The Senate committee unanimously passed the bill to renew the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program with only partial support for venture backed company eligibility, allowing them to have access to 18 percent of the Department of Health and Human Services and 8 percent of all other agencies. Read the details in the Wall Street Journal.
This debate has gone on for years and comes down to two opposing views. The first is those that think that grant funding is an integral part of a company’s financing strategy and that there should be no restrictions on the amount of private equity money invested in the company. The other view is that grant financing should be devoted to private companies that are not substantially owned by venture capital firms.
This is not the last we will hear about this debate. The National Venture Capital Association and the Angel Capital Association are strong advocates for lifting the restrictions on venture capital backed companies. In any economy, it seems like a good idea to strengthen the financing capability of entrepreneurial businesses.
Bill Warner is the Managing Partner of Paladin and Associates, a business consulting firm in the Research Triangle Park area of central North Carolina, and is the Chairman of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, an angel investor network with over one hundred members throughout the southeast.