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Business Building: Business Planning and Market Analysis
Ballroom A+B
A well-developed business plan and market plan are critical to successfully commercializing SBIR-funded technologies. Hear two of the nation’s most repsected technology commercialization organizations discuss tips on business and market planning These seasoned industry and business professionals have worked with literally thousands of early-stage companies to identify their most pressing business needs, position them for growth and maximize their prospects for commercial success. Also, learn about other resources available to SBIR/STTR companies from the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI), the nation’s most respected and most comprehensive resource for technology-based economic development.
Moderator
Rex Smitherman
VP of Operations
i2E, Inc
Panelist
Bob Starzynski
Director
Innovation Adoption Grant Fund Innovation Works
Bob Starzynski currently manages a program that helps established manufacturers with research and development needs by raising outside funding for the program, consulting with manufacturing companies on product development and manufacturing process development initiatives, and managing the award and disbursement of grant money to companies. Starzynski has been with Innovation Works since 2001, having served as director of entrepreneurship development, director of external business services and as an investment associate prior to assuming his current role. Before joining Innovation Works, he worked with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Starzynski has a degree in political science and economics from North Carolina State University.
Panelist
David Thomison
Vice President Enterprise Services
i2E, Inc.
David Thomison is responsible for i2E Inc.’s client services across the entire state. i2E is a private not-for-profit Oklahoma corporation focused on wealth creation by growing the technology-based entrepreneurial economy within the state. Typical client enterprise services include technology, market and competitor assessments, refinement of business and financial models, review and critique of strategically focused business plans, guidance in the creation of investor oriented presentations, referrals to various key technology oriented service providers, and introduction to various capital sources. Throughout multiple business experiences, Thomison has directed a corporate venture firm, managed the treasury, financial reporting, strategic planning and information/telecom services for a large electric utility, and led the financial and/or M&A function for several high growth companies. In addition, he holds in-depth industry expertise including energy, software, informational services and financial. Thomison earned a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering & management from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.
Panelist
Mark Skinner
Vice President
State Science & Technology Institute
Mark Skinner’s expertise focuses on public-sector, science and technology program conceptualization, development and evaluation. In addition to his role as vice president, he serves as editor of the SSTI Weekly Digest, the weekly electronic newsletter for the Technology Based Economic Development (TBED) community. Skinner began his 23-year career in TBED with the Ohio Department of Development, first as a technology center liaison for Ohio’s Thomas Edison Program and later as the manager of Ohio’s SBIR Program for six years, where he was responsible for the initial design, implementation and evaluation. Skinner holds a Bachelor of Arts in urban and regional planning and public administration from Miami University of Ohio.
Proposal Prep: Overview of Phase II Proposal Preparation
Room 8
Getting a Phase 1 award is just the starting point for your SBIR/STTR project: you then want to move into Phase 2, where you get more opportunity (and a lot more money) to further develop your innovation and move it toward the all-important commercialization/ implementation in Phase 3. This session will focus on the basics of preparing the Phase 2 proposal, including questions that you MUST be able to answer before putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).
Speaker
Jim Greenwood
Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc.
Jim Greenwood has been active in SBIR since the program’s inception, making firms aware of SBIR and its opportunities, and teaching them how to write competitive technical and cost proposals for SBIR funding. Along with his wife, Gail, he created an SBIR/STTR outreach program in New Mexico that included SBIR/STTR libraries at all of the Small Business Development Centers, and trained manufacturing extension agents in how to identify candidates for SBIR funding. They have critiqued hundreds of SBIR and STTR proposals for firms throughout the United States and have presented SBIR/STTR workshops in approximately 48 states. An evaluation of the effectiveness of their training showed that over 90 percent of the respondents indicated that the workshops had improved their ability to compete for SBIR and STTR awards. In addition to their expertise in the SBIR and STTR programs, the Greenwoods are nationally recognized for their work in small business incubators, helping develop and manage the Los Alamos Small Business Center, one of the first incubators in the southwestern United States.
TechTransfer: Industry and Federal Government SBIR/STTR Tech Transfer
Room 14
A panel of Industry and Federal groups will provide an overview of how they use SBIR/STTR to commercialize technologies and any changes in federal technology transfer programs. Following the 5-10 minute chat is a question and answer session led by a moderator.
Moderator
Tony Stanco
Executive Director
National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer
Panelist
Clara Asmail
SBIR Program Manager
National Institutes for Standards and Technology
Clara Asmail has managed the NIST SBIR Program since 2001 and is also responsible for marketing NIST technologies. In her roles, she proposed, designed and implemented an innovative NIST-wide technology transfer program facilitating the transfer of federal technology to industry by leveraging the SBIR Program for seed funding along with access to federal research assets. Prior to her current assignments, Asmail was a CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement) and licensing offi cer at NIST, where she executed several licenses, more than 50 CRADAs and conducted more than 30 commercialization assessments on inventions disclosed from the NIST labs. Asmail received a Master of Science in optical sciences from the University of Arizona, a Master of Science in physics from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Science in physics from Fordham University.
