a Bizcamp 2009 presentation by Maarten Laga

1. Grants & SubsidiesFree Money orJust a lot of Hasle Maarten Laga Maarten@Sampi.be

2. What are wetalking about Direct Grants – Hard CASH Not: taxincentives, social securitybenefits, consultants vouchers, … Government Grants for SME’s and Start Ups Local Government (Province, Regional) €20K - €200K range National Government European Union (FP7, …) €100K - €500K range Mainly for Innovation projects and ideas Technology, business models, … New ‘in the world’ or ‘new to yourcompany’ Business modeling, marketstudies, IP studies

3. Whytake the money Its’s Free Money, Right? Almostalways: costreimbursment (% of costs made) Return the money in case of ‘problems’, audits, … Convertible to stock in some cases Is it MORE thenjust Money? Innovation stimulator: let’s do something new, becauseitwillgive us free money… Sounding board Vision expansion International collaboration Academic // Corporate // SME interaction Internal Motivator Financial support – life line Good stepping stone for VC rounds Risc minimizer

4. Why NOT to go for the money… Administrative hazards Selectionproblem: Which program for whatproject… Complexrules, speficifwriting style per instance,… Lotery style proposal selection process ‘Politicaly correct’ consortium composition IPR background // foreground issues Financial Viability demands Project after life: Financial audits Consortium problems Motivation differences Funding / Research / Personal Gain / … Priority differences

6. How to avoid the Innovation Trap(personalexperiences) Can we escape? Cfr the ‘Crossing the Chasm’ theory Technology platform vs Solution Provider Anyhow: Professional Board (VC) Strategy revisions Serieus reduction in Grant-projects (and financial dependency) Participation on strict condition of ‘strategic fit’ Reduction in R&D team Farewell to technological founder Customer focus Pilot projects with paying customers

7. Conclusions Anyone CAN getgrant money on somelevel All youneedis to Pick the right type of program, fitting to yourproject Windfall Some start ups are alive (and kicking) thanks to grant-projects Pitfall I may have lost 2-3 years on co’s growth curve due to the luxury of project money Grant projects May create innovation in European/Belgian/Flemish SME’s But do not create products for a market Venture Capital may be a way to bridge this gap

8. Contact If youwant more information or help on this: Maarten Laga Sampi - Innovation Management Maarten@Sampi.be +32 475 94 92 93