La. Tech establishes technology business center
BYLINE: Nick Todaro
Louisiana Tech University has established a new center for connecting the region's budding technology economy with services to help new businesses get off the ground.
Tech's new Technology Business Development Center, which will pull in $250,000 of state funds yearly from the University of Louisiana System, will address the special needs of fledgling technology businesses, said Les Guice, vice president of research and development.
"Technology companies have special needs," Guice said. "And the critical stage of getting companies moving depends on finding help structuring management, business plans and networking with financiers, among other things. They need guidance.
"Now we have the needed resources to help businesses face these problems early," Guice said.
Tech graduate and undergraduate business students will be involved in the process, providing an educational opportunity that runs parallel to the future of the Interstate 20 corridor's business development, Guice said.
"This is bigger than Tech," he said. "It's critical that the region supports technology businesses. As we've said before, we don't intend for technology businesses to replace the current industry centers of our area, but they will help improve the quality of industry services and the quality of life in the region."
Tech leadership envisions those businesses locating throughout the region, working in conjunction with a planned 50-acre research park currently in the planning stage.
The establishment of the center is the formal mechanism for providing a service some businesses have already tapped, Guice said.
Existing startups, like Nano Pulp and Paper and Networking Foundation Technologies, have used these services through Tech's Enterprise Center, located off the main campus at 509 W. Alabama Ave., Suite 126.
Dave Norris, Enterprise Center director, said those two companies' needs are far different, showcasing the ability of the center to adapt to individual businesses.
"Nano Pulp and Paper is a small nano-tech startup that needs market and business experience to grow," Norris said. "They know the science and needed us to help with connecting them to industry. We've talked with just about everybody involved in the paper industry in this area at least once for them. What we're trying to do for them is create as many outlets as possible."
The Enterprise Center also helped them draft their original business plan, Norris said.
"Network Foundation Technologies needed our resources to develop their product," Norris said, adding that the company has made the Enterprise Center their home base for software development.
"They're making use of our labs and servers to help run tests and do demonstrations," Norris said. "Like in nanotechnology research, people need equipped laboratories for development. That's what we provide — a home for product development."
NFT also used its services for helping find local investment capital, which Norris said is "one of the hardest things to do" for a small business. The company has recently benefited from an "angel" investor, an individual of high worth who agrees to put money behind a company.
Kathy Wyatt, picked as director for the TBDC pending ULS Board of Supervisors approval later this month, previously directed Tech's Small Business Development Center, which was reorganized last year under budget-related restructuring.
"The bottom line is having a resource like this is important for building the business economy of our area," Wyatt said.
The TBDC will of course look for companies who earn their money through proprietary technology or intellectual property, but will be available to consult existing businesses, she said.
"We hope to bring resources together to help industries rework their technology or pursue new opportunities," Wyatt said. "Maybe through licensing research or conducting their own, but we want to make sure that, while we're focusing on new ventures, we will also be a resource for existing businesses to remain competitive."