Winter of 2015/Spring of 2016
“Third Bridge” Grant Application
for UConn School of Engineering
Introduction
According to The Kauffman Foundation, nine out of every ten “nascent academic technology
entrepreneurs” are graduate students. Yet startups in general and student-led technology,
specifically innovation efforts, often languish in the so-called funding “Valley of Death” – the
point between a great idea and investible company.
The Valley of Death is an impediment to the success of these startups and the most critical
problem in technology commercialization. Studies indicate that 90% of new technology-based
ventures that don’t attract investors fail within the first three years. Many academic startups
spend the first three years seeking one of the only form of support available to them at this
phase, SBIR and STTR. These opportunities are highly competitive and have relatively long
award cycles.
The UConn School of Engineering has been fostering entrepreneurial skills and knowhow
among students through various venues, including the two-semester “Experiential Technology
Entrepreneurship I and II” course. The main objectives of the course include:
(1) Providing knowledge and experience that graduate students require to gain confidence in
their abilities as entrepreneurs and business leaders;
(2) Providing graduate students with sufficient evidence to convince them that their technology
can be the basis of a viable business in the future;
(3) Nurturing students so they may develop an understanding of the full requirements,
capabilities, and technological maturity needed to address market opportunities;
(4) Enabling graduate students to assess the current state of their technology relative to the
requirements;
(5) Assisting graduate students in launching their startup companies.
This course, over the last two years, has resulted in the launch of more than a dozen student
led technology-based companies which are currently in various stages of potential market
success. By their nature, many of these businesses tend to be long term high-risk, high-reward
startups. The underlying problem is that professional investors want a more proven business
model, ready to scale and short-term payback before they invest. Thus, they are less inclined
to fund the more risky research and development based efforts.
The UConn School of Engineering, through funding from Connecticut Innovations, has
established “The Third Bridge” as a virtual center focused on identifying promising
technologies developed within engineering labs and student innovation to facilitate their path to
successful commercialization. The Third Bridge will leverage and significantly expand upon the
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successful recent experience of the two-semester “Experiential Technology Entrepreneurship I
and II” course offered by the School of Engineering, which immerses engineering graduate
student teams in the process of commercializing their own innovation and/or UConn-developed
technologies. The goal of the grants is to evolve the student’s business idea to the point that it
meets the qualifications for SBIR/STTR funding.
UConn entrepreneurial engineering students currently enrolled in ENGR-5300 or students or
former students who have successfully completed ENGR-5300 are invited to apply for the
"Third Bridge Grant" awards ranging from $10K to $75K per applicant. Other UConn
engineering student entrepreneur’s applications may be considered upon the recommendation
of the SOE Dean and the Third Bridge Principal Investigator Hadi Bozorgmanesh. Between
four to seven qualified students led applications will be funded each year from 2014-2016.
Additionally, these student led companies will benefit from mentoring and networking of the
Third Bridge board and Connecticut Innovation.
Submission to the Third Bridge Grant does not constitute a public disclosure for patenting
purposes. The applications will be reviewed by the UConn Third Bridge Board for the sole
purpose of evaluating the Grant applications.
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Deadlines
Submission of an Initial Proposal is required in order to be eligible for receiving a Third Bridge
Grant. The current round is due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 22nd, 2016.
Each student team will present their proposal to the TBG Board during a timeslot scheduled in
Feb 2016. Teams will be notified if they have been selected to receive a grant within two weeks
after their presentation to the board.
Students who receive grants are required to submit an updated Proposal including milestones,
expenses to be covered by grant funding, and timeline (Letter of Intent Section E). The
updated proposal will be reviewed and approved by the board with changes, if any, that they
request. In addition to funding, teams whose proposals are selected will receive mentoring and
networking support during the length of the proposed program.
Please submit your proposals to: kathy.rocha@uconn.edu. The application may be found
online at entrepreneurship.uconn.edu. Click on the link for members then select Third Bridge
Grant. It’s necessary to submit a paper copy of the proposal.
Funding Guidelines
Initial proposals should request an amount from $10K to $75K and may cover any or all of the
following deliverables:
Grant topic I: Proof-of-Concept - not to exceed $35K/project
Proof-of-principle and other studies on intellectual property that demonstrate the utility of
a technology for a specific commercial application.
Grant topic II: Marketing and Commercialization Assessment - not to exceed
$20K/project
A commercial and market opportunity assessment for a technology and development of
a preliminary commercialization or tested business plan.
Grant topic III: Early-Stage Development - not to exceed $75K/project
Product development in preparation for a product launch or the advancement of a
product technology to achieve a commercial milestone that significantly increases the
company's value and better positions the company for follow-on investment from angels
or venture capitalists.
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Pre-requisites
Only applicants who meet and agree to the following criteria will be considered eligible to
submit a Proposal:
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The Proposer must be a student currently enrolled in ENGR-5300 or a student or
former student who has successfully completed ENGR-5300. Other UConn
engineering student entrepreneur applications may be considered upon the
recommendation of the SOE Dean and the Third Bridge PI Hadi Bozorgmanesh.
The student entrepreneur (SE) must secure the consent and participation of the
student's faculty advisor and/or co-inventors.
Prior to applying, the student applicant and/or their advisor/co-inventor must have an
invention disclosure on file with UConn’s Office of Technology Commercialization
Services (TCS) if it involves UConn Intellectual Property.
If the project is based on a faculty invention, the PI must have the consent of the lead
inventor(s) and provide a copy of the disclosure filed by the inventor(s) with TCS. The
participation of the faculty inventor as an advisor to the project is desirable and should
be pursued and noted by the SE in the application.
