interact with government SBIR/STTR program managers and staff, industry leaders and veteran SBIR/STTR awardees to learn how to access SBIR/STTR, build partnerships, and create successful commercialization strategies.
BBCetc's Becky Aistrup presents "Phase II SBIR/STTR Proposal Prep" on May 15, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-4 p.m.
Information and registration
NIH seminars on Program Funding and Grants Administration this year are scheduled for New Orleans May 3-5 (
register now) and Baltimore October 25-27 (
register now). The seminars help administrators and researchers, especially those who are new to the NIH grants process, obtain the knowledge necessary to write, submit and administer NIH grant applications.
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