Evaluating the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Growth ...

Evaluating the U.S. Small Business Administration's Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Program

A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress

under an Interagency Agreement with the Office of Investment and Innovation, U.S. Small Business Administration

FINAL February 2018

Researchers:

Marieke Lewis Brock Meaghan Flattery Malinda K. Goodrich Wm. No?l Ivey Patrick M. Miller

Project Manager: Malinda K. Goodrich

Federal Research Division

Library of Congress

Washington, D.C. 20540-4840

Tel:

202-707-3900

Fax:

202-707-3920

Email:

frds@

Homepage:

70 Years of Service to the Federal Government 1948 ? 2018

Library of Congress--Federal Research Division

Evaluating the SBA's GAFC Program

PREFACE

The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Office of Investment and Innovation (OII) contracted with the Library of Congress's Federal Research Division (FRD) for an independent evaluation of the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) program. The OII oversees the program, which the SBA instituted to "support the development of accelerators and their support of startups in parts of the country where there are fewer conventional sources of access to capital."1

The goal of this report is to evaluate the scope and value of the GAFC program as a federal government-sponsored means of spurring innovation and small business growth. The analysis included in this report is based on a literature review of scholarly research on the growing accelerator movement; data and reports from the Aspen Institute's Global Accelerator Learning Initiative, Crunchbase, the Global Accelerator Network, and PitchBook; SBA-required reporting by the 2014?16 GAFC winners; interviews with key experts in the field; and a survey of the 2014?16 GAFC winners to build the fullest picture possible of the program's impact.

The report begins with a background on the accelerator movement in the United States, including a description of the landscape of accelerators and other similar entrepreneurial support organizations. It then investigates other startup support programs within the U.S. government, and provides a cursory examination of selected state- and local-level support efforts and the trend abroad. The report then goes on to examine the results of the survey of GAFC recipients and provides a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of the program.

Additionally, after conducting its own research, FRD solicited the input of various government, nonprofit, and accelerator experts to provide independent feedback on both the GAFC program and this report. That feedback is highlighted in the conclusion. The project team would like to thank the following individuals who were kind enough to provide their perspectives: Mason Ailstock, Association of University Research Parks; Jason Bossie, SBA's Office of the Chief Financial Officer; Mike Ehst, World Bank; Emily Reichart, Greentown Labs; and Dr. Stephen Tang, University City Science Center. The project team also extends its appreciation to the management of OII, Deputy Associate Administrator Michele Schimpp and Director of Innovation and Technology John Williams. The research team would also like to express its gratitude to the OII program staff, especially Nagesh Rao, Chief Technologist, Amber Chaudhry, Presidential Management Fellow, and Rebecca Rowe, Program Analyst, Government Contracting and Business Development who so generously extended their time, data, advice, input, and contacts to the FRD research team.

FRD provides customized research and analytical services on domestic and international topics to agencies of the U.S. government, the government of the District of Columbia, and authorized

1 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), "SBA Launches 4th Annual Growth Accelerator Fund Competition to Award $1 Million to Support Startup Focused Centers of Excellence," accessed August 9, 2017, headquarters/ooi/resources/1428931.

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Library of Congress--Federal Research Division

Evaluating the SBA's GAFC Program

federal contractors on a cost-recovery basis. This report represents an independent analysis by FRD and the authors, who have sought to adhere to accepted standards of scholarly objectivity. It should not be construed as an expression of an official U.S. government position, policy, or decision.

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Library of Congress--Federal Research Division

Evaluating the SBA's GAFC Program

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE............................................................................................................................................................................... i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 1 KEY FINDINGS .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 BACKGROUND ON ACCELERATORS........................................................................................................................6

Accelerator Goals........................................................................................................................................................9 Key Features of Accelerators .................................................................................................................................. 9 Success Factors and Benefits Provided by Accelerators ........................................................................... 10 THE LANDSCAPE OF ACCELERATORS IN THE UNITED STATES.................................................................. 13 OTHER KINDS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS........................................................ 16 FEDERAL SMALL BUSINESS STARTUP SUPPORT PROGRAMS .................................................................... 20 Single Agency Initiatives ....................................................................................................................................... 20

