Resources in Action
By Lori Kersey
Photo by IstoVisio , Inc .
Through IstoVisio Inc ., a Morgantown-based biotechnology startup , Michael Morehead and his colleagues have developed a program that allows scientists to view volumetric imaging like CT scans and MRIs in virtual reality . With SyGlass , researchers and medical professionals can view these images as one would a hologram .
“ You can scale the data and make it very large ,” Morehead , IstoVisio ’ s CEO , says of SyGlass . “ You can go inside the body or the structure you ' re exploring . You can slice through it to expose different concepts , and you can perform annotation or measurements inside the system .”
IstoVisio likely wouldn ’ t have made it without the help of TechConnect West Virginia and similar programs made available in the state . The company received seed money totaling $ 500,000 from the West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust ( WVJIT ), INNOVA Commercialization Group and West Virginia University Research Corporation .
“ Each step , every little assistance that pushed us up to the next plateau , was fundamental in moving forward ,” says Morehead . “ If we had never raised the seed round with WVJIT and INNOVA , this would have just been a research project .”
IstoVisio was also the recipient of a rare Small Business Innovation Research grant , which supplied the company with $ 1.65 million for research and development . TechConnect helped with the application .
“ TechConnect has been a big resource through the whole journey by connecting us with business advisers whose attention we never would have been able to get ,” says Morehead . “ We don ' t have a lot of business connections , so having people in the state who can see the potential in your project and connect you with people to help you get to the next level was really crucial .”
IstoVisio was recently accepted into the prestigious University of California at Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator as one of 26 applicants chosen out of 1,600 .
“ It ’ s been a really great program ,” says Morehead . “ Over six months , they hold many lectures to help educate us . It ’ s sort of a speed MBA where the founders are just entrenched in everything startup culture . You learn business , finance , marketing , how to handle your small team , how to handle a team that ' s working remotely and how to do partnerships with other companies . The education alone has been really valuable .” encourage U . S . -based small businesses to engage in federal research and development . While some West Virginia entrepreneurs apply for SBIR and STTR grants , the state is outpaced by applicants in states such as Virginia , Massachusetts and California , which is where the FAST program comes in . FAST is offered through the U . S . Small Business Administration in states where the federal government wants to get the word out to more small businesses that they may be eligible for funding .
In 2019 , West Virginia began offering matching funds for SBIR grants . Phase 0 awards of $ 2,500 help small businesses offset the cost of writing the application for the grant , and Phase 1 awards of $ 150,000 are available to test their idea . Phase 2 awards can be for $ 1 million or more .
“ It ’ s a wonderful incentive , and there has been a tremendous response to the program , which bodes well for tech-sector growth in the state ,” says Barth . “ This is really an amazing source of non-diluted funding , meaning there aren ’ t a lot of strings attached , and we want more companies in West Virginia to go after these grants .”
This summer , TechConnect wrapped up 12 boot camps across the state designed to introduce small businesses to the SBIR-STTR programs , help them identify opportunities and create competitive applications . When COVID-19 hit and TechConnect had to move the in-person boot camps to an online format , registrations increased by 30 %.
“ We have resources in this state , and our intent at Tech- Connect has always been to try to connect and leverage what we have to support people who want to create startups or grow and expand businesses ,” says Barth . •
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