Why Choose TIV for TABA

Why Choose TIV as Your TABA Partner

A TABA Partner That Understands Agencies, Awardees, and Industry

Commercialization support for SBIR/STTR awardees who cannot afford missteps, wasted effort, or generic advice.

TIV works with SBIR and STTR awardees at critical inflection points, when technical success must translate into credible commercialization progress, and when limited TABA dollars must be deployed with precision. Our role is not to provide abstract business theory or one-size-fits-all programming, but to help awardees make defensible, agency-aware commercialization decisions that stand up to scrutiny and enable the next stage of funding and market engagement.

What Makes TIV a Different Kind of TABA Provider

At TIV, we view TABA not as a checklist of services, but as a mechanism to add durable value to the commercialization value chain. Our role is to strengthen what already exists in your project, and to supply what is missing so that technical progress translates into outcomes that agencies, partners, and future funders recognize as credible.

We Start from Agency Reality, Not Generic Commercialization Theory or a VC playbook

Commercialization under SBIR/STTR is not the same as venture-backed startup growth. Each agency evaluates market readiness, risk, and impact differently, and those differences matter.

TIV designs TABA engagements by working backward from:

Agency-specific commercialization expectations
Phase-specific review criteria
Likely follow-on pathways (Phase II, Phase IIb, CRP, Phase III, or non-SBIR funding)

This ensures that market analysis, IP strategy, regulatory planning, and commercialization roadmaps are aligned not only with business logic, but also with how agencies actually assess progress and readiness.

We Customize TABA Because TABA Dollars Are Scarce, and Misuse Is Expensive

Most SBIR/STTR awardees do not fail because they lacked effort or activity. They fail because critical commercialization decisions were made too early, too late, or in the wrong sequence or indulging in isomorphic mimicry of big businesses or VC backed start-ups while ignoring agency compliance.

Our objective is to improve the quality, timing, and defensibility of the decisions that shape what comes next: Phase II, follow-on funding, partnerships, or transition to market and private fundraising.

TABA funding is finite. Once spent, it cannot be recovered, repurposed, or extended. Awardees therefore cannot afford to deploy it on activities that sound reasonable but do not materially reduce risk, resolve uncertainty, or strengthen downstream credibility.

For this reason, TIV does not offer pre-packaged programs, cohorts, or fixed curricula. Instead, we deliberately design each TABA engagement to answer a small number of high-impact questions, such as:

What commercialization uncertainty most threatens this award’s next phase?
What evidence will agencies, partners, or funders expect next, and what will they discount?
Which activities will compound value, and which will create noise?

In practice, this means we:

Identify the specific commercialization gaps that actually matter for your award and agency
Scope services that directly close those gaps
Adjust support as technical results, market signals, or agency pathways evolve

The result is not a checklist of services, but a sequenced, outcome-driven use of TABA funds, one that leaves your project clearer in its logic, stronger in its positioning, and better prepared for the decisions that follow.

Beyond TABA: Expertise That Spans the Federal Commercialization Landscape

Our team brings a deep understanding of the commercialization frameworks that drive successful technology transition. These span from NASA’s Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and DOE’s Adoption Readiness Levels (ARLs) to ARPA E’s Commercialization Readiness Levels (CRLs) and NSF’s I Corps Lean Launch methodology. Many of our advisors have served as I Corps instructors, commercialization coaches, and subject matter experts supporting startups across multiple federal programs. This broad experience allows us to go beyond traditional TABA support helping clients strategically position their innovations for real world adoption, investment readiness, and sustainable market growth.

Institutional Insights and Memory Matters More Than Templates

Commercialization under SBIR/STTR is cumulative. Decisions made in Phase I shape what is defensible in Phase II. Choices made under TABA influence eligibility, credibility, and optionality for Phase IIb, CRP, Phase III, and non-SBIR funding pathways. Misalignment early in this chain rarely fails fast; it compounds quietly and regrets come later.

TIV’s value lies in having a solid roster of experts who understand where each commercialization decision sits within the broader value chain, and how agencies, reviewers, and downstream stakeholders interpret those decisions over time. This perspective cannot be derived from templates or generic best practices; it is learned through repeated exposure to what succeeds, what stalls, and what creates unintended constraints later. Successful TABA support depends less on standardized outputs and more on judgment, judgment informed by experience across agencies, technologies, and award stages.

In aggregate, TIV experts have supported hundreds of SBIR/STTR applicants and awardees across agencies including NSF, DOE, NIH, DoD, NOAA, DOT, and others. This institutional memory allows us to:

Anticipate reviewer and programmatic concerns before they surface
Avoid common commercialization missteps that limit downstream flexibility
Apply lessons learned without forcing false comparisons between unlike technologies or agencies

What worked for others is informative. What agencies actually rewarded, and why, is decisive.

