Alabama Launchpad awards $55,000 to help Alabama’s innovative small businesses gain federal funds

 

Alabama Launchpad, a program of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, has awarded $55,000 in grants to assist 11 small businesses across the state boost their chances to get a share of the $2.5 billion in federal funding available to commercialize their products.

Five companies each received $5,000 grants for financial assistance to fund preliminary data, while six received $5,000 awards for accounting compliance through the Alabama Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Support Program Phase 0 Awards Assistance.

The federal government calls the money available for early stage research and development funding, America’s largest seed fund. The money is awarded through its agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the Department of Defense (DOD).  But applying for the government’s SBIR/STTR grant programs is highly competitive, daunting and time consuming for small businesses. For an early stage business, the process to land the non-dilutive federal money begins with preparing the grant proposal and making sure the submission stands out.

That’s where Alabama Launchpad comes in.

Alabama Launchpad partners with Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc. (GCGI) to provide the services of the Alabama SBIR/STTR Support Program, which was started in 2014. The program, among other things, helps small businesses obtain preliminary research data needed to have a successful proposal and assists a first time Phase I or Phase II winner set up appropriate grant compliance for accounting systems.

“It’s important to nurture and invest in Alabama’s entrepreneurs and startups as they create the next generation of jobs,” said Angela Wier, EDPA vice president. “We have been successful in helping companies better their chances at gaining this critical funding during a time when it is much too early for angel investment.”

The program is just part of Alabama Launchpad’s program of work to help Alabama companies start, stay and grow in the state.

The 11 Alabama small businesses that each received $5,000 in Phase 0 grants are:

Preliminary Data

• Proximity Biosciences, LLC, Opelika
• DynSan, Madison
• Neulogix Solutions, LLC, Madison
• MetaboloStasis LLC, Huntsville
• SpectraCyte, Mobile

Accounting Compliance

• Archangel Systems, Auburn
• Blondin Bioscience, Birmingham
• Space Resources Extraction Technology, Inc., Huntsville
• RMCI, Inc., Huntsville
• Exscien Corporation, Mobile
• North Star Systems, Inc., Birmingham

“We know there are other small businesses with innovative, high-risk early-stage projects, and we want them to know Alabama Launchpad has resources available to help get the federal money needed to commercialize their innovations,” Wier said.

Interested in learning more about the SBIR program and application process? Visit the Alabama Launchpad website.