The KickStart Venture Services Commercialization Awards program helps early-stage companies meet commercial milestones, either on the technical or business side. Requests for application are solicited on a quarterly basis from faculty founders. The awards are in the $25,000 to $50,000 range depending the on the company’s needs.
The primary purpose of these awards is to provide funding for early-stage proof-of-concept experiments, validation studies, and prototyping. This funding will help generate the data and results that can be leveraged for the next round of funding. For example, the award can be used to generate preliminary data for an SBIR/STTR grant or develop a prototype to attract a seed round of investment. A secondary purpose will be to gather business intelligence for the company. This could include market research, partnership discussions, or competitive landscape analysis.