Sugar Land Starts Innovation Fund
The Sugar Land Starts Innovation Fund Program is designed to attract and incentivize high-growth startups within the city’s target industries to relocate to Sugar Land, helping to cultivate a vibrant, innovation ecosystem that is envisioned in the city’s Strategic Action Plan.
The program includes two phases:
• Phase 1, for smaller startups (Less than 15 employees)
• Phase 2, for larger startups (Greater than 15 employees
A key objective of the program is to diversify Sugar Land’s economy by bringing in high-growth companies that can scale locally.
Take the pre-screening to see if your startup qualifies here.
Phase One Incentive
The startup must meet the following criteria:
$50,000 Incentive
- 3+ starting local Full-Time Employees
- Product is Market-Ready
- Demonstrated market demand with early customer or revenue traction (Pilots, LOIs, Contracts)
- Startup will HQ in Sugar Land for at least 3 years
- Must fall within Sugar Land Target Industries
- Projected to create 15 or more new jobs in Sugar Land over duration of agreement
$100,000 Incentive
- 5+ starting local Full-Time Employees
- Considerable market demand demonstrated through customer and revenue traction (Pilots, LOIs, Contracts)
- Product is live in market
- Startup will HQ in Sugar Land for at least 3 years
- Must fall within Sugar Land Target Industries
- Projected to create 25 or more new jobs in Sugar Land over duration of agreement
$150,000 Incentive
- 7+ starting local Full-Time Employees
- Demonstrate quarter-over-quarter revenue growth over the last 12 months
- Demonstrated the ability to drive rapid growth
- Clear roadmap for scaling with detailed milestones
- Startup will HQ in Sugar Land for at least 3 years
- Must fall within Sugar Land Target Industries
- Projected to create 30 or more new local jobs over 3 years
Phase Two Incentive
Funding amount will be negotiated based on available funding up to $300,000, jobs, wages, capital investment, and fulfillment of the following minimum requirements:
- 30+ starting Full-Time Employees
- Must maintain HQ in Sugar Land for at least 5 additional years
- Clear roadmap for scaling with detailed milestones, including hiring plan and number of projected jobs created
- Demonstrated quarter-over-quarter revenue growth over the last 12 months
- Must have at least 75 employees by the end of the agreement
Safeguards & Compliance
- Reimbursement tied to verified compliance with agreement
- Annual reporting of jobs and wages
- Clawbacks for non-performance