Applying to Breakout Labs? Here’s what we’re looking for.

So, you’re a scientist-entrepreneur working at the intersection of technology, biology, materials, and energy. You’re ready to take your scientific innovation out of the lab and into the market. You come across Breakout Labs and think “Hey — these are my people.” You want to submit your application but you’re not sure how to prepare.

Don’t worry: we’ve got you covered.

We’ve broken-down the application process and provided some tips to help you complete a solid application.

Pre-proposals

Building a future powered by science.

We want to know what you’re working on. What’s special about your science and what problems can you solve with it? Gives us a brief description in the scientific summary.

Have you seen the future?

Tell us the most far-reaching implications of your project. What can you accomplish with your technology? What impact will your technology have on the world? Be bold in the description of your long-term vision!

And you are?

Tell us about yourself. Tell us about your team. We want to know about the people behind the technology that will change the world. What makes you more likely to accomplish this than any other team? What gives your team the edge to take this to the next level?

You’re on a mission.

We want to help you hit your major milestones but we can’t do that without knowing what they are! Define the timeline and milestones specific to the funding you’re requesting from us : list out your key deliverables, time to completion (in months), and total amount requested for your project.

Out of the lab and into the market.

Customers are important. We want to know how you plan to commercialize your product and IP. Who are you target customers and how do you know they care? Tells us more about your plan to market entry.

Other friends?

You may have raised other grants or small family and friend rounds. We want to know about those! List all other sources of financial support (friends and family, angels, grants, etc.), their funding amounts, and funding dates.

Side note: if you’ve raised over a $1M from investors (grants don’t count!), you’re out of our league. We don’t fund companies that have raised over $1M from outside investments.

Once you’ve thought these things through, you can begin the pre-proposal application here.

We’ll get back to you in a week or two to let you know if we’d like to learn more.

Full Proposals

Alright — you made it past the first part of our process and have been invited to submit a full proposal.

Full proposals should include sufficient technical information for our staff and external reviewers to make a thorough scientific review. Don’t fret: all reviewers sign a non-disclosure agreement so you can tell us about your project’s secret sauce.

Below is a list of what we’re looking for with some tips to help get you there.

Show me the money.

We award grants of between $250,000 and $500,000. Tell us how much you’re requesting and provide a full breakdown of what the budget will be used for, by category. Do you need to travel? Do you need lab or office space? Stipends? What about materials with which to build? Build out your full budget breakdown.

Currently available.

We want to know about your available infrastructure, materials, and other sources of support. What’s available to you now?

The outsiders.

You will be able to recommend external reviewers for your proposal. These should be technical experts without ties to your company. You will also be able to suggest review exclusions, should you feel there is a potential conflict of interest.

This is just business.

Tell us, in detail, about your business plan. What is your anticipated market? How are you planning your customer discovery and market validation efforts? What feedback have you received from these potential customers, strategic partners, etc.? We’d also love to know who the competition is and what the competitive landscape looks like.

Tell us more about your plan for commercialization. Does your IP still need to be developed and licensed? Are there any regulatory hurdles? Do you have any competing interests? Tell us everything.

Rude Q&A.

We want to know the hard questions and critiques you expect to receive about your technology and business. How are you going to respond?

Teamwork.

We want to know who’s working on your technology with you. We will ask you for a single PDF or word document (with page numbers) containing CVs for all key project personnel. Ask your team to update their resumes before submitting to our team.

The Nitty Gritty

We want a very detailed project description, not to exceed 10 pages, which includes:

• Introduction/ Background — Describe the problem being addressed and relevant precedents and context.
• Specific aims of the project.
• Strategy and methodology to be applied — include sufficient technical information for our staff and external reviewers to make a thorough scientific review.
• Anticipated outcomes and impacts — be concrete.
• Timeline and intermediate milestones for the project.

Finally, include references to relevant literature and patents. Provide any unpublished data you have gathered in support of your project. This is not included in the 10-page limit.

Terms and Conditions

We require all applicants to agree to our terms before submitting their proposals. You can find those terms here.

What happens now?

Below is a timeline of our application process which you can also find at http://www.breakoutlabs.org/apply/.

Still have questions?

Ask them in the comments section below! And give us a clap while you’re at it!

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