Business Incubator Series: Stephen Fleming, Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Tech – Atlanta (Part 6)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Stephen: One of the larger donors to Georgia Tech Edison Fund is the Charles Edison Fund. That is the fund that was set up by the son of Thomas Edison. They allow us to use the Thomas Edison name. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Tim Lavengood, Technology Innovation Center – Evanston, Illinois (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Praveen Karoshi

Tim: So, the fourth thing we have is this peer group where companies get to learn from each other and from us. Over the 26 years we have been around, we have had more than 350 clients.

We have just in Evanston, which is a small suburb of Chicago, about 25 companies providing about 430 high-quality full-time jobs, so there is a lot of learning that takes place here. It has become a big network over the years that a company gets to come in and be a part of, both in terms of getting personnel and learning from mistakes. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Stephen Fleming, Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Tech – Atlanta (Part 5)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: On average, how long does a company stay in your incubator?

Stephen: It’s all over the map. The life science companies take longer. We actually don’t have a time horizon in mind for our life science companies. They’re so dependent on the underlying science and the regulatory approval process. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Tim Lavengood, Technology Innovation Center – Evanston, Illinois (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Praveen Karoshi

I am talking to Tim Lavengood, executive director of the Technology Innovation Center (TIC), which is a not-for-profit business incubator dedicated to supporting the growth of very early stage tech companies. Founded in 1986, the incubator is based in Evanston, Illinois.
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Business Incubator Series: Stephen Fleming, Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Tech – Atlanta (Part 4)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Stephen: As far as technology, we have a database that works internally. For our needs, it’s great. It’s basically a CRM [customer relationship management] system that we developed internally. All our employees get full access to it. The mentors get limited access. The entrepreneurs get even more limited access, but everyone can get basic information out of it. It’s CRM, but the customers, in this case, are entrepreneurial companies. We never see their customers. To us, they’re our customers. They’re our clients. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Stephen Fleming, Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Tech – Atlanta (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: Where do your applicants usually come from?

Stephen: We do get pretty good coverage of the entrepreneurial opportunities coming out of Georgia Tech. That’s both the spin-out companies, which are based on intellectual property owned by Georgia Tech, and the startups being started by students, those that are not based on the Georgia Tech intellectual property. These are just students or recent graduates who want have an entrepreneurial experience and create a company. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Stephen Fleming, Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Tech – Atlanta (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: How many companies have been incubated in the past 12 months?

Stephen: Right now, it’s about 400. When we are talking about 400, you have to understand that in the new [approach] model, the companies don’t have to be resident in my bricks-and-mortar [incubator].

I’ve got 50,000 square feet of incubation space. At this point, I’ve got probably 35 tenants in that space. The other – a little more than 370 – companies are not tenants. We provide services for both. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Stephen Fleming, Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Tech – Atlanta (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

I am talking to Stephen Fleming, who is a vice president at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, where he is currently overseeing the Enterprise Innovation Institute.

The institute is focused on helping enterprises improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology, and innovation. During fiscal year 2009, among other projects, the institute evaluated 149 Georgia Tech innovations and formed 20 new companies based on this intellectual property; the startups that were founded based on Georgia Tech intellectual property attracted nearly $111 million in investment. The institute also assisted 44 startup technology companies through its incubator, Advanced Technology Development Center, and ATDC companies attracted $151 million in capital activity through venture capital investment and M&As. >>>