Grant money! Music to the ears of every entrepreneur and for good reason. Unlike Small Business Administration-backed loans, grants do not require you to pay back the money. They are, in effect, free money. For many technology start-up companies, their best avenue for accessing these funds is through the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research Program. This funding provides the means to accelerate from a “great idea” to a “great product.”

On June 4, beginning at 7p.m., the Riverbend Technology Institute, in conjunction with the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, will host its next MIT Enterprise Forum Global Broadcast Program.

Cosponsored by the Hamilton County CEG and the Chattanooga Technology Council, the topic and discussions will be on the SBIR program. Not only will attendees learn what government agencies like the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health look for when awarding small business research grants, but there will also be a panel discussion of success stories and tips for winning these valuable grants.

One of the panel members is Ric Fulop. He cofounded a company named A123Systems in 2001 to commercialize novel technology developed at the material sciences department at MIT and is vice president of business development and marketing.

The company is now one of the leading suppliers of high-power lithium ion batteries with GM and Procter & Gamble among its customers. His story is one of turning a $100,000 grant into $150 million in private investment funding.

Another panelist, Milton Chen, is involved with a video conferencing company. It received an NSF grant for online videoconferencing in 2003. The company has customers that include Yahoo, Intel and the U.S. Congress.

A third company, Stericoat, is represented by Chris Loose. A former top undergraduate of Princeton’s Department of Chemical Engineering, he was recently named by Technology Review as one of the “Young Innovators under 35.” The company won a number of prestigious entrepreneurial competitions in the United States and abroad in 2006 for its biomedical device to help stop infections in hospitals.

It received an SBIR grant and has used it to set up the company which now has seven employees in Cambridge, Mass.

The SBIR side of the discussion will be represented by Thomas Allnutt who is the program manager for the SBIR program at the National Science Foundation. He will provide insight on grant funding to small businesses for commercially relevant projects in information technology, biotechnology, electronics, chemical technology and advanced materials research.

A goal of this program is to leverage governmental funding to facilitate the development of high-impact, commercially viable products that might otherwise not be attempted because of the level of risk required by the small business.

The program will be moderated by Bruce Gellerman of National Public Radio. He is the winner of more than 40 national awards for environmental, financial, investigative, scientific and social affairs reporting.

This broadcast promises to be both entertaining and informative. While admission is free, seating is limited. To secure your place, please contact Deb Montgomery of the Riverbend Technology Institute at (423) 425-2177.

John F. Riddell Jr., director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth-Hamilton County, writes each Tuesday about entrepreneurs and their impact on companies and the marketplace. Submit comments to his attention by writing to Business Editor John Vass Jr., Chattanooga Times Free Press, P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37401-1447, or by e-mailing him at business@timesfreepress.com.