The Forum - 02/07/2003
Technology Incubator Draws Support
The Fargo-Moorhead area's upbeat business climate and solid workforce could help support a technology-based business incubator, according to two consultants studying the possibility.
But challenges including water supply and access to financing also will need to be addressed, said Chuck Wolfe and J. Philip Gottwals of Claggett Wolfe Associates, Auburn, Calif.
The North Dakota State University Research and Technology Park recently hired the firm to study whether the area can support a tech incubator.
An incubator would provide startup tech firms with physical space and access to financing, technical support, market research, mentoring and management consulting.
The ultimate goal is to boost the economy in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota by spinning off businesses from the incubator.
Eighty-four percent of businesses that graduate from incubators locate within five miles of the incubator, Wolfe said.
Over the past four days, Wolfe and Gottwals interviewed more than 50 local business people, university researchers, community leaders, elected officials and entrepreneurs.
"There is a strong level of support from all sectors of the community for an incubator project that would support the greater Fargo-Moorhead region and the state of North Dakota," Wolfe said Thursday. "This is very encouraging."
A second round of interviews is scheduled for the first week in March. The interviews will be combined with census data and information about the area's economy and research activity to determine if the need exists for an incubator. "This is truly market-driven," Wolfe said.
The feasibility report will be presented April 1 to the research park's board of directors and the incubator task force. The report will recommend a site and design for the incubator, including the cost of the building and potential funding sources.
Wolfe and Gottwals also will write a marketing plan. "What we see now versus what finally comes out could be totally different, because we're still in that real early stage of reconnaissance," Wolfe said.
Tony Grindberg, executive director of the research park, said startup businesses are vital to the state's economic development efforts. In the past, such efforts have focused on recruiting businesses to the state or expanding existing businesses, he said.
North Dakota's people make it an attractive site for an incubator, the consultants said. "The workforce is solid and has a good reputation for its work ethic, which seems to transfer through to the students and graduates," Gottwals said. "One thing that has come up repeatedly is people want to come back," Wolfe said. "And that in itself, when you're trying to attract talent, is an important factor."
Students from NDSU and other F-M area schools are important to an incubator's success, said John Campbell, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Fargo Moorhead.
More than ever, the chamber is engaging students in talks about internships and starting their own businesses, he said.
"I think that not only are we going to see entrepreneurs coming out of student bodies in the future, but I think they provide a great resource for businesses that not only are here, but that want to start," Campbell said.
Wolfe knows first-hand the challenges a startup business faces. He spent 2½ years developing a Macintosh-based software program, only to lose a major contract in 1989 when the government switched to a Windows platform. With no outside support, his business folded.
"That's where an incubator actually plays a very critical role," Wolfe said. "Because the mentors, they've been there, they've done it before, and they can help guide you."
Mike Nowatzki, mnowatzki@forumcomm.com, (701) 241-5528
back
|
