Business Incubator Series: An Interview With Chris Heivly, Executive Director, LaunchBox Digital (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: Do you announce in a press release or on the Web that the next program session open, and companies start applying?

Chris: That’s correct. We do some outbound marketing. We get some mentions in the technology and entrepreneurial press. We’ve run for three years now. There’s a very strong word of mouth in this community for these accelerator programs.

Irina: When will you start accepting applications for the next accelerator? What is the process? >>>

Business Incubator Series: An Interview With Chris Heivly, Executive Director, LaunchBox Digital (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: What would be the ideal company to have in your incubation program?

Chris: For the most part, first-time entrepreneurs who have a reasonably mature concept of what they want to build in a fairly large market or large market opportunity; something where the value is [so] obvious that they succeed in implementing their vision.

On an individual basis, the team is a bright, well-rounded team. We do not accept, for the most part, one-person teams. We like for there to be at least one, if not two developers on the team. We’re looking for A teams and really nice market opportunities. >>>

An Interview With Debera Johnson, Founder And Executive Director, Pratt Design Incubator For Sustainable Innovation (Part 6)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: Are there any other metrics that you measure?

Debera: No, just whether [the companies are] able to shift from needing the support of the incubator to being their own companies. That’s our goal, basically, that they’re launched and they’re successful. >>>

An Interview With Debera Johnson, Founder And Executive Director, Pratt Design Incubator For Sustainable Innovation (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Today I am talking to Debera Johnson, founder and executive director of the Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation. The incubator is a part of the Center for Sustainable Design Studies at Pratt Institute, which is an art, design, and architecture college in New York City.  Since its inception in 2002, the incubator has supported the launch of 15 companies, of which 12 are still in business. In 2010, its companies generated more than $4.2 in revenue and are currently employing 36 employees. >>>

An Interview With Danny Robinson, CEO, British Columbia Innovation Council (Part 5)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: What do you do day to day?

Danny: There’s no consistency at all. Right now we’re putting together the strategy of how we’re going to execute over the next year. So, there’s lots of consulting with the community and organizations and the board and everybody I work with to decide what that looks like. >>>

An Interview With Danny Robinson, CEO, British Columbia Innovation Council (Part 4)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Danny: We’ve got some role models, and we’re using them as poster children. For example, Stewart Butterfield created Flickr in Vancouver. Stewart is a great example of somebody who has built a company, sold it to the States, and ended up coming back to Vancouver and starting his next company here. Bringing all that credibility and financial resources to the region has been fantastic. >>>

An Interview With Danny Robinson, CEO, British Columbia Innovation Council (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: You fund programs and events but you don’t directly invest in companies, right?

Danny: Yes. Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to do that. >>>

An Interview With Danny Robinson, CEO, British Columbia Innovation Council (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Danny: I thought that BCIC would be a better place for me to cover all the sectors, make sure the entire [entrepreneurial] ecosystem’s intact, reach all the other industries and regions. I represent all of British Columbia, not just Vancouver. There are about nine regional areas where science technology is being developed in the province, and we cover all of them. >>>