The goal of the Startup Guide is to empower UMD faculty and graduate students to transform their research into successful startups by providing resources and customized guidance through UMD's rich entrepreneurship ecosystem, as well as the State of Maryland's. If you are a UMD professor or graduate student and are interested in starting a company using technology developed in your lab, please follow steps in the Startup Guide, which serves as a general outline. Every startup is different, of course, and we will work with you to design a path to success specific to your needs.
Use Faculty & Graduate Student Startup Guide to…
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Launch my venture
Disclose your innovation to UM Ventures. Please provide information about your innovation, grant funding, inventors and/or authors.
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Find an entrepreneurship program
Contact the UMD I-Corps team at mtechventures@umd.edu and request a meeting. The UMD I-Corps team will enroll you in a two-week workshop that will guide you through the customer discovery process. If you complete the workshop successfully, we will recommend that you apply for the seven-week NSF I-Corps program that comes with a $50,000 grant.
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Get business advice for my venture
Work with experienced entrepreneurs who can answer questions, provide guidance, and act as your business advisors. Find current EIRs, with bios.
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Identify/apply for funding & grants
Work with an MII Site Miner to apply for $115,000 to validate your technology. These funds go to the faculty member's lab, with NO overhead. Request that a Site Miner be assigned to you. SBIR is a highly competitive grant program offering over $1 million in non-dilutive financing (combined Phase 1 and 2) to qualified startups. Mtech and the SBDC at College Park provide assistance with SBIR applications.
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License intellectual property
Work with UM Ventures to secure the appropriate license to any IP you plan on using for your startup. Express licenses may be available to qualified startups. Request license.
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Find a lab/office for my venture
Secure an office and/or lab space for your company separate from your university office/lab. If you need to use your university lab initially, you must obtain a Facilities Use License. Inquire about available space through Mtech Ventures at UMD.