Analysis of Funded Projects
Key Findings
- Examined 43 IGEM-Commerce completed projects, 8 in-progress projects, and 5 IGEM-HERC projects
- Projects are exclusively focused on university research and industry partnerships
- No mention or demonstration of entrepreneurship in any project descriptions
- Complete absence of small business involvement in all projects
Analysis
Small Business Perspective
The funded projects show no involvement or benefit for small businesses under 20 employees. The research-heavy nature of these projects and their focus on university-industry partnerships create insurmountable barriers for typical small business participation.
Big Business Perspective
The projects align exclusively with the R&D interests and capabilities of large corporations or well-funded startups. They provide significant resources for research that can benefit larger enterprises capable of commercializing complex technologies.
Despite the program's name, there is a complete absence of entrepreneurship in the funded projects. The focus is entirely on academic research and large-scale industry collaborations. Even tech startups, which often embody entrepreneurial traits in their early stages, are not featured or supported. The projects fail to demonstrate or nurture any of the entrepreneurial characteristics such as risk-taking, self-reliance, and innovation that are typically associated with small business owners or startup founders.