0. Tips for Being Selected for Government Support Programs
CEOs of small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and everyone preparing for entrepreneurship, pay attention!!
There are various government support programs for startup growth technology development projects.
There are various government support programs such as 'Foundation Tasks, Innovative Startup Tasks, Leading Startup Tasks, and Tips'.
Today, I want to talk about the Innovative Startup Tasks among these four. Why?!!!
Because we were selected for the 2nd Innovative Startup Task, I know what preparation is needed and how to write a business plan, so I will help you so that you won't miss out on support programs due to complex administrative processes, preparation processes, or poorly written business plans even if you have the technology.
Among the Innovative Startup Tasks, we applied for 'Technology-based Startup Type'.
As you can tell from the name, it is available for companies that possess technological capabilities and are startups under 7 years old with ventures or inno-biz.
Startup Growth Technology Development Project... Oh, it's too long. Let's call it the Growth Task.
As mentioned earlier, the Growth Task has four tasks. The characteristics are as follows.
Looking at the table, Tips seems to be the best. Among 8,000 startups, only 5 to 6 receive Tips, so if we compare it to schools, it's like Seoul National University, hehe.
If your company is in its 1st or 2nd year, you are likely to do a lot of Foundation Tasks. However, the Innovative Startup Task is much better than being selected for two Foundation Tasks.
While Foundation Tasks provide support of 100 million to 150 million for one year, the Innovative Task provides 400 million for two years with just one task, making it much more stable.
For companies with technological capabilities, this is a support program that must be aimed for.
1. Should I Definitely Do the Innovative Startup Task?
Yes. You should definitely do it.
For those who find government support administrative tasks too complex and don't know how to write a business plan!
Don't give up~ Small and medium-sized enterprises in Korea must grow through government support programs.
For sales, research and development is essential, and there is no place that supports research and development expenses as generously as South Korea. In terms of quantity, it is overwhelmingly the best.
Companies that are growing well and have stable sales characteristics are those that "understand the importance of government support programs well and prepare systematically."
Usually, R&D support programs end around August. Then, from September, they start preparing for next year's support programs.
Allocate 10% of your sales to R&D support programs. For a company with 3 billion in sales, prepare about 300 million for R&D projects to cover labor costs.
Use the money you receive from investments or loans for marketing, and use government support programs for product development.
You can use government support programs to cover expenses such as testing/certification analysis, certified test reports for prototypes. All costs related to patents that come out as a result are also covered. Getting a patent also enhances your technological capabilities and delays the entry of competitors. There is no reason not to do it.
Of course, it's not easy to succeed as the competition rate is very high. The difficulty level of writing a business plan is high, and even if you are selected for a government support program, you will have to write research notes every month due to complex administrative processes. However!! You should still do it.
If 1 part is difficult, the good part is 9 parts, so please do challenge yourself.
Failure is also an asset.
2. Preparations Before Writing a Business Plan for Government Support Programs
Now let's look at what you need to prepare in detail.
The Growth Task is different from the Leading University for Startups and the Initial Startup Package.
It is a much more difficult business (not that the Leading University for Startups and the Initial Startup Package are easy. The competition rate is extremely high, almost 200:1..wow)
It is complex and requires a lot of preparation. I will explain step by step.
1) Membership Registration
Shall we start with membership registration? Please fill in the information carefully when signing up for SM tech. There are many items to fill out, so please be thorough.
Please go to the following site to register.
Comprehensive Management System for Small and Medium Enterprise Technology Development Projects
2) Registration of Science and Technology Personnel Number
For government support programs, there is a procedure to register employees as researchers, and it requires a Science and Technology Personnel Number.
You need to obtain the Science and Technology Personnel Number of your employees in advance, so go to NTIS to prepare.
National Science and Technology Knowledge Information Service
Provides comprehensive information on national research and development projects, project outcomes (papers/patents), research facilities/equipment, etc.
3) Preliminary Research
Preliminary research means investigating whether someone else is already doing the business you are planning to do.
Even if you have written a complete business plan and made all the preparations, if someone else is doing the same thing, you will fail to be selected for the project.
To prevent this, search by project name and if you find something similar, it is recommended to change the project name or project item.
You can conduct preliminary research on two sites, so cross-check them.
National Science and Technology Knowledge Information Service
Provides comprehensive information on national research and development projects, project outcomes (papers/patents), research facilities/equipment, etc.
National Science and Technology Information Center NDSL(National Digital Science Library)
If you search by project name on this site, you will see similar projects and their contents as shown in the image below.
It's easier than you think, right? Don't forget to double-check to avoid overlapping project contents.
4) Selection of Voucher Companies and Participating Companies
For the Growth Task, you need to use R&D vouchers. It is a mandatory requirement except for the SW industry.
You should use about 20% of the voucher and outsource to a research institution. You must entrust performance testing, planning/development, etc., to external organizations.
You must use the voucher only at designated places and spend it as specified in the voucher breakdown. Therefore, you need to select voucher companies and get quotes in advance for these tasks to be possible.
If participating companies are required, you should also prepare in advance. Register the researchers of the participating companies, and discuss each of their assigned parts in advance so that writing the business plan will not be difficult.
5) Meeting Qualifications
The qualification requirements for the Growth Task are for venture companies and inno-biz companies recognized for their technological capabilities, as mentioned earlier.
To be certified as a venture company, you need to establish a research institute, apply for patents, and obtain ISO certification, so please do these things in advance.
It takes 2-3 months for venture company certification and 1-2 months to establish a research institute and apply for patents.
Start preparing now and challenge yourself for the support programs coming up in February next year!!
6) Other Tips for Government Support Programs
Government funding is concentrated in the first half of the year. We recommend focusing on applications from January to April.
As it gets closer to the second half of the year, the competition rate for projects becomes very high. Budget allocations are also low. In other words, the chances of failure are high.
The last period to apply for government support programs is August. Even if you apply in August, it takes 3-4 months for evaluation and 1 month for agreement signing. If you apply for a project in August, the agreement will be signed in December!
I haven't even started explaining how to write a business plan, but there is too much content, so I have no choice but to cut it short.
In 'Preparing for Growth Technology Development Projects Part 2', I will explain the most important how to write a business plan and how to write itemized expenses.
I will greet you with Part 2 next week~ Coming soon
Also, read this article together:
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