Commercialize your innovative technology.
Pitch for a Fulton Schools of Engineering entrepreneurship award to help propel your project forward.
The Fulton Entrepreneurial Professors Program is a competitive fellowship program sponsored by the Fulton Schools of Engineering and Skysong Innovations. It is designed to provide Engineering faculty at the cusp of technology commercialization with the time and resources to learn and live entrepreneurship, and, in so doing, to accelerate the success of their ventures and multiply the impact of their research.
Up to three fellowships will be awarded each year and they will have a two-year duration. The fellowship provides teaching buyout for one course per year, postdoc or research faculty support to maintain ASU research productivity, patent attorney time, travel to an SBIR proposal workshop, and quarterly cohort meetings with investors and commercialization experts. These have an annual value of approximately $100,000 (before indirect costs). All who are eligible are encouraged to apply, and those who do but are not selected for a fellowship may nevertheless receive support for travel to an SBIR proposal workshop.
Eligibility
Applicants should be tenured or tenure-track ASU faculty within the Fulton Schools of Engineering. This program targets faculty who have already utilized the entrepreneurial resources broadly available at ASU. Accordingly, except in exceptional cases, applicants should be founders of incorporated ventures and have either (i) completed the ASU or National I-Corps program, (ii) competed in a Venture Devils Demo Day, or (iii) competed in the Skysong Innovations Faculty Startup Competition. Though they must be substantially involved in their venture, applicants do not need to be the lead entrepreneur; applications are encouraged from faculty who have a student/postdoc co-founder or non-ASU businessperson who is leading the venture.
Application process
Applicants must fill out the short-answer online application, by the application date above. These will be reviewed for compliance with the eligibility criteria. Compliant applicants will be invited to give a 5-minute investor-style pitch, with 20 minutes for discussion, on the pitch date above, and their applications will be provided to the selection panel as background information in advance of the pitch. Pitches should cover the problem or opportunity, the state of the art, the technology, the value proposition and business model of the venture, the applicant and team, and the applicant’s plan during the two-year fellowship. Pitches will be in-person on the Tempe campus with a Zoom option for anyone who is unable to be present in person.
Selection process
The selection panel comprises former Fulton Entrepreneurial Professors and members of the Fulton administration, Skysong Innovations, ASU Entrepreneurship + Innovation, and the investment community. Only the panel will be present during pitches, and the panel will evaluate the pitches and supporting information (provided in the application) according to the following selection criteria: (i) potential for commercialization of FSE technology and business impact, (ii) preparation of the applicant (and team) for venture development, and (iii) probability that the fellowship will be transformative to the applicant’s career. Selection announcements will be made at the end of the pitch day.
Deliverables for fellowship awardees
Fulton Entrepreneurial Professors are expected to attend quarterly cohort meetings with investors and commercialization experts, and to give pitches semi-annually at these meetings showing venture progress.
Application deadline
May 5th at 11:59pm
Pitch Day
May 11th, 1pm to 4pm.