U.S. Department of Energy.............................................................................................................................. 20 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services .................................................................................... 21 U.S. Department of Homeland Security ..................................................................................................... 21 U.S. Small Business Administration .............................................................................................................. 22 National Institutes of Health........................................................................................................................... 24 National Science Foundation ......................................................................................................................... 25 Multi-Agency Initiatives ........................................................................................................................................ 27 State and Local Entrepreneurial Support ............................................................................................................ 28 California's Experience with Entrepreneurial Support ............................................................................... 29 New York's Experience with Entrepreneurial Support ............................................................................... 31 Ohio's Experience with Entrepreneurial Support......................................................................................... 34 Texas's Experience with Entrepreneurial Support ....................................................................................... 37 Virginia's Experience with Entrepreneurial Support ................................................................................... 39 Experience of Other Countries' Government Accelerator Programs........................................................ 41 DESCRIPTION OF SBA'S GAFC PROGRAM.......................................................................................................... 42 PROFILE OF 2014?16 GAFC PRIZE WINNERS .................................................................................................... 44 The Survey.................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Types of Organizations.......................................................................................................................................... 45 Mission and Focus................................................................................................................................................... 49 Number of Cohorts and Startups ...................................................................................................................... 49 Geographic Distribution........................................................................................................................................ 50 Age and Size of Winners (Employees, Budgets, and Startups) .............................................................. 51 Industries Served ..................................................................................................................................................... 52 Sources of Accelerators' Outside Investment ............................................................................................... 53

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Library of Congress--Federal Research Division

Evaluating the SBA's GAFC Program

International Investment Scope of the Winners and Their Startups.................................................... 55 Support of Underserved Populations .............................................................................................................. 55 How the GAFC Award Affected Accelerators ................................................................................................ 57 SWOT ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................................................... 58 Strengths..................................................................................................................................................................... 58 Weaknesses ............................................................................................................................................................... 69 Opportunities ............................................................................................................................................................ 73 Threats ......................................................................................................................................................................... 75 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................................ 77 Observations ............................................................................................................................................................. 79 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................................. 79 APPENDIX I. Examples of SBA Quarterly Reporting Surveys ....................................................................... 88 APPENDIX II. FRD Survey of GAFC Winners, 2014?16.................................................................................... 94 APPENDIX III. GAFC Winners, 2014?16 (listed alphabetically by name)................................................103 APPENDIX IV. GAFC Winners, 2014?16 (listed alphabetically by state; 187 total)............................. 108 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................................113

TABLE OF TABLES

Table 1. Number of Accelerators in the United States................................................................................... 14 Table 2. International Investments of 2014?15 GAFC Winners and Their Startups ............................ 55 Table 3. Estimated Number of Jobs Created or Sustained at 2014?16 GAFC Winners' Startups .. 66 Table 4. Estimated Number of Jobs Created or Sustained by 2014?16 GAFC Winners .................... 66 Table 5. Estimated Minimum Number of Jobs Created or Sustained at 2014?16 GAFC Winners' and Their Startups that Could Be Attributed to GAFC Funding .............................................. 67 Table 6. Estimated Cost to U.S. Taxpayers per Job Created or Sustained by the 2014?16 GAFC Winners and Their Startups ......................................................................................................................... 67 Table 7. Estimated Number of Startups that Benefited from GAFC Funding........................................ 68 Table 8. Estimated Cost to U.S. Taxpayers per Startup Served ................................................................... 68 Table 9. Estimated Amount of Capital Raised by Startups Served by 2014? 16 GAFC Winners..... 68 Table 10. Congresspersons Supportive of Accelerator Initiatives.............................................................. 76

TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Key Differences between Incubators, Angel Investors, Accelerators, and Hybrid Early-Stage Investors .................................................................................................................................................. 18 Figure 2. Types of Organizations Receiving the 2014?16 GAFC Prize ..................................................... 46 Figure 3. Services Offered to Startups by 2014?16 GAFC Winners........................................................... 47

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