SSTI Digest

Spending time at a technology or business incubator may be the key to learning about entrepreneurship. Some universities, seeking to ramp up entrepreneurship programs, are turning to incubators as real-world teachers. A recent Washington Post article points to several business schools pairing traditional education, such as courses and lectures, with less-conventional approaches, including incubators and business competitions to prepare students for opportunities outside the classroom. Recent announcements of new and emerging technology incubators from across the U.S. and Canada are included below.

The 10 regional councils established earlier this year to stimulate economic development and improve the business climate statewide are tasked with five primary responsibilities, and can compete for funding from a pool of $1 billion to support projects they determine to be a part of their regional strategy. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently unveiled a blueprint for how the councils will operate with information regarding resource allocation, structure and leadership, and performance measurement.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, a public-private partnership, intends to connect NSF-funded scientific research with a project team, made up of professionals from the technological, entrepreneurial and business communities, to help transition NSF-funded scientific and engineering discoveries at institutions of higher education into commercial technologies, products and processes. I-Corps grants will provide financial support to project teams in determining the commercialization potential of the technologies developed through previous or current NSF awards. Each I-Corps team will include a principal investigator, an entrepreneurial lead and an I-Corps mentor. The outcome of each I-Corps funded project will be:

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom hopes that by the fall, lawmakers will enact a comprehensive legislative reform of state economic development entities in order to begin implementing a plan for growth and competitiveness that builds on the diverse strengths of California's regional economies. The lieutenant governor last week presented the first statewide economic plan in more than 10 years, outlining steps to develop a new economic model that "embraces the shift from a consumption-based economy to a production economy focused on global trade."

Internet-specific investments hit a ten year high in the second quarter of 2011, driving overall venture investment up 19 percent over the previous quarter. The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report that venture capitalists invested $7.5 billion in 966 deals during the second quarter. This represents an increase of about 19 percent over the first quarter in both the number of deals and total dollars invested. The gain, however, was less significant when compared to the second quarter of 2010. Compared to that quarter, venture dollars rose only 5 percent and venture deals fell by 32 percent. The greatest increases in activity were seen in the three largest venture markets, California, Massachusetts and New York.

Venture for America (VFA), nonprofit organization, announced its official launch and the acceptance of applications for its inaugural pool of "fellows," approximately 50, selected from the graduating class of 2012. The organization hopes to "spur enterprise and encourage entrepreneurship in parts of the U.S. that struggle to attract top college graduates."

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Bureau of Business Research and Department of Economics has released its latest edition of the State Entrepreneurial Index, a state-by-state analysis of entrepreneurial activity. The index uses five components — percentage growth and per capita growth in business establishments, its business formation rate, the number of patents per thousand residents and gross receipts of sole proprietorships and partnerships per capita — to rank states in business formation and innovation. New York, Washington and Massachusetts placed in the top three spots, while Oregon, Delaware, Kentucky, Texas and Rhode Island all rose more than 25 spots since the last list was published in 2008. Read the list...

The University of Connecticut seeks a vice president for economic development to provide strategic leadership and direction in building and capitalizing on facilities, expertise and technology available at UConn and in improving state economic prospects in high-value industries. This is a new position reporting directly to the president.

Recent legislative actions supporting technology-based economic development include level funding for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, funding to support programs of the Minnesota Science and Technology Authority and the expansion of two state programs in support of technology and life sciences companies in New Jersey.

Steven Chu, Secretary of the Department of Energy, announced $2 million in available funding for the National University Clean Energy Business Challenge — a nationwide network of regional university-based clean energy business creation competitions. The intent of the initiative is to "inspire, mentor and train students from across the country to develop successful business plans to create a new generation of American clean energy companies." Participating teams of students will work with experienced mentors from the energy industry and startup community, along with university and national lab-based researchers, to develop the business plans. The winning teams from the regional competitions will compete for a National Grand Prize at a competition held in Washington, D.C., in early summer 2012.

Gov. Pat Quinn this week signed into law two bills in support of tech-based companies and student entrepreneurs. SB 107 builds on the state's Technology Development Account, which allows the state to invest up to 1 percent of its investment portfolio in venture capital firms that in turn invest in technology-based businesses. The new law increases the amount to 2 percent. Companies may use the funding for R&D, marketing new products and workforce expansion. Another bill signed by Gov. Quinn creates the Higher Education Technology Entrepreneur Center Act. This allows the board of trustees at the state's public universities and community colleges to establish a technology entrepreneur center. The centers will offer mentors, workshops, a structured course of work study to bring an innovation from concept to market, and provide contacts with potential private-sector investors.

Michigan's InvestMichigan! Mezzanine Fund is slated to become the Small Business Administration's (SBA) first licensed Impact Investment Fund through the agency's new Impact Investment Initiative. The SBA initiative, which is part of the White House's Startup America initiative, uses the existing infrastructure of the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program to encourage small business growth. Participating funds must make place-based investments in small businesses in underserved areas, or investments in the clean energy and education sectors. SBA will provide $80 million to the Michigan fund, along with another $15 million from Dow Chemical Company and $35 million from Michigan Growth Capital Partners. Read the announcement...