Real Experiences From Former Clients
Hear what clients are saying about their experiences with MNSBIR, and the impact our programs had on the success of their company. Read Partner Testimonials at the bottom of the page
Pelva Health
Navigating my first SBIR grant would have been so overwhelming without the support of the MNSBIR Catalyst program. The weekly calls kept our team on track and helped ensure we were setting up our grant for the greatest chance of success.
SNYCRIS
MNSBIR is the accessible resource to assist us to better understand the SBIR grant process and their support was critical to our efforts to submit a $2M competitive proposal to the US Army.
EMRGNSE LLC
Our team is extremely grateful to the MNSBIR team for their guidance, support, and insights throughout this process. As a first time applicant for NIH funding, let alone for small business awards, the Catalyst Program was so helpful to understand the process and get 1:1 coaching to help improve our application materials.
Weathervane Labs
MNSBIR is the premier support organization for innovative startups in Minnesota. The non-dilutive funding they help startups access are the foundation of the capital stack and an essential tool for de-risking early-stage technology.
Elanus Aerospace
MNSBIR, Inc. was an invaluable resource in navigating the complexities of preparing a competitive SBIR proposal. I highly recommend MNSBIR to any Minnesota innovator or small business pursuing SBIR funding. Their knowledge, dedication, and support can turn a great idea into a fully realized, fundable proposal.
Optimal Mobility
Optimal Mobility would not have been able to submit our $1.5M SBIR Direct to Phase II without the support of the MNSBIR team. The Catalyst Program provided valuable step by step learning and assist to navigate the complicated steps for a federal grant submission. Thank you!
Darcy Solutions (University of Minnesota Startup)
We have found your workshops to be extremely informative in helping describe the various forms of potential governmental funding, your feedback on our grant applications to be highly constructive and especially timely when under the crunch of a submission deadline, and your enthusiastic consistently accessible participation to be reassuringly supportive throughout the application process. You provide a tremendous resource that we’ve regularly called upon and will continue to call upon. Thanks for all of your direct support and for supporting the larger entrepreneurial community.
Saysa LLC
MNSBIR has been invaluable in guiding us through the SBIR requirements. We consider Pat Dillon as part of our team, with her being involved in understanding our technology to propose business strategies and align our proposal with SBIR requirements. She has never been shy to ask probing questions or point out if we are on the wrong path. Her ability to visualize our project in the context of the larger SBIR mission has enabled us a 75% success rate.
Adventium Labs
Pat Dillon and MNSBIR are a valuable resource for small businesses in Minnesota. The US government has a set-aside program for small businesses called the Small Business Innovation Research program that can provide over $1 million in non-dilutive funding to support innovation and the ability for sole source US government sales beyond that funding. The process can be overwhelming for businesses just starting. Pat helped Adventium Labs navigate the process 17 years ago and remains an important resource as we continue to leverage the SBIR program. I frequently send CEOs of small businesses to Pat to help them understand how the program can fit into their overall funding strategy.
Champaign Imaging LLC
Whether it is the numerous and differing funding agency requirements, the many unwritten rules or providing and recommending experts to help Pat Dillon and her team at MNSBIR have been and continue to be essential partners in securing SBIR Phase I, Phase II and beyond for Champaign Imaging LLC.
Activated Research Corporation
Working with Pat takes the stress and anxiety out of navigating the complex world of SBIR grants. I am not sure where else I would turn for the guidance and help that has allowed us to be awarded over $1M in non-diluted government grants.
Dynation LLC and NanoBotano LLC
It is my pleasure to write in support of MNSBIR. Without help from MNSBIR, my company never would have even left the ground. Not only is Dynation still around, but so are other small cooperating companies whose work is synergistic with ours. MNSBIR is critical to sustaining an ecosystem where small startup companies are engaged with others in cooperation that supports mutually beneficial development. As an entrepreneur, I can tell you that one must struggle for every resource and it’s Pat Dillon’s 26 years of knowledge, experience, and relationships in the SBIR/ STTR programs that give us a chance! When our business becomes successful, it will have created a new technology zone, new jobs and economic growth in outstate Minnesota, none of which would have happened without MNSBIR.
Partner Testimonials
On behalf of the three biotech startups that I have co-founded over the past 19 years, I want to thank you for all the outreaching followed by one-on-one advising that you do to enable young companies to get funding at the earliest stage. Over the years, my companies have been awarded close to $20million in SBIR/STTR funding to further their development without issuing a single share of stock.
A great example of that within the past year is a Phase I SBIR award to NovoClade before it attracted any investors. The positive evaluation (funding) by an experienced scientific/business review committee was a strong endorsement of the company’s scientific foundation and its business approach. This is always important in the translation of nuanced scientific discoveries to the market place that generally does not have the expertise to closely scrutinize breakthrough ideas and the findings that support them.
I also have noted that you are always present at the various events that present startup entrepreneurs to their first rounds of investor pitches. You are always there to remind the entrepreneurs of what MNSBIR can offer them in terms of obtaining funding and accompanying the validation of their ideas and goals. Thank you, Pat.
Perry B Hackett, Ph.D., Professor, Center for Genome Engineering, Dept. of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota
Pat Dillon’s deep knowledge of the SBIR and STTR programs and federal agencies have been critical to the University of Minnesota startups’ success securing tens of millions of grant funding over the past two decades. Her professionalism, passion, and warmth have encouraged our startup leaders to follow their dreams in bringing their innovations to the market!
Mary MacCarthy, University of Minnesota, Venture Center
MNSBIR (Pat) is a vital resource for the University of Minnesota innovators seeking to build businesses based on their inventions. With guidance from MNSBIR workshops and coaching, our researchers have successfully navigated the complexities of federal agency solicitations, written strong proposals, and – best of all – attracted millions of dollars in non-dilutive funding.