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SBIRs can be useful, but they can also be a trap where a company just keeps going after SBIRs and never takes the technology to market.

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There are entire companies in Boston/Cambridge area whose business model is to get perpetual SBIR grants back-to-back and never produce anything of commercial value. And they pad themselves on the back for being innovative companies. It is almost like there is collusion between these companies and grant-giving agencies.

Yup - “SIBR Mills” The Federal government has very complex and specific rules for buying things. It’s a big, important market but hard to crack. Thus the most successful players tend to be really good at selling to the government… regardless of whether they’re really good at what the government needs.

The government knows this and thus tries to create programs that streamline the process while retaining sufficient controls to steward tax payer funds effectively. SIBR is one such program. They’re useful, but not immune to exploitation by sales specialists.

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