The Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) Office of University Programs (OUP) engaged FirstLink to provide revenue projections for the University of Southern California (USC) CREATE Center of Excellence (COE) security software capability, called ARMOR.

FirstLink projected revenues that could be generated from the technology over a three year period. First, three revenue streams were identified (software sales, consulting fees and maintenance contracts). Then roll-out projections, upon which revenue was based, were built. Finally, expenses for the start-up were estimated.

Outcome 

The projections showed that the business could be sustainable after three years if the roll-out assumptions were met.  The FirstLink report gave CREATE the confidence to spin out this capability to a start up and to seek investors for it, successfully securing $80,000 with more coming.