A free program to advance South Carolina

At 3PhaseSC, we know that securing federal grant funding for your innovative idea or technology is a crucial step toward commercial success. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, commonly known as "America's Seed Fund," are excellent sources of non-dilutive funding. However, these programs are highly competitive. That's where we come in. As a program of the SC Department of Commerce, 3PhaseSC is able to work with any R&D focused SC based small business or entrepreneur to make applying for SBIR/STTR grants as easy as possible. We help define your target market and prioritize the SBIR/STTR grant deadline to simplify the application process. We use our history and successful model to partner with companies to create a proposal that not only fully explains the innovation and need for funding but also addresses the market and how the product would be beneficial. Our mission is to help commercialize new innovations and we are committed to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses start stronger, grow faster, and work smarter.

Mission

Our mission at 3PhaseSC is to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs in aquiring competitive non-dilutive funding from SBIR/STTR programs. We provide complete and free assistance through the grant application process to help bring innovative ideas to market. We believe that every small business has the potential to create significant value, and we are committed to helping them start stronger, grow faster, and work smarter. By leveraging our expertise in defining target markets, prioritizing grant deadlines, and creating winning proposals, we strive to be a trusted partner that helps our clients secure the funding they need to turn their vision into reality. At 3PhaseSC, we are passionate about driving innovation and fostering economic growth, and we are dedicated to making a positive impact on the communities we serve.

3Phase Team

Tyler Tatum has over 25 years of experience in technology focused startup ventures, including 20 years in a management/leadership role. Tyler’s core strength is his ability to turn customer needs into marketable products by facilitating communication between business leaders, current and prospective customers, and technology developers. Over the last several years, Tyler has helped clients raise over $33M in SBIR/STTR funding. He has also supported two teams as a mentor for the NSF I-Corps program. Previously, Tyler served as Brainlike's Chief Executive Officer, where he built revenues from zero to $1 million dollars a year with no outside investment. During his tenure at Brainlike, he was able to acquire over $4 million in defense SBIR/STTR funding.

His career began as a programmer at Netuitive in 1996 where his coding efforts helped the company raise their first $1.5 million in capital. He quickly became Netuitive’s product manager, where he led the company in selling and delivering their first products in two separate markets. After leaving Netuitive in 2001, Tatum ran Project Planet, a leading environmental services company targeting hotels and hospitality providers. At Project Planet, he achieved over 50% revenue growth in a depressed hotel market while dramatically reducing long-term debt and continuously maintaining positive cash flow. Tatum holds a B.S. in computer science from Cornell University.

Kyle Salazar brings more than 12 years of experience working with organizations and leaders to improve their operations and financial performance and acquire competitive funding. His expertise is in innovation and technology commercialization; financial and organizational strategy and management; and leadership development. Kyle has worked with organizations of all sizes in the for-profit, nonprofit, government, and philanthropy sectors and is an experienced facilitator and strategist.

Kyle has worked with the University of South Carolina’s Office of Economic Engagement to commercialize technology developed at USC and with the South Carolina EPSCoR Program to provide early seed funding to technology startups. Additionally, he has led consulting teams focused on operational and financial health of large companies and has coached startups through accelerator and incubator programs, including the lean launchpad curriculum and customer discovery model. In each of these roles, his ability to understand organizational and individual goals has led to successful partnerships with clients that resulted in deep, trusting relationships where continued support led to exponential growth for the client. Kyle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in political science and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of South Carolina.