SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grants are viable source of funding for startups. They sound too good to be true, but it's a real program and an accidentally well kept secret.

1. SBIR It’s Like The Easiest $$$ Eva! Rainbows, Unicorns & Uncle Sam: Free Money for your Startup by Nicholas Napp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License .

9. Timeline / NSF Specific May 2009 Initial contact with Program Manager Jun 9, 2009 Proposal due Sept 24, 2009 Request for additional info & conference call Oct 2, 2009 Conference call & decision to fund Nov 17, 2009 Formal notification Jan 1, 2010 Grant begins Jan 4, 2010 Money in bank (approx 2/3 upfront) June 30, 2010 Grant ends

10. Budget / NSF Specific * Mandatory allocations with set %’s & limits * * *

11. Metrics: Compare & Contrast PREVIOUS STARTUP MOVEABLECODE Time spent trying to raise money 18 months 1 month + waiting time VC Angel play (in principal) Yes Yes Within scope of NSF SBIR Yes Yes # Business Plans / Exec Summaries / PPT Decks 10+ / 15+ / 30+ 0 / 1 / 2 Meetings: Bullshit vs Productive 30 : 1 0 : 1 % of Soul Sold or Destroyed 25% 0% Actual Money Raised $20k $200k Equity given up ~15% 0%