Page 16 - Technology and Innovation Journal - 19-1

354 BYRD ET AL.

In addition to soliciting team and project applica- • A phased application process for applicant
tions, it is also important to put thought into who will teams with increasing commitment required
review applications and serve in mentorship roles to for each incremental step is used. A multi-stage
guide and assist teams. Depending on the strength of process provides the chance for teams to get
the local ecosystem, recruiting an initial set of men- additional feedback and allows judges to get
tors and judges could be challenging. Some ideas for a sense of each team’s “coachability.” For more
maximizing the chances of finding top-tier advisors rigorous programs, stages might include:
include: ◉ Idea Grants: After hearing about the con-
cept through another institution, PBNY
• Direct outreach to personal contacts and alumni. instituted an easy but optional element of
The steering committee originally put together the application process to encourage more
to mold the structure of the program will likely initial submissions, with nominal prizes
have an impressive combined contact list. Accel- attached. The so-called “Idea Grant” sub-
erator administrators can help jog memo- mission form is short and informal, asking
ries by looking through the LinkedIn contacts respondents to simply name their team
of the steering committee to suggest candidates. members (no biographies needed), describe
• Solicit referrals from existing reviewers and their technologies in one paragraph, and
mentors. Even people who decline to serve due describe why they want to apply to the
to time constraints may be willing to suggest program in another paragraph. If the pro-
other candidates. gram is industry-specific, a question about
• Solicit referrals from local business plan com- how the technology fits into the industry
petitions, incubators, business organizations, can be added. Applicants will also have to
chambers of commerce, and entrepreneurship select a 30-minute time slot to interview with
organizations. the program managers, which is a time both
• Attend and recruit at local events relevant for for the program managers to assess the team
the industry. and technology as well as for the team to ask
• Create a ready-made guidebook for men- questions to determine if the program is a
tors and judges that includes what you good fit. After the interview, the program
expect of them, forms required for signature, managers send a follow-up email to each team
and commonly asked questions.
indicating whether or not they are encouraged
Selection Process to submit a pre-proposal. Those that ulti-
Applicants move through selection processes that mately do submit a pre-proposal receive a
nominally-valued Visa gift card for their
are unique to each program but share common key lab’s use. Applicants can only receive one
elements:
Idea Grant per submission, so reapplica-
• External judges are selected from a mix of indus- tions are not permitted.
try, venture investors, entrepreneurs, and tech- ◉ Pre-Proposal: A short (one- to two-page)
nical experts, who collectively lend credibility written proposal and/or self-made video to
and real-world experience to the program. provide a basic overview of the proposed
◉ Judges can be subdivided into approxi- project is required. Judges can use this
mately equal groups based on expertise, material to assess the inherent feasibility and
with certain applications assigned to each applicability of a given project, primarily in
group. We recommend having enough order to screen out teams early on before
reviewers so that each judging group gets requiring too much effort by the team.
no more than ten applications assigned to it Keeping this short can encourage more
to limit fatigue. It is also to be expected that researchers to apply and minimize effort in
some judges will drop out or become case they do not proceed. Videos are also
unresponsive, so adding in a few more judges excellent recruiting tools for mentors who
than you expect to need may be useful. might not want to wade through long