We are pleased to share this opportunity for Syracuse University STEM or STEAM students from our collaborators at the National Security Innovation Network.  Recent or imminent grads are invited to apply to The Technology and National Security Fellowship (TNSF), a paid opportunity for technologists and entrepreneurs to work with the top levels of the U.S. Government to provide advice and emerging expertise for issues at the critical intersection of national security and technology.

Applications are now open for a pilot cohort this summer, with eight fellows with STEM backgrounds and technical expertise to be embedded in the offices of key decision makers at the Department of Defense and on Capitol Hill. Throughout a yearlong fellowship program, they will engage with policy makers and their immediate staffs to help provide technical expertise and advice on a variety of critical subject areas. TNSF is open to U.S. citizens with an undergraduate or graduate degree in a STEM or STEAM field. Participants can possess a diverse skill set ranging from software development to policy research.

The Technology and National Security Fellowship is meant to address a technological knowledge gap for top-level policy makers within the Department of Defense and the U.S. Congress. Fellows placed in Congressional offices will serve with Members or committee staff for one of the four defense committees of jurisdiction across both chambers of Congress. Fellows assigned to the Pentagon will be placed in the offices of Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, or other senior defense officials within the Military Services. Final placement of each Fellow will be determined based on their unique skill sets and host needs.

The program is intended to diversify the national security innovation base by creating a new model of national security service. Extensive experience working with the military or Congress is not required. Those applicants with prior military or government work experience will be evaluated primarily on their technical expertise. Successful applicants have developed a proficiency in both technical and entrepreneurial skills through their academic or work experience. Strong candidates will have a robust technical skillset, and a passion for public service. Fellows will be embedded in fast moving, high profile offices that will require a strong work ethic and passion for the mission of the office to which they’re assigned in order to be successful and provide value.

Learn more and apply here.

With so much attention being paid to new Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which is still evolving on a daily basis, don’t overlook an existing solution for small businesses that deserves a close look right now if your small business is looking to leverage working capital. The SBA 504 program – an established and highly successful program for business growth — is also a great option for small business owners financing eligible business-related debt, especially because long-term rates are at historic lows. 

Small business owners may refinance existing fixed-asset business debt to take advantage of the 504’s longer repayment terms (up to 25 years) and fixed interest rates, while providing access to equity for working capital. As with other 504 loan uses, borrowers can receive up to 90% financing when using a 504 loan to refinance debt.

Here’s a look at current rates, which are very attractive to consider right now.

This primer on how the 504’s debt-refinance option works, including the basics about eligible owners, businesses and expenses, comes from our colleagues at pursuitlending.com, one of the largest SBA lenders in the country. Read it here.

A real-world example from Upstate New York is a paper-goods manufacturer that saved nearly $50,000 each month and $300,000 in working capital when it refinanced existing business debt to reduce the monthly payments on a conventional commercial loan for existing fixed assets, while also accessing equity in the business’s assets to support working capital needs. As a result, the business is better positioned to innovate, compete and grow. The refinance provided significant cash flow savings, as well as the ability to create at least 10 full-time equivalent jobs over the next two years.

504 loans of typically between $50,000 to $5.5 million are available for qualified projects, with competitive fixed-interest rates and longer repayment terms than most conventional commercial real estate and major equipment loans for purchases and refinancing of these essential small business needs. Contact your bank, or other lenders that work in partnership with banks to support small businesses.

Nonprofits and other organizations registered in the New York State Grants Gateway are eligible for COVID-19 emergency programs. As part of the $2 trillion federal stimulus bill (CARES Act) passed on March 27, New York State nonprofits and other small businesses are eligible for a number of relief benefits from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Information about these programs is available on the Empire State Development website. Nonprofits are strongly encouraged to apply as funding is available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Key programs include:

• Paycheck Protection Program
• Subsidy Loan Program
• Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program

The NYS Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Onondaga Community College (OCC) has developed a comprehensive COVID-19 resources page with links to many business assistance programs currently available to startups and small businesses.  Here is link: http://www.onondagasbdc.org/covid-19.html

The SBDC at OCC is busy with Economic Injury Disaster Loan and (CARES Act) Paycheck Protection Program guidance for its clients, but is glad to provide assistance answering questions from other small businesses on applications for these programs.  The SBDC does not fill out the applications, but can offer advisement services. These assistance programs are evolving and guidelines are changing almost daily, so continue to check the resource page. 

If you are interested in speaking with a SBDC counselor and getting advice, you must first register apply through this website: Onondagasbdc.org  Telecommunication advisory services are available via Zoom, phone conferences, and email at this time.