Panelist
Ricardo Trevino
Business Intelligence Analyst, Mission Systems and Sensors
Lockheed Martin Company
Ricardo Trevino supports Surface Systems Ballistic Missile Defense through small business initiatives by transitioning technologies into the Aegis Weapons System and various whitespace opportunities. Trevino received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Panelist
Mike Moradi
Managing Director
Century Venture Partners, LP
Mike Moradi is a successful entrepreneur having founded or been a principal in several nanotechnology and biopharmaceutical startups. His current work is with Century Venture Partners, an Oklahoma City-based venture capital fund, and Venture Development Associates, a technology commercialization and consulting fi rm with clients worldwide. Previously, Moradi was a co-founder and CEO of Charlesson, an ocular pharmaceutical company based in Oklahoma City and ranked in the 2009 Inc. 500. Prior to Charlesson, he co-founded SouthWest NanoTechnologies (SWeNT), a commercial-scale manufacturer of single wall carbon nanotubes. Moradi was also a principal in NanoSource Technologies, which was acquired by DuPont in 2002 - widely considered the fi rst liquidity event in the nanotechnology community. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma.
Panelist
Jeff Carpenter, Ph.D.
Director
Bird Dog Innovation Strategies
Development Capital Networks
Jeff has over 15 years of experience in various facets of early-stage technology commercialization. Jeff was part of a clean tech start-up in the mid 90s, where he spent 4 years as director of product development, also supporting manufacturing, patenting, marketing, and sales. He then joined the University of Minnesota technology transfer offi ce, where for over 9 years he evaluated the licensing prospects for well over 100 inventions across many technology areas, and then directed patenting and negotiated licenses for the most promising. His areas of expertise include market and competitor analysis, strategic patenting, patent landscape analysis, partner identification and vetting, patent valuation, and license negotiation. Based in St. Paul, MN, Dr. Carpenter holds a PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology, supporting programs in Genetics and Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota; a Masters of Science degree in Forestry, from the University of Montana; a Bachelors of Science degree in Forestry/Range Resource Management from the University of Montana. After receiving his doctorate, Jeff worked for 15 months as a Congressional Fellow in the U.S. Senate.
Phase III: Determining, Shaping and Managing your Commercial Profile
Room 15
This session will cover the key issues and “must-do’s” for SBIR/STTR grantees in shaping, determining and managing their commercial profile. In terms of your engagement with the commercial marketplace, your grant is a precursor, a necessary but not suffi cient ingredient of your success. Of greater importance are the practices you need to adopt in the pursuit of commercialization. These revolve around market, manpower and money. “Juggling priorities” is often used to describe the challenge, but it is only partially useful as an indication of your effort. Building strategic partnerships in key identified industries while keeping track of other opportunities in other markets, understanding the entire spectrum of prospects for your innovation, expressing the value case for customers, partners, investors, licensors, and strategically and tactically “staffing up” while expanding your network of influence through boards of advisors and directors, are all part and parcel of the great adventure of commercialization. This session will explore these issues through two short presentations and interactive discussion with the audience.
Moderator
Dr. Steve Wood
Office of Intellectual Property
Oklahoma State University
Panelist
Kirsten Rieth
Sr. Technology Project Manager
RTI International
Kirsten Rieth works in innovation commercialization, helping small and large business, university and federal laboratory clients understand the commercial potential of their technologies. She provides commercial technology assessments, market studies, strategic business intelligence scouting, commercialization program evaluation, technology scouting and technology transfer training. In the past, Rieth evaluated commercialization plans for NASA Phase II SBIR proposals, and currently works with NASA Centers to connect NASA SBIR companies to potential Phase III commercialization project funding sources. She also works with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, developing technology scouting and market intelligence services and training for MEP staff to deliver to their small-to-medium enterprise clients. Prior to her work in the innovation commercialization fi eld, Rieth worked in industry for 14 years as an engineer. She received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota and her Master in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.
Panelist
Dr. Rohit Shukla
Chief Executive Offi cer
Larta Institute
Under Dr. Rohit Shukla’s leadership, Larta has become recognized worldwide as a convener and facilitator, and as an active “incubator without walls.” Larta is the principal commercialization agent of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has assisted other federal agencies including, NIST-ATP and DARPA. Prior to founding Larta, Dr. Shukla served at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation from 1991 to 1994, overseeing an ambitious program funded by the federal Economic Development Administration, the fi rst federally-funded ‘defense adjustment’ program in the country. In 1993, Dr. Shukla was involved in the creation of a well-known technology program in the State of California, which established the regional technology alliances (RTA’s), the California Technology Partnership (CalTIP) and a federal-state partnership program to facilitate funding for both high-profi le and grass roots projects. The program operated successfully under state funding from 1994 through 2003 as the state’s principal agent on innovation in the state’s largest region. Dr. Shukla holds a master’s in social and political sciences degree from Cambridge University and a master’s in communications arts degree from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.