Proposal applications will not be accepted if a disclosure has not been filed with TCS.
Students whose innovation is not based on UConn faculty research are eligible to apply
without filing an invention disclosure, provided TCS personnel verify such independence.
In all cases:
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Non-UConn engineering personnel must be identified within the grant application as
key contributors and their role within the project should be defined. Competitive
applications will utilize both University and non-University expert resources and
personnel to help with key milestones related to product development, testing, or
prototype development.
The student proposer may collaborate on multiple proposals, provided that the
proposals are not based on the same invention.
The technology which provides the basis for the proposal must not be licensed,
optioned, or encumbered by any other prior entity.
The IP surrounding the invention disclosure must be owned (or co-owned) by UConn
or by a UConn engineering student.
The project must be focused on commercial product/service development or testing.
The SOE Third Bridge funding cannot be used for basic exploratory studies or as
general funding for the faculty, student or lab.
Project milestones and deliverables must be achievable within 6-18 months of the
start of funding and within the requested budget.
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The applicants will cooperate with UConn Technology Commercialization Services on
University IP to determine and pursue patent protection as appropriate.
International students must have legal status for working in the U.S. during the
duration of the proposed TBG project. This may include having active CPT or OPT
status. If currently on CPT, the applicant must have a plan to attain OPT status should
milestones extend beyond the duration of the CPT.
Applicants understand that the company and their work must reside in the state of CT
for the duration of the TBG project. It is highly desirable for the company to continue
to be located in CT after the completion of the project.
The intention of the TBG is to provide student entrepreneurs with funding that will help
bridge them to more substantial funding. As such, any student who applies must not
have previously received pre-seed, SBIR/STTR, angel, or other such funding for the
invention/project included in the TBG proposal. Nor should they have obtained any
paying customer(s) for such invention/project.
Third Bridge Grant Proposal
The proposal includes three (3) components:
1) Application
2) Two page Letter-of-Intent
The initial proposal Letter-of-Intent only includes Sections A through D. If it is approved
by the board and funding granted, the student is required to update the Letter-of-Intent to
include Section E which covers specific aims and milestones associated with funding
amount that has been awarded. Full proposals including Section E will only be accepted
from student entrepreneurs (SE) who have submitted the Initial Proposal and were
officially granted funding.
3) Acknowledgement
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1. Application
a. General Information
Student Entrepreneur : _____________________________
Position Title: ____________________________________
UConn SOE / Department: __________________________
Phone: _________________________________________
E-mail Address:___________________________________
Student Advisor: __________________________________
Position Title: ____________________________________
Phone: _________________________________________
E-mail Address:___________________________________
UConn Engineering Department under which you are applying (please take into
consideration where work will be performed) ___________________________
b. Proposed Project
Title of Proposed Project: ___________________________
Anticipated Budget Requested: ______________________
Proposed Period of Support: _________________________
c. Invention Disclosure Information (If UConn-owned IP)
Title of Invention Disclosure: ________________________
Technology Commercialization Services Reference Number:
_______________________________________________
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2.
Letter-of-Intent (LOI) – maximum of two pages per proposal
Please include the following information:
a. Project Description – Introduce the problem your technology solves (what “pain
it cures”), present a high-level overview of your technology and how it will address
that problem, and include a brief description of your proposed project.
b. Project Impact – Identify current technical or commercial risks associated with
your technology that your proposed project will be able to address, thus
significantly impacting the commercial potential of your technology.
c. Market Attractiveness – Describe the envisioned end product based on your
technology and the market in which it will compete. Please identify total size of
market, addressable market, and target segment.
i. Identify the differentiating factors (e.g., better/faster/cheaper) that will make
your technology competitive in the marketplace. Provide any industryspecific feedback you have received on the competitive advantage of your
technology and its ability to fulfill an unmet need in the marketplace.
d. IP position – provide any data or information you have that indicates the technology is
likely to be patentable
e. Specific Aims/Milestones (only required if funding is granted) – Propose 2-3
distinct milestones that will be used to track the progress of the project over the
course of the funding period. Milestones should be logically ordered such that the
successful completion of one milestone triggers work to begin on the next
milestone. Please note: Third Bridge funds are released in bundles, meaning a
defined milestone must be successfully achieved before the next stage of funding
is released.
Appendix – A maximum of one (1) page of supporting data or references cited in the
LOI may be included. The appendix will not count toward the two-page LOI limit.
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3. Acknowledgement
I acknowledge that this project is eligible for submission based on the criteria set forth in
the pre-requisites and Section 1 of this application. I further understand that there isn’t a
guarantee that the initial proposal will be funded. Only projects that are scored the
highest by the Third Bridge Grant Board will be funded for an amount that they
determine as being appropriate.
Student Applicant Name: ___________________________
Student Applicant Signature: ________________________
Student Applicant Advisor: __________________________
Student Applicant Advisor Signature: __________________
Evaluation Criteria
The proposals will be judged by a Third Bridge BOARD which is comprised of seven members
including current and former industry executive and CT Innovation and UConn representatives.
Applications will be judged using (BUT NOT LIMITED TO) the following criteria:
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Overall quality of proposed research plan;
Potential commercial importance of the proposed project;
Competence, balance and completeness of entrepreneurial team;
Possibility of attracting future development funding to advance the proposed project;
Degree of innovation and novelty in the proposed project;
Potential for commercially significant inventions, copyrights and patents;
Probability of achieving proposed goal with the Grant resources and in the time proposed.