Start by visiting the Coronavirus Resources directory: http://www.onondagasbdc.org/covid-19.html

America’s SBDC (Small Business Development Center) Network is a partnership uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. It is the Small Business Administration’s largest partnership program, providing management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses. Learn more at www.americassbdc.org.

Do you have a good idea you think is worth cash? Then get out your video cameras and smart phones, break open that idea journal, and create a quick video pitch.  The Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at SU Libraries is hosting its first ever Minute to Win It – Virtual Edition from April 6 through May 1. Entrepreneurs are invited to send their best 60 second pitch for a venture idea (product, service, technology or non-profit impact enterprise), and our judges will determine which stands above the rest. Plus, we’re giving out $500 in prizes to the top three pitches. This competition is especially targeted to students who have never pitched in an idea competition before. It’s designed to be a way to jump start good ideas across campus.  Here is the here is link to the Qualtrics application

First Place winner will win $300, Second Place will receive $150, and Third Place will receive $50. After the event, the three winners will be matched with our Rubin Family Innovation Mentors who will help them create a spending plan to help use the money from the competition to get their amazing idea off the ground.

The Blackstone LaunchPad encourages all entrepreneurs from any major or degree level to apply. This virtual platform allows you the chance to perfect your company’s pitch on video before presenting it in front of future investors and judges.

Because we’re going virtual, to enter the Minute to Win It competition we ask that you record a 60 second video of your business pitch. You can edit the video however you’d like, but video quality is NOT a consideration by the judges. You must then use this link to provide your contact information and business idea as well as upload your video (.mp4 or WAV files only). Our judges will watch all of the pitches and rate each idea based on four criteria:

Creativity — Is this idea unique? Is the business providing a product or service that doesn’t exist? Are they approaching a traditional business with a new angle?

Market Opportunity – Is there likely a market for this product or service? Will consumers be motivated to purchase it? Are there platforms that the entrepreneur can sell through?

Problem Solving – Is the idea solving a definitive problem? Is this problem widespread or niche?

Feasibility – Is this a business that the entrepreneur can reasonably start up? Does the idea require an unrealistic amount of startup capital?

The five judges for this competition will be Kelsey Davis, Founder of CLLCTVE, Matt Shumer, Founder of Visos, Sam Hollander, Founder of FSCL, Will DeVito, Founder of WD40 Productions, and Phil McKnight, Co-Founder of Promptous. Once these judges reach a final decision, the Blackstone LaunchPad will announce the winners through Instagram Live on our account @launchpadsyr in early May.

Please submit all applications by 11:59 p.m. on May 1.

Your Perfect Dose, a company powered by LaunchPad mentors, subject matter experts and serial entrepreneurs, is looking to hire talent. See below for descriptions of openings — app developers, UX/UI researchers and marketing researchers. These are paid positions. To apply, contact Bill Kimball: bkimball@yourperfectdose.com

The Success Bug, a success and lifestyle blog that has quickly gained traction. Co-founded by Marcus Cook ’19 (Whitman) and two friends,  Jeremiah Washington, and Vincent DeMauro, the team met in the workforce and quickly bonded over a mutual interest in starting their own business.  They are now looking for a content developers and writers to join the team, and invite Syracuse creatives and innovators to apply.

“Funny enough, we didn’t know what to do or where to start,” the team says. “We searched the web looking to see what businesses other millennials our age have started, but there was such limited information. There were so many businesses that looked interesting, but because they weren’t Facebook or Amazon, they had such little coverage. Why is it that a company needs to have a billion dollars before someone can hear about it?”

“Finally, the light bulb clicked. We weren’t just going to start a business. We were going to study people who have and learn from them. What did these people do? What were their secrets? How did they catch … The Success Bug?”

The goal of TSB is to interview ambitious entrepreneurs and learn how they applied different strategies to grow their business. By providing a thoughtful examination of the current problems and solutions debated throughout the entrepreneurship community, we want to help our viewers get rid of the self-defeating belief that they have to be a genius or the next “Bezos” to start a business. We hope to create a community of individuals who are aspiring to become the best versions of themselves and will engage in a collaborative effort to learn.

Starting a business may seem scary or entailing significant risks, especially if you’re young, but TSB sees it as an opportunity to help solve a problem that you have the skill set to address.  TSB believes anyone can be an entrepreneur. As long as they have a proof of concept, are hard workers, and among all else, patience, success can come any individual’s way.

At the same time, TSB’s focus shall not only be on the entrepreneurs themselves. It also focuses on the different topics within businesses that an entrepreneur can use to scale his or her business. Whether that’s finance, marketing, sales, or anything in-between, our goal is to provide the tools that entrepreneurs need to achieve success. Showing that starting a business is achievable no matter your background is the cornerstone of the TSB philosophy.

