Innovate ND Program

GRANT AMOUNT (UP TO):

$22,500

DETAILS:

A state-funded voucher reimbursement program to help North Dakota entrepreneurs further their business by supporting customer and market research. Each participant is eligible for up to $22,500 in reimbursable expenses to be paid through the Entrepreneur Center. There are two phases offering $7,500 and $15,000, respectively in reimbursable expenses. The participant has up to three months per phase, for a total of six months to complete all requirements of the program.

ELIGIBILITY:

To qualify, the business:

• Is headquartered in North Dakota.

• Is registered and in good standing with the North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office.

• Is scalable with the potential to become a certified primary sector business.

• Must demonstrate in their application they have reached the following levels in their application and pitch to the Panel:

  • Founding Team: Founder(s) with a team of different skillsets and aspirations to scale.

  • Problem: Team has identified a specific problem and the problem is large enough to have significant market potential or have significant market share.

  • Value Proposition: Team has clarified what they believe is the unique value proposition for their target audience.

  • Customer Validation: Team has evidence to support they have potential customers that are willing to pay for their solution.

  • Product: Team has a basic prototype or proof-of-concept that solves the problem and/or has a product development roadmap.

  • Go-to-Market: Team has a basic understanding of their industry and can identify the target customer, the total addressable market, and their initial go-to-market strategy with supporting key metrics.

  • Business Model: Team has identified an initial revenue model and can point to similar products in the market as evidence their revenue assumptions are reasonable.

  • Business Roadmap: Team has identified a 12-month roadmap for their business with milestones and key assumption