Ideas into Dollars

A Resource Guide for Inventors and Innovative Small Businesses

Table of Contents

• Foreword - How to Use This Guide
• Acknowledgements
• Your Help Requested
• Invention Stage
• Idea Generation Phase
• Idea Evaluation Phase
• University Evaluation Centers
• Government Evaluation Offices
• Inventors' Associations
• Corporations
• Publications on Idea Evaluation
• Commencialization Stage
• Protection and Legal Assistance Phase
• Private Patent and Copyright Organizations
• Federal Patent and Trademark Office
• Government Publications on Patents and Protection
• Nongovernment Publications on Patents and Protection
• Financial Assistance Phase
• Venture Capital Organizations
• Government Grant Programs
• Important Financial Assistance Publications
• State Government Sources of Information on Federal and State Grants
• Management and Technical Assistance Phase
• Invention Brokers and Consultants
• SBA Management Assistance Programs
• SBA Management Assistance Publications
• NASA Technical Assistance Programs and Publications
• Nongovernment Publications on Innovation Management
• Production and Sales Phase
• Government Procurement Programs
• State Economic Development and Small Business Programs
• Procurement, R&D and Technology Conferences
• Publications of Interest
• Professional Journals
• Books
• Appendices
  1. Patent Depositories
  2. Grant Application Procedures
  3. DOE Regional Offices
  4. Federal Assistance Prograrns Retrieval System

Foreword- How to Use this Guide

Both the individual inventor and the small, hightechnology firm face major obstacles during process of creating, develop ing, and commercializing an innovation-of turning ideas into dollars. Ideas into Dollars is aimed at making those obstacles less intimidating. By providing you as inventors and small business managers ~,vith information on the variety of govern ment and private organizations, programs, and publications dealing with invention and innovation, the SBA hopes to in crease your chances of commercial success.

The contents of this publication are organized to be quickly ac cessible: the process of innovation, along with the appropriate resources, is laid out in successive stages from invention through commercialization. The resources listed in this Guide should help you as an inventor or small business owner or manager to mix effectively the four essenffal ingredients necessary for turning ideas into dollars: 1) determining technical feasibility, 2) assessing marlcet demand, 3) identifying capital sources, and 4) developing overall management com petence.

We suggest you skim this Guide, determine the stage you are in, and then "dive into" the wealth of information available from the resources listed. As advocates for small business, we understand the complications faced by an inventor or in novative firm when dealing with Government Agencies. The purpose of writing Ideas into Dollars is to help you deal effec tively with all the complexities, blind alleys, and frustrations that are frequently a part of working with Federal Agencies, corporations and other larger organizations. By explaining whom to contact and what procedures to follow, this Guide should help the innovation process flow somewhat more smoothly.

Acknowledgements

Several individuals in both Management Assistance and Ad vocacy were principal contributors. Barry Unger, of Innovation Support in Arlington, Mass., a Presidential Exchange Executive at SBA during 1979-80, was the publication's Technical and Science Advisor and Jerry Feigen, Advocacy's Associate Advocate for Capital Formation and Venture Capital, was the liaison between Management Assistance and Advocacy. Dr. Bruce Whiting, Director of Program Delivery for Management Assistance, was the originator of the project and Gregory Dielcks, WriterlEditor, Support Services Branch, was the Project Director.

Your Help Requested

Readers who are aware of any additional resources, whether publications, programs, or organizations, which would be of use to inventors or small, hightechnology firms, are requested to please send a full description of them to:

Ideas Into Dollars U.S. Small Business Administration (MA/SSB) 1441 L Street, NW Washington, D. C. 20416

The information contained in this publication was current at the time of writing. However, over time, programs change, publications come and go, organizations are restructured, and offices move. While every effort has been made by SBA to assure accuracy, some of the specific information may become dated.