This week I had the opportunity to attend the SUNY conference on Universities as Economic Drivers: Measuring Success. It has been a little over two years since SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher took over the helm of NY’s flagship campus system and a year and a half has passed since she laid out the Power of SUNY strategic plan.  My primary motivation was to gauge SUNY institutions’ progress in fostering entrepreneurship on the campus and in their surrounding communities.

The most commonly used reference to SUNY’s role in reviving NY’s economic fortunes was that of an engine.  However, I left with the distinct impression that the gear is still in “Park”.  Chancellor Zimpher deserves a great deal of credit for committing SUNY to this formidable task and putting a strategic plan together, but the organization as a whole needs to pick a direction to drive in, gas up, and get going.

Herewith, some advice as someone who wants to see SUNY and NY succeed:

• Time matters because the rest of the world is not standing still. The natural mode of academic institutions is to learn, debate and teach.  The pace of change in the outside world is compressing the time between idea and action in a manner that is rendering entire sectors of our economy irrelevant.  SUNY needs to get ahead of the curve and figure out just how much of its curriculum needs to be replaced and recruit the best people who can teach new skills.  Continuing to prepare young people for jobs that don’t exist or have a short lifespan is not a recipe for success.  This is particularly true for the “Clusters” such as Back Office (7,600+ degrees), Financial Services (8,800+) and Front Office & Producer Services (13,000+).
• Entrepreneurial talent matters more than anything else. After a century of training people to get a job, we need to encourage them to create jobs.  That is the only way to stem NY’s brain drain.  If we don’t have new high growth companies forming at a faster rate (than the old ones die or move out), all we are doing is supporting some other economy elsewhere by supplying them with well-educated (NY taxpayer supported) graduates.  SUNY educates nearly half a million students and has 1.6 million alumni in-state, but not one of the 17 sessions was directly focused on student entrepreneurship or alumni engagement.
• If you can’t commercialize, give it away.  This was one of the more provocative statements made by noted entrepreneur, academic, and commentator Vivek Wadhwa during the opening session.  In 2008-2009, SUNY institutions received $1.3 Billion to support research projects and programs.  License income was $23 million; twenty-five startups were launched (see page 5 of How SUNY Matters). As the report card shows, research expenses are up, but outputs are trending flat to down (see Fall 2011 SUNY Report Card).  As Wadhwa noted, you only need a single measure of success—how many new jobs are being created.  Measure that and you know where you stand.
• The future is uncertain; pick a direction and be prepared to adjust your course. SUNY is a large institution, so there will always be examples of innovation and excellence that can be pointed to in speeches and publications.  But, like any other large decentralized organization, it is faced with many instances of the Innovator’s Dilemma—“Which of the many innovations that could disrupt my long-standing business should I adopt and how far do I go to resource this shift in direction?” There were plenty of references to programs that were showing positive results (e.g., the Fredonia incubator) as well as others that are also making their mark in various communities (like UB’s partnership with Buffalo to build a network of talent and capital for research commercialization; Cayuga Community College and SUNY Morrisville’s collaboration with the Kauffman funded enitiative program and the Syracuse Student Sandbox).  What each of these examples has in common is that they take too long to realize, generally operate with severe budget constraints and even when successful, there is no clear mechanism for spreading the best practices to other parts of the SUNY system.  Chancellor Zimpher realizes that the SUNY system can be a powerful force for change in NY.  To achieve the promise inherent in its mission and vision, SUNY needs a mechanism for identifying, rewarding, and spreading these practices and (for New York’s sake) they need to do so…FAST!

Note to Readers: Are you aware of a SUNY (or other university) entrepreneurship initiative that should be adopted system-wide by SUNY?  Write to me at nasir@uvc.com.

Clarkson University will be hosting the third annual Forever Wired Conference on Tuesday, October 4, in Potsdam, N.Y.  Last year’s conference drew more than 250 participants from across New York State and included many seasonal residents of the Adirondack Park, as well.  The conference will offer a variety of sessions geared toward assisting small business owners and teleworkers in rural communities, including workshops on:

• Telecommuting Tips
• Overcoming Rural Entrepreneurship Challenges
• Micro-financing
• Government, Industry and Higher Education Collaboration
• Mobil Computing

Professionals and organizations can set up promotional displays at the conference to connect with other entrepreneurs who may be seeking their services. Free one-on-one consultations with experts from Clarkson University’s Shipley Center for Innovation and Reh Center for Entrepreneurship will also be available upon request, as well as networking with rural sector experts from around the east coast, who are helping with the sessions.

The conference is a central component of the Adirondack Initiative for Wired Work, which is championed by a team of regional leaders and energized professionals dedicated toward creation of a sustainable economy in the greater Adirondack North Country.  The group champions attracting a new breed of connected worker/entrepreneur to the region (more).  Clarkson President Tony Collins believes that the region must “advance economic opportunities that will attract and retain our young people and bring meaningful employment into to the region.  He believes that the Initiative ,”balances the environmental needs of our region, and is aimed at preserving the unique character of our Adirondack and North Country communities, which we share with recreational enthusiasts, tourists and wildlife.”

Conference registration, Questions: email foreverwired@clarkson.edu or call 315-268-4483.

Rochester-based start-up You Need My Guy recently announced receiving significant investment from NYC-based KAYWEB Angels, bringing them in as