Catalyst Program
Rapid Advancement of Early-Stage Discoveries
The Office of Licensing and Commercialization’s Catalyst Program provides support for ECU faculty to apply for early stage commercialization grants, to compete in pitch competitions, and to start companies. Support for principal investigators comes in various forms including grant review, grant writing, external expert assessment of the discovery, introduction to investor and business development networks, team building, startup guidance, and travel awards to commercialization workshops. Faculty that have participated in the program are 7x more likely to receive funding from a sponsor than those that did not go through the program. To date, more than 15 faculty have participated in the program and over $1.1 million in non-dilutive commercialization grant funding has been awarded. Further, faculty that have participated in the program with the goal of starting a company have gone on to receive STTR grants, participated in national pitch competitions, and have received early stage investments.
The program requires submission of a brief application and a kick-off meeting with L&C staff to generate a strategic plan to achieve technical and commercialization objectives. For grant support, L&C requires a minimum of 60 days prior to the submission date. Depending on the support requested, the faculty member may be required to meet with L&C periodically (weekly or bi-monthly). Support is limited and provided on a first-come-first-serve basis, so it is encouraged that applications be submitted early.
