Twenty Dot Three | Beyond SBIR
In today’s episode, Julie Willis and Katheryn Basso welcome Jack Ryan – not John Kransinski’s character from the popular Tom Clancy novel turned Amazon original series – but an Austin-based entrepreneur with a Naval background who is heavily involved in Defense Innovation.
Before his journey with federal contracting began, Jack Ryan worked in Hollywood for SONY Picture Studios, served 5 years of active duty in the Navy, and returned to Norwich University where he earned his MBA. His business, http://catrockco.com/leadership/ assists local technology companies that are new to the Defense Innovation space.
SHOW NOTES
In this podcast, we cover topics such as:
Funding options outside of SBIR/STTR
Organizations that provide Research & Development funds
How to narrow down to a specific customer within the DOD.
Where does your product truly solve a problem?
What commercialization does your product have?
Networking and finding pitch opportunities in this pandemic era virtual world. How can we spark and foster relationships without face-to-face interaction?
We also discuss virtual conferencing and networking for tech companies. How can we make virtual networking more interactive? How can we continue conversations with potential investors or buyers? Does virtual conferencing really provide an exceptional experience for pitch opportunity or are virtual events simply great from an informational standpoint? How can we simulate natural collisions that would otherwise occur at an in-person experience?
We discuss technology transfer and how their offices work to provide resources so that academic laboratories can bring great ideas to the marketplace while also assigning monetary value.
We end this podcast episode with advice and insight into the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (www.def.org) which Jack Ryan describes as the glue between academic programs, laboratories and Tech companies that can facilitate relationships within the DOD.
Jack describes an upcoming event - Joint Military Pitch Day with America’s Future Series (https://www.americas-fs.org) where Tech companies seeking investment opportunities will have the chance to present their capabilities to the Military, DoD, Prime Defense Contractors and Investors.
CONNECT
Jack Ryan
Pat Dillon is responsible for the strategic direction and leadership of MNSBIR and its services to startups and small businesses in Minnesota.
http://catrockco.com/leadership/
Katheryn Basso
If you want to learn more about KADRI Clothing, Katheryn’s designs, and her company, head over to their website at https://www.kadriclothing.com.
