Small businesses find sweet success with EDGE grants

Let’s say you woke up this morning with a super sweet business plan: 

• Step 1: Start with your absolutely scrumptious recipe for key lime pie.
• Step 2: Find a way to churn them out by the dozens.
• Step 3: Ride a wave of grateful fans to fame, glory … and profit.

That was how Jessica and Lee Williamson envisioned their future. The Milton couple knew they had the perfect pie and were sure it would inspire fandom everywhere. But it wasn’t until they turned to the Delaware Division of Small Business that they found the missing ingredient for next-level success.

The state is supporting dozens of Delaware entrepreneurs through a reinvigorated grant program called EDGE 2.0, which is providing crucial infusions of cash and coaching to lift small startups toward success. 

In the case of Coastal Key Lime Pie, which received an earlier grant from the program, that meant a $50,000 jolt to their budget, and a fresh path toward their dreams. A new crust-making machine and a refrigerated van let them supersize their footprint. Close support from the division’s small business experts kept them on track toward growth.

Today, Jessica and Lee are well on their way to regional acclaim, and even dream of delivering creamy goodness up and down the coast.

“It would have taken so much longer to grow without the EDGE grant,” Jessica Williamson said. “It propelled our business in a way that’s unimaginable.”

Short for “Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion,” the EDGE program stands as the flagship funding initiative of the state’s Small Business Division. In its seven years, more than 100 startups have been helped, many in the high-tech sector that Delaware is working to grow.

“The best investment the state can make is in the people already doing the work,” said Christopher “CJ” Bell, Director of the Delaware Division of Small Business. “When we give a good business the resources to get even better, the whole state benefits from their success.”

The program is designed to give early stage businesses an extra boost through funding and planning assistance during their first five years, a time when many small businesses are at more risk of failure. To qualify, businesses must be less than seven years old, have 15 or fewer full-time employees, and have less than $700,000 in assets.

But most importantly, they must be ready to compete and driven to win. Once grant proposals are done, the division begins several rounds of evaluations based on set criteria, and selects  the most promising ideas from the pool of hopefuls. Twice each year, those finalists gather for a showdown called a “pitch competition,” where judges pepper presenters with questions and decide the winners. 

The stakes are high: Each competition offers $400,000 in total grant money for entrepreneurs like the Williamsons. For businesses in the resource-heavy STEM and high-tech sector, $750,000 is available. Judges can pick as many winners as they want; the pot of money is then divided based on needs.

“We have raised the total grant money by 50-60% this year, giving the program much more potential for having a maximum impact,” said Joe Zilcosky, one of the division’s regional business managers who coach and encourage applicants. “It’s also now easier to apply, and all finalists and awardees will get in-kind services and support to help them grow.”

Grant money can be used for purchasing equipment, improving building infrastructure, obtaining rental space, or contracting for website design or a marketing campaign to help acquire more customers.

Since the program’s launch in 2019, the division has awarded $9.1 million to 127 small businesses. More than half (53%) of the 127 awardees have been either woman, minority, or veteran-owned small businesses. Another 16% fall into more than one of those categories.

The first step in the grant process is as easy as going to the EDGE 2.0 homepage. State specialists are ready to guide hopefuls through the technicalities of grant requirements; Project plans are honed and roadblocks are avoided, all with one-on-one guidance. 

Ultimately, to get the grant, businesses must show how much they deserve it – and how committed they are to succeed. Winners also must be ready to put some of their own cash on the line: The program’s 3:1 match formula means they must pony up $1 for every $3 the state gives.

EDGE grants are just the beginning

In many ways, the “prize” is just part of the package. Long after the pitches have been made, participants can access services like memberships to networking organizations, along with expedited pathways to the division’s other funding programs.

“Our services don’t begin with EDGE, and they don’t end with EDGE,” Zilcosky said. “After the competition’s over, we still want to help you, and we have many tools in the toolbox.”

Applicants are also encouraged to try again if they swing and miss on their first “pitch” – that’s what Jessica and Lee Williamson did, fine-tuning their plan after their first attempt, then prevailing on their next try. And, win or lose, everyone gains invaluable business advice. “So even if you don’t win the money, hopefully you still win,” said Zilcosky, who says about 95% of grant recipients are still in business.

Ultimately, the program serves to foster and encourage Delaware’s most innovative ideas, creating pathways to the future. One EDGE winner that’s leaning hard into that future is Sindri Materials Corp., which was created with the idea of producing a new carbon material – just one atom thick – that can enhance the speed and effectiveness of pharmaceutical research. 

With the grant money in hand, Sindri has been able to fine-tune production of its graphene material and is now approaching the point of bringing it to the market – and starting to earn revenue.

Today, they feel far more comfortable about their 5-year trajectory and are even beginning to look beyond.

“Sindri Materials is a great example of our focus on supporting cutting-edge ideas that could revolutionize an industry, and exponentially grow jobs in Delaware,” Zilcosky said.

Along with crucial capital, the state’s grant also gave Sindri’s team a welcome boost of confidence, and a feeling they had an ally who cared. “Anytime I needed to jump on a call with him, Joe was right there,” said Sindri CEO Christopher DiMarco. “It was clear to us that companies like ours matter to the state. Innovation matters to this state.”

Now, he and fellow co-founders Brian Checchio and David DiMarco ponder a new challenge: How to build on that momentum, converting their first beachhead market into commercial sales while expanding the platform’s capabilities for broader, higher-impact applications — work made possible in part by the EDGE grant. But the team feels tested and tougher today, especially after surviving the scrutiny of the EDGE judges.

“The judges were tough, but they asked thoughtful questions that made us sharpen how we communicated the business,” said Chris DiMarco, who fretted he had muffed his big pitch due to technical glitches. “I told Joe, I thought I blew it. Then, two weeks later, when he told me we had won, I was jumping up and down. I didn’t believe it.”

That feeling of sweet joy seems likely to spread, especially as Williamsons’ pies begin filling shops far and wide. Their creations are now available at more than 30 area shops and restaurants throughout Delaware and Eastern Maryland. The momentum is so powerful, and their passion is so deep, that Coastal’s journey seems bound to reach far beyond Delmarva.

“It really is an adventure, not knowing what the future is, but sensing we have something that can create that future,” Lee Williamson said. “At first, everyone thought we were crazy. Now, our three boys are like, ‘Now we have a job!’ ”