How Our TABA Guidance Works

No single expert can cover all the dimensions of your journey from innovation to commercialization. That’s why our TABA support doesn’t rely on just one advisor. Each client is paired with a seasoned guide who understands the overall landscape of your domain and coordinates a team of subject-matter experts (IP lawyers, Finance experts, etc.) as your needs evolve along the path. Think of your guide as your commercialization Sherpa: someone who charts the course, helps you navigate challenges, and brings in the right experts at every stage of your journey

We Protect You from Compliance Risk

Awardees are rightfully cautious about how commercialization support may affect eligibility, compliance, and future funding. We mitigate these risks by structuring our support to align with sponsor rules and best practices. TIV understands agency-specific rules around:

Allowable and unallowable TABA activities
Separation of proposal preparation and advisory roles
Data rights, IP ownership, and regulatory obligations

Our engagement structures are designed to support commercialization without introducing conflicts of interest or jeopardizing downstream opportunities.

Conflict of Interest Safeguards

We take conflicts of interest seriously and build COI safeguards into our process from the very start and throughout the engagement. All Advisors are industry veterans who are skilled at recognizing and addressing both actual and perceived conflicts. Before any engagement begins, we ensure there is no conflict of interest between an awardee and the Advisor assigned to them, and our contracts include clear, stringent COI provisions. Awardees are briefed on these policies upfront so they understand the protections in place and can move forward with confidence.

TIV Ethics

Illustrative TABA Capabilities Provided by TIV

TIV’s TABA engagements are intentionally scoped to address the specific commercialization uncertainties that matter most for a given award, agency, and phase. As such, not every engagement includes all services listed below. Rather, these illustrative buckets represent the spectrum of support TIV may draw upon to strengthen an awardee’s position within a commercialization journey that, contrary to popular myth, is almost never linear..

Market and Commercial Validation

Market analysis covering competitive technologies, market size, and dynamics
Structured validation of customer needs and demand through expert, customer, and end‑user input.

Commercialization Strategy and Planning

Commercialization plan review, refinement, and editing to sharpen logic, sequencing, and clarity
Design of market entry, launch, and transition pathways, with options for adoption and follow‑on growth

Intellectual Property and Regulatory Strategy

Intellectual property (IP) strategy consultation
Data rights, licensing, and deal-terms advisory

Product, Manufacturing, and Execution Readiness

Product development and execution guidance to connect technical milestones with commercialization goals.
Manufacturing and scale‑up strategy, including federal lab or research partner matchmaking where appropriate.

Financial and Funding Readiness

Review of financial plans and key assumptions to ensure they are credible and investment‑ready.
Strategy support for fundraising and follow‑on funding pathways (Phase IIb, CRP, Phase III, or private capital).

Partnering, Outreach, and Market Presence

Identification and outreach support for potential commercialization partners, customers, and champions.
Development of targeted marketing materials, messaging, and visual assets to strengthen presence at meetings, tradeshows, and key events.

The unifying principle: Services are selected, sequenced, and scoped only when they materially reduce risk, resolve uncertainty, or strengthen downstream credibility.

AI, Compliance, and Your SBIR/STTR

TIV’s policy and approach towards AI
Why SBIR/STTR Applicants Must Exercise Caution When Using AI
Agency policies related to AI

Read our full AI guidance

How TIV Supports Awardees by SBIR/STTR Phase

Phase I Awardees

Phase I is about feasibility, focus, and credibility, not premature scaling.

TIV supports Phase I awardees by helping them:

Validate market need without overextending resources
Establish early commercialization logic aligned with Phase II expectations
Lay the groundwork for IP, data rights, and regulatory strategy

The objective is to reduce uncertainty while strengthening the case for continued funding.

Phase II Awardees

Phase II shifts the emphasis from feasibility to execution and readiness.

For Phase II awardees, TIV provides support in:

Commercialization roadmapping tied to follow-on funding pathways
Phase IIb, CRP, and Phase III positioning
Partner, customer, pilot, and early market engagement strategy

Our focus is on translating technical progress into a credible path to adoption, revenue, or transition.

Who This Is, and Is Not, For

TIV’s approach is a strong fit if you:

Want targeted commercialization support rather than generic advice
Need to justify TABA expenditures with defensible outcomes
Care about agency expectations, compliance, and long-term eligibility

Our approach may not be a fit if you:

Are looking for mass coaching programs or cohort-based acceleration (we occasionally provide such coaching on case by case basis)
Prefer standardized templates over tailored analysis
Are seeking equity-based incubation or venture-style acceleration (though in many instances we undertake such assignments subject to agency guidelines)
Operate as a volume-focused “grant mill” rather than building a durable commercialization strategy.

A Thoughtful Conversation, Not a Sales Pitch

TABA is most effective when it strengthens your position in the commercialization journey - technically, commercially, and institutionally. Selecting a TABA provider is not about who offers the most services, but about who adds the most decision-quality at the moments that matter most. The right partner should sharpen your thinking, reduce uncertainty, and leave you not just with answers, but with a stronger ability to ask the right questions. If you would like to explore whether TIV is the right TABA partner for your SBIR or STTR award, we welcome an initial, no-obligation conversation focused on fit, timing, and scope. Email us at Business@tivinc.com

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