Southern Indiana Business Report
BEDFORD — Entrepreneurs, inventors and start-ups can pitch innovative proposals to southwestern Indiana defense and economic development industry leaders on June 28 at Radius Indiana’s third annual virtual “Crane IP Defense Innovation Pitch Competition” with royalty-free intellectual property (IP).
The competition offers unprecedented royalty-free opportunities to commercialize the patented technologies and concepts developed at Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane Division, Indiana’s only federal research laboratory. Individuals or teams are invited to develop an innovative proposal using any piece of intellectual property available from NSWC Crane’s Technology Transfer Program.
“This is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to explore moving tech from the lab and into the marketplace and we’ve had a lot of success with this competition in the past,” said Jenna Dix, technology transfer director for NSWC Crane. “Initiatives such as this are demonstrative of the innovative culture and entrepreneurial ecosystem that exists within the Radius region.”
The competition is hosted by Radius Indiana, in coordination with Elevate Ventures, Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane Division, Bloomington-based Mill, Indiana Innovation Institute, and the Indiana Small Business Development Center. Entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to connect with industry leaders from these organizations, and cash prizes totaling $12,000 will be available to the top three contestants. Additional prize funds will be available for competitors with locations in the Radius region of Southern Indiana.
“Radius Indiana is looking forward to the third annual Crane IP Pitch Competition and we are excited to see entrepreneurs pitch us their ideas for using this amazing technology coming out of NSWC Crane,” said Blaine Parker, director of entrepreneurship and small business support for Radius Indiana. “The winners from past years have gone on to do great things with their new relationship with Crane.”
The pitch competition is being held in conjunction with PROPELS Accelerator, a Mill program offering instruction on how to commercialize cutting-edge technology developed at NSWC Crane. The program takes place over six weeks and focuses on a full business development plan with support from experts in defense and entrepreneurship. Registrants participate in a demonstration at the end of the session and are then encouraged to pitch their idea at the Radius Indiana Crane IP Pitch Competition.
“The Mill couldn’t be happier to support the Radius/Crane IP Pitch Competition as a sponsor with a commitment to expanding our entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Andy Lehman, head of accelerator programming at the Mill. “We’re currently helping folks in our PROPELS Accelerator develop commercialization plans around Crane IP, and the Radius competition is their best next step. This event really unleashes the potential of cross-sector collaboration and innovation around top-notch IP.”
The competition is free for participants. Entrants will receive a template to create a slide presentation for the competition.
The registration deadline is June 17. Visit www.radiusindiana.com to learn more and register for the competition.