Indiana to streamline early-stage capital program support for Hoosier businesses

Via a news release issued this morning, Elevate Ventures and the IEDC announced that the state’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program will now be administered fully by Elevate Ventures.

The release highlights our region's SBIR/STTR Accelerator:

Innov8IN’s SBIR/STTR Accelerator (South Bend, Ind.)

Dave Temeles is familiar with the SBIR/STTR landscape and has seen how the program can be a powerful gateway for companies interested in securing major government contracts.

When he and his family moved from Washington, D.C., to South Bend in 2016, he looked at how well Indiana, and in particular the North Central region, was winning federally funded business deals compared to neighboring states. He saw a stark imbalance and a great opportunity.

How deep is the disparity? In 2016, Indiana companies did $3.9 billion worth of business in federal contracts. Compare that to $5.2 billion in Michigan, $5.4 billion in Ohio, $8.7 billion in Illinois and $6.6 billion in Kentucky.

Through support from the law firm where he works, Ladue Curran Kuehn, Temeles is tackling the challenge through the new development of Innova8IN, a growing SBIR/STTR accelerator focused on helping companies get into federally funded research and the SBIR/STTR program.

Phase 3 of the SBIR/STTR program provides a real opportunity to get into federal contracting, but is often misunderstood. If a company has received SBIR/STTR funding, the federal government has the ability to use a Phase 3 contracting vehicle to buy its product or service without the constraints of competition, money or time limitations. These barriers are crossed through the completion of Phases 1 and 2.

LCK is pleased to play a role in the expansion of SBIR/STTR R&D funding in the region.  The SBIR|STTR Accelerator is accepting applications for our next cohort, so please contact us if you are interested participating!

Read the full news release here about this significant news.