PSIA Process Overview
PSIA is an accelerator program for promising environmental technologies emerging from Yale labs. The initial applications kick off a process to thoroughly evaluate each project and ultimately select the awardees.
Evaluation Process: All applicants will first go through an iterative evaluation process that culminates in a final pitch to a judging panel. This process is designed with multiple points of feedback along the way to maximize each project's likelihood of receiving an award.
- Post-Award Support: Projects that are selected for PSIA grants of up to $250K will then receive dedicated, hands-on support for the duration of the award. Projects that are not ultimately selected will continue to receive targeted support and are encouraged to re-apply in future cycles.
I. Evaluation Process
Our evaluation process spans ~12 weeks, structured to ensure thorough commercial assessment and scientific input. The process combines scientific review committees, commercial support from student Venture Fellows, strategic input from our network of EIRs, and collaborative discussions with advisors.
The PSIA team will schedule initial meetings with each project team to review their initial applications, confirm fit, and understand the project's background, current progress, and future needs.
For any teams with undisclosed IP, the Business Development team at Yale Ventures will kick off the work to identify and protect all relevant inventions. Their team will be an on-demand partner going forward, with expertise in business development, marketing, intellectual property protection, contract negotiation, financing, and venture formation.
All teams will be paired with dedicated student Venture Fellows, who bring operational and entrepreneurial experience. They are compensated by PSIA and can offer a variety of support, such as go-to-market strategy, market sizing, customer discovery, and competitive analysis.
Importantly, these Venture Fellows will collaborate closely with PIs to build the commercial narrative for each project in the form of a pitch deck, which will be the basis of the final pitch to the review panel.
Project applications are strategically assigned to Yale Ventures Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs) for commercial feedback. These EIRs will selected for each project based on relevant domain expertise. They will provide feedback on each project and suggest open commercial questions to prioritize.
At the same time, project applications will be reviewed by a Yale Planetary Solutions panel for scientific feedback. This panel will assess the scientific potential and identify any gaps or open questions to consider.
Each team will receive a packet that provides feedback from the scientific review committee and EIRs. The PSIA team will also provide feedback on the first drafts of the pitch deck. Once teams have reviewed this packet, the PSIA team will meet to discuss feedback and determine next steps in the process. Assuming everything remains on track, we will then invite teams to the final pitch and begin preparing them for that.
Based on feedback from the midpoint review, each team will work to answer open commercial questions and fill remaining gaps in their project plan. At this point, each team's focus will turn to revising their final pitch deck with continuous input from the PSIA team. Once the deck is finalized, each PI will do pitch practice with the PSIA team to prepare for the final pitch.
Finalist teams will deliver pitches to our judging panel who rank each project based on a standard evaluation rubric. After pitch day, the PSIA team will aggregate panel scoring and determine the awardees. Panel feedback will be distributed to all teams after the pitch.
Alongside this process, teams are encouraged to take advantage of various resources that may improve their candidacy, such as the NSF I-Corps program for customer discovery that is run by Yale Ventures. The PSIA team will also connect PIs with a subsidized consultancy that can help CT-based ventures identify relevant SBIR/STTR grant opportunities.
II. Post-Award Support
Once PSIA awards are determined, the next phase of the accelerator program begins. The PSIA team will continue to support all teams, regardless of their award status.
- For awardees, the focus is on helping teams hit technical milestones, implement commercial plans, and build operating teams — all with the aim of helping ventures become competitive for external funding and generate traction in the market.
- For non-awardees, the focus is on identifying areas to prioritize and improving candidacy for future grant opportunities. Feedback from the evaluation process will inform areas for this work.
PSIA awardees receive significant milestone-based funding for up to two years. The PSIA team helps awardees leverage this funding to rapidly advance their projects, with the aim of bringing environmental technologies into the market.
This support takes many forms, including:
- Continuing to refine commercial strategy and answer concerns that arose during the evaluation process
- Identifying potential business operators who can help carry technology forward
- Offering continued student support wherever useful
- Connecting with potential industry and ecosystem partners
- Finding legal and regulatory expertise to assist where needed
- Identifying additional non-dilutive sources of capital to pursue, including government grants and philanthropic opportunities
- Connecting teams with early-stage investors for feedback and potential investment
- Facilitating customer discovery efforts through the NSF I-Corps program at Yale Ventures
- Arranging Venture Lab workshops with Yale Ventures EIRs
- Finding showcase opportunities such as the Yale Innovation Summit
- Involving teams with local ecosystem partners, such as ClimateHaven
The PSIA team will establish periodic meetings with each project team to check in on progress and identify areas where more support is needed.
Teams that are not selected for awards will receive continued support that helps them move forward with their projects — whether that means answering key outstanding questions that arose during the evaluation process, identifying alternative funding sources, or improving candidacy for future PSIA cycles.
Following the final pitch, the PSIA team will share detailed feedback and determine a custom support plan moving forward from there with each team.