PhDs vs MBAs: Who Writes a Better SBIR Application?

time for the battle of the degrees in this video I'm going to break down the pros and cons of preparing an sbir application for those with a business background like an MBA compared to those with the technical research background like a PhD then at the end of this video I'm going to share my thoughts on who prepares a better svi or application those with an MBA or those with a PhD which one do you think will win go ahead and comment down below hey guys welcome back to the channel I'm Stacy chin from keep your equity.com and our goal is to help start our Founders secure non-dilutive grant funding from federal programs called the sbir and the sttr we mostly work with Science and Tech startups and help them to bring their innovative ideas to the commercial Market if you're interested in learning more about these sbir and sttr programs I'll leave a link in the description below to another video so these sbir and sttr grant funding opportunities are meant to support Science and Tech startups and other small businesses by giving them the funding they need to pursue research and development efforts that have really strong commercial potential now to prepare a really strong application the team's going to need technical expertise to prepare a really rigorous research and development strategy that meets the requirements of that funding agency's goals and this usually includes identifying research questions developing a research plan conducting experiments and analyzing data usually these technical expertise are provided by a member with a PhD or a strong research background however the technical feasibility alone is not enough to secure funding from the sbir program the proposed Innovation also needs to have commercial potential that can be demonstrated through something called the commercialization plan and this requires other skill sets like business Acumen financial analysis marketing expertise the ability to identify other markets and to develop a golden Market strategy and the commercialization expertise is typically provided by someone on the team with a really good business background or someone with an MBA so for the past 10 years I've had the pleasure of working with so many different Founders as I was advising them on their sbir shop strategy and usually many of these standards either have a strong technical background like a PhD or others are usually just have the business background like an MBA and sometimes some Founders have both and from my experience working with these Founders those with the business or technical background have different pros and cons that they bring to the table when repairing an sbir application and so for you as a technical founder or a business founder it is important for you to understand which side of the coin you fall on so you can more properly allocate your time and resources When developing a really competitive sbir application so that in the long run this would increase your chances of funding and so with that being said I'm going to break down the most common strength and weaknesses that I've found when working with these Founders especially those with only just a technical background or those with only just the business background but before I jump into it if you haven't done so please support this channel by liking this video and subscribing so that you won't miss out on any tips we have to share with you to support your fundraising journey through non-dilutive grants and don't forget to check out website at keepyourequit.com where you find more advice resources and templates to support you in your non-diluted fundraising Journey first let's talk about founders with a technical background usually those with a PhD strange that these Founders bring to the table is that their technical expertise are excellent to develop research strategies understand how to conduct really rigorous experiments and they have a high level attention to detail these technical Founders also can bring a deep level understanding of the Innovation and Technology itself and all these traits combined can be very advantageous to develop a really strong SBI application especially on the research side however founders with a really strong technical background May sometimes like the business Acumen they may struggle to put together a really strong commercialization plan that meets the requirements of the sbir program it is important for technical Founders to keep in mind that whatever they propose in their research strategy has to be aligned to their go-to-market goals another stream that technical Founders have is that they might be very strong technical writers however they may not be as strong when can communicating to a wider broader audience technical Founders may not be aware how to effectively bring their Innovation or technology to the commercial market and that's going to impact how they can prepare an effective sbir application so as a recap technical Founders are very strong to create an outstanding research and development strategy with plenty of detail and evidence but may struggle on the commercial station side and the persuasion aspects required to put together a strong application now let's discuss the other side of the situation where Founders have a really strong business background like an MBA but may lack the technical skills it's like a Founder with a PhD these Founders are usually really good at identifying Market opportunities analyzing the market and how to put together a go to market strategy and because of those skill sets these Founders can be very strong when preparing the commercialization strategy of an sbir application however these Sounders might not the technical expertise required to understand what details they have to consider when preparing a really rigorous research and development strategy especially because this requires a deep understanding of the signs Behind The Innovation and Technology itself and because these business oriented Founders may not have the level of research experience as a technical founder does they might struggle to put together a really rigorous research and development plan which is required for an sbir application and because business oriented Founders can be quite strong when communicating their ideas to a wide broad audience this might be problematic when preparing an SBI application since the lack of technical death required within their discussion on the Innovation and the research strategy and if you don't include enough technical information within your SBI application this might give for viewers the lack of confidence that you understand how to utilize that grant money if you have funded so to recap these business oriented Founders can bring great strengths When developing a commercialization plan or to go to market strategy however they might have a difficult time on preparing the technical side of the sbir application now since we looked at both the strengths and the weaknesses of founders with a PhD or an MBA it's time to declare a winner so who writes a better esper application well my opinion neither and that's because you're going to need both skill sets to prepare a really strong application from my experience working with professors from the top U.S universities like MIT Harvard and Duke they excel at preparing a really rigorous research and development strategy however they might lack the business Acumen to understand how to best position that strategy towards the commercialization efforts and likewise I've also worked with many great startup Founders that are strong in the business side and even with several exits and Acquisitions on their end and I've seen them I struggle to put together a really rigorous research and development strategy So based on what I've seen startups with the strongest SDR applications have both the technical and the business expertise on their team and that's because a technical expert will ensure that a really strong research and development strategy is proposed when the sgr application while the business Expert ensures that the proposal demonstrates the commercial potential and has a strong go to market plan so whether you are a technical founder or a Founder with business skills by understanding your strengths and weaknesses you can better understand where the gaps are between your skill sets so that you can best allocate your resources time and energy to fill those gaps so that you can prepare the best SBR application as possible so that you have a good chance of funding and that's because at the end of the day the combination of these scale says is necessary to convince SBI reviewers that your technology has both a technical feasibility and the commercialization potential to bring this guy to Market so did you guess both let me know in the comments below if you chose one or the other and you rationale behind it and I'd love to hear any other questions you might have about the sbir and sttr process so with that thank you so much for watching till the end of this video please like And subscribe to this Channel and don't forget to check out our website at keep your equity.com where you'll find lots of other resources to help you in your fundraising Journey

Channel: KeepYourEquityco

Views: 1,835

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Id: UUHpR27NMf8

Length: 7min 54sec (474 seconds)

Published: Wed May 03 2023