Message them here for a scope of work:  https://thesuccessbug.com/contact-us/

Syracuse University tech talent is invited to volunteer for the first-in-the-nation technology service partnership with leading global technology companies by volunteering to support New York State’s COVID-19 response.  New York State is establishing a volunteer SWAT Team of companies and individuals who will be deployed across high-impact and urgent coronavirus response activities to help develop and build technology solutions that will accelerate and amplify the  response to COVID-19.  The State is looking for impactful solutions and skilled tech employees to help.

Individuals from leading global technology companies will work with volunteers across high-impact and urgent coronavirus response activities.  There is a particular need for professionals with experience in product management, software development / engineering, hardware deployment & end-user support, data science, operations management, design, or other similar areas.  Technology companies, universities, nonprofits, research labs, and other organizations with technology expertise are invited to submit an expression of interest.

If you are interested, please fill out the form below. This service opportunity would be, at minimum, a 90-day volunteer commitment with opportunity to extend it as the response effort evolves.

Volunteer for a SWAT Team here:  https://www.ny.gov/content/join-state-technology-swat-team

Learn more here:  https://www.ny.gov/programs/new-york-state-covid-19-technology-swat-team

Newhouse alum Mindy Stockfield will join Sean Branagan for this week’s “Digital Tech Talk” as part of his LaunchPad office hour, Thursday, April 9 at 4 p.m. via Google Hangouts Meet.  Stockfield is a senior executive and educator with expertise in digital media, branding, business strategy and marketing, specializing in media, television, book publishing and children’s products.  A member of the Newhouse School of Public Communications Advisory Council, she was most recently Senior Vice President, Marketing, Creative, & Digital for Scholastic, as well as Senior Vice President, MTV Networks, Viacom, Vice President, Marketing and Digital for HYPERION/Disney-ABC Television Group, and Senior Director of Marketing for CARTOON NETWORK / Turner Entertainment WarnerMedia.

She was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Media Programming for Disney Channel Games as a result of utilizing new video technologies for the web. She created media models based on data-analytics to impact awareness and viewership for MTV, developed and orchestrated the inaugural digital launches for top brands including Disney Channel’s video platform online, Disney’s preschool website, Disney’s first online subscription site, CartoonNetwork.com , and Scholastic’s first online reading community.

In her senior positions in entertainment and media, she has had a focus on youth media, leading critical launches on both a product side and franchise side for a number of new and culture-defining initiatives.

These A-list brands include:

• Harry Potter, Dog Man, The Babysitters Club, Goosebumps, Wings of Fire, Clifford, and Magic School Bus
• MTV’s VMAs
• Disney’s High School Musical, Hannah Montana, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans, and Star Wars Clone Wars
• Top authors and talent including Mitch Albom, Caroline Kennedy, Maria Shriver, Michael J. Fox, and Jamie Oliver

Link for the videoconference:

Meeting URL: https://meet.google.com/yfb-krhd-ynq

Many case studies have been written about iconic companies that started during a downtown.  That’s because difficulty necessitates ingenuity.  Companies like 3M, Adobe Systems, Apple, CNN, Disney, FedEx, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Lotus Software, Microsoft, and Southwest Airlines all started in down times – as well as more recent examples such as Aibnb, Slack, Square, Uber, Urban Outfitters, Venmo, WhatsApp and Whole Foods.  Grit, tenacity and focus are more likely to lead to success then just passion.  Entrepreneurs are made, not born, and hard times is often what forges them.  They are people who target a problem and leverage resources to solve it.  They are good at generating ideas and strategically executing on them.  They observe trends, recognize economic and social forces, foresee technological advances, and scan the horizon to find both gaps and opportunities. 

The next speaker in our “Tea Talk” series, in partnership with the Republic of Tea, will be discussing the wave of innovation he expects to see unleashed over the next decade, driven in part by the collective experience of COVID-19 and its profound disruption to every aspect of our life. Founder, tech entrepreneur and investor  Corey Lieblein ’93 will join us Wednesday April 8 at 3 p.m. via Zoom for a virtual fireside chat about the way this unprecedented period may fundamentally change what we think about home, work, lifestyle, social networks, technology, health and well-being, life and career.  His perspective is that this alignment of profound change across every sector is creating disruption that will produce innovation as significant as the era when the Internet and smart phones fundamentally changed our lives.  His optimism is compelling.  Join us.

Link to the Zoom conversation is in this story:  https://launchpad.syr.edu/corey-lieblein-launchpad-talk/

Photo: Corey Lieblein ’93