MORE THAN A COMPETITION
Te xTechSearch competition partners with the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) to develop a platform that allows small business participants to create a profile that shows an overview of their business and their technology concepts through the Defense Innova- tion Network. NSIN’s Defense Innovation Network provides an opportunity for the small businesses to connect with one another, see problems and solve problems, showcase their current technologies and receive additional resources that can be helpful in growing their business.
EYES FRONT
Representatives from AKHAN Semiconductor Inc., xTechSearch 2.0 finalists, speak with judges during their proof-of-concept demonstration during the AUSA Annual Meeting in October. Small businesses across the U.S. have used xTechSearch to explore ways in which their capabilities can support the Army’s top priorities.
Army leaders, DOD, other government agencies, industry and academia partners.
In October 2019, during AUSA, xTech- Search launched the xTech Accelerator.
“Te goal of the accelerator program is to integrate small businesses into the science and technology community in a more formal way and provide another set of tools to accomplish their task,” Jette said during the event. XTechSearch is part- nering with FedTech and the Virginia Tech Applied Research Corp. to run the program, which provides all competitors with various levels of support, including education, community building, goal setting, connections to future opportuni- ties and mentorships.
One of the top initiatives of the acceler- ator program is to provide mentorship to
96 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2020
small businesses. “Small businesses will be able to get a bit of mentoring, network- ing and make connections to turn your idea into a fielded product,” Jette said. Te mentorship program provides access to the FedTech mentor network, which consists of Army leaders, industry exec- utives, veteran business builders, experts and defense innovators across the nation.
Te accelerator also provides a Slack chan- nel (Slack is an online collaboration tool that includes messaging) to enable small businesses to collaborate with one another during and after each competition, and share opportunities within the cohort. Small businesses can also learn about product development, business develop- ment, customer discovery, interviewing and more through access to online learn- ing platforms.
Tis centralized repository, accessible to anyone, allows the xTechSearch program to share information about the small busi- nesses with other interested stakeholders from industry, DOD and other govern- ment agencies. NSIN and its programs serve to develop a new alliance of defense, academia and venture communities. Tese NSIN initiatives and the xTech- Search program attack future defense problems by getting students interested at an early age in defense problems and careers, providing education and resources to foster startup businesses in the defense
The xTechSearch competition has succeeded in bringing into the acquisition pipeline remarkable technologies.
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