Grants and Investment

In addition to no-cost, no-strings individual business counseling, TechGROWTH offers two types of competitive funding.

GROWTH Grants

Grant funding is available on a competitive basis, and awards may range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.  The funds are to purchase third-party vendor services that can help bridge gaps or overcome obstacles faced by innovators or start-up business with new technology.  Growth grants are frequently awarded for the following kinds of services:

  • a patent attorney to assess a technology and to begin a patent application

  • an experienced senior-level management consultant who will work with your firm for a time in a ‘C-level’ (CEO, COO, CFO) capacity.

  • specialists whose work will speed the completion of a prototype; e.g., a computer programmer, CAD designer, machine shop or other such provider

  • an industry specialist with in-depth experience in your field who can help better pinpoint how your innovation can best conquer the market

  • other third-party providers of services that will close the gap between your innovation and its commercialization

To be considered for a GROWTH Grant, please contact TechGROWTH by phone, email or via our online signup (LINK).  Through individual meetings with our counselors, you will develop a twenty-minute presentation, ‘test-drive’ the presentation to an experienced group of “Executives in Residence,” who’ll offer feedback and guidance, and present your case to decision makers who can award funding. 
  
GROWTH Grant requests are heard twice monthly and assessed once monthly. 

TechGROWTH awards 15-20 GROWTH grants annually, depending on the quality of prospective grant clients.

Pre-Seed Investment

TechGROWTH offers a limited number of highly competitive opportunities for pre-seed funding. Portfolio clients to date have received funding in the range of $200,000 to $400,000.  For companies whose needs exceed the capacity of the TechGROWTH pre-seed fund, we are often able to “syndicate” the funding needed by partnering with other funds and individual investors.  The largest syndicated deal TechGROWTH has arranged exceeded $1.3M.   The terms of the pre-seed funding are variable and negotiable.

Pre-seed funding is highly competitive.  Of the >300 clients assisted by TechGROWTH since inception, only six have been awarded pre-seed funding.  These six have varied backgrounds.  One started as a local innovator without a completed prototype when he first approached TechGROWTH.  Another was the CEO of an existing small business that had already achieved sales.  A third recipient was a university faculty member with a biotechnology innovation. A fourth was a team of young digital media innovators.  Technology innovations of all kinds are welcome.

TechGROWTH’s second fund is currently open, and approximately another six slots are available for qualified candidates.
Interested innovators should prepare to work for weeks with TechGROWTH counselors to prepare for a pre-seed investment presentation to the TechGROWTH investment committee.  The process from presentation to final award is as follows:

  • Presentations are heard monthly for entry into due diligence.  Successful presenters are assigned a due diligence team of business professionals.

  • Due diligence assessment generally takes 4-6 weeks and requires timely delivery of materials in response to standard questions regarding technology readiness, market assessment, financial viability, the management team, and other aspects of your business. 

  • On behalf of the prospective pre-seed client, the due diligence team presents its recommendation to the investment committee at a second meeting.

  • Successful candidates for investment negotiate a term sheet with TechGROWTH staff.

  • The final version of the term sheet is considered by the Investment Committee and the Board of Trustees of the TechGROWTH Fund.

Candidates for pre-seed funding can expect a process of 3-6 months.

 

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