DUAL-USE VENTURES

IAP Course

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 – Thursday, January 25, 2024

On MIT Campus

Registration will open in October 2023

 

Course Description 

Overview 

The Dual-use Ventures IAP course is designed to help founders learn how to build, grow and scale dual-use ventures in the US and around the globe among like-minded, open societies (allies). A dual-use venture is a technology startup that has both government and commercial (enterprise and/or consumer) customers. We’ll discuss frameworks, funding opportunities, entrepreneur roadmaps, and government resources. 

Target Audience This course is for students, alumni, and ecosystem members who want to learn useful and actionable steps to create and leverage dual-use ventures. Topics in this course are particularly relevant to technology entrepreneurs interested in learning more about working with the defense community in scaling a technology-product company.

MIT strives to enable higher levels of diversity and inclusion in the innovation ecosystem. Research shows that diversity is a key factor for innovation, helping unearth inherent biases in technological solutions, enabling teams to make better decisions, and driving stronger performance. We strongly encourage members of traditionally marginalized communities to participate in this course. 

Structure 

This short course offers expert-led presentations and workshops in person on MIT campus. The format has historically been highly interactive, and we encourage those eager to engage with instructors and peers to attend, and attend in course entirety. 

Course Thesis 

Startups can be purposeful about designing their technology company to be ready to pursue both commercial and defense markets. This requires being informed, prepared, diligent, and ready when either market opportunity becomes available. 

Key Outcomes 

• Learn about non-dilutive funding opportunities, nuances of the defense and dual-use markets, and stakeholders in the defense acquisitions system 
• Understand the need to move opportunistically across both commercial and defense markets in the early stages of ventures 
• Learn how government data rights interact with a dual-use venture’s commercially oriented IP strategy 
• Gain insights in how to protect the long-term value of your technology for both commercial and government markets 
• Achieve an actionable understanding of DoD contractual requirements for cybersecurity and information protection 

Schedule (Subject to Change)

*All times are local to Cambridge, Massachusetts 

Day 1 | Tuesday, January 23, 2024 | Beginning Concepts in Dual-use Entrepreneurship

0900 – 0945 | Introduction to Dual-use Ventures | Professor Fiona Murray

1000 – 1045 | Best Legal Practices in Establishing your Dual-use Startup | Eric Blatt

1100 – 1145 | Technology Licensing Offices – A How To | TBD

1200 – 1245 | VC for Beginners & Dual-use Capital Stack | Gene Keselman

1300 – 1345 | The US & NATO Landscape for Tech Startups | Katy Person

1400 – 1445 | Deep Tech Dual-use Startup Story | Felipe Gomez del Campo

1500 – 1700 | Networking Event

 

Day 2 | Wednesday, January 24, 2024 | Advanced Concepts in Dual-use Entrepreneurship

0900 – 0945 | Dual-use & Lobbying | Warren Katz

1000 – 1045 | Using Open Source Data to Determine Federal Market Size | Amanda Bresler

1100 – 1145 | Strategies in IP Preservation for Dual-use Ventures | Eric Blatt

Lunch (provided)

1300 – 1345 | CFIUS, FIRMMA & Export Control | Hunter Ashmore

1400 – 1445 | Complex Sales in the Defense Industry | Joe Babiec

1500 –  UTC | Office Hours by Appointment w/ Eric Blatt

 

Day 3 | Thursday, January 25, 2024 | STTR Proposal and Administration Workshop for Selected Dual-use Venture Incubator Applicants

0900 – UTC | By Invitation Only

 

//END SCHEDULE//

 

Interested in a previous year’s workshops? Check out the videos below.