Highly selective, hyper-accelerator

What to Expect

This hyper-accelerator approach to training up and equipping small businesses and startups allows this program to intensely focus on curated content and niche learning objectives to achieve a more in-depth learning experience for participants. A smaller acceptance rate and greater probability of follow on capital sets our companies up for greater future success, both in the military and commercial sector. The program will gather participants in Dayton, Ohio for six of ten weeks, featuring a mix of collaborative in-person workshops and group-learning time as well as multimedia tasks accomplished through online programming and mentoring.

SBIR Program

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the nation’s R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs.

Key Learning Modules

The focus of the Transition Accelerator is to develop innovative concepts and prototypes for technologies that address human-machine teaming with the objective of providing the U.S. Air Force with an improved capability to execute its Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance (ISR) mission.

Module 1

Commercialization
Plan

The ultimate goal is to introduce AFRL Technologies into the marketplace by teaching modules that bridge the gab between customer discovery, market opportunity, and competitive analysis. This includes go-to-market strategies and cost analysis. We will take the deepest dive into customer discovery, where cohort companies will identify military and commercial customers and understand how their value proposition can translate between the two.

Module 2

Investable Business Pitches

By being able to effectively pitch a fully developed business model, cohort companies will inherently have the financials and business plan to attract SBIR II grant funding and/or outside capital investments to ensure sustainability and funding for product development, deployment and scalability.

Module 3

Phase II Application Process

SBIR Phase II requirements will drive the learning process throughout the 10 weeks of programming, ensuring each cohort company has been fully prepared to submit and, ideally, secure a SBIR Phase II grant from the Air Force.

World Class

Curriculum Includes

Access to top talent mentorship

$50k  SBIR Grant Funding

Collaborative co-working office environment

Dynamic innovative, entrepreneurial environment

Rapid path towards lucrative SBIR Phase II Funding potential

Support from Nationally-ranked University of Dayton Internship Program

Local entrepreneurial ecosystems within Southwest Ohio

Resources through The Entrepreneur Center and access to the U.S. Air Force, WBI, and TEC networks

Dr. Dave Shahady

“The U.S. Air Force invests in both innovation and innovators. That’s why I am particularly pleased to sponsor the SBIR Transition Accelerator. The accelerator offers a novel approach to the business of teaming, allowing us to instruct and mentor promising companies with promising technologies. Our ultimate goal is driving innovative capabilities to warfighters while fostering the growth of small businesses.”

Dave Shahady
U.S. Air Force SBIR/STTR Director

For more information, contact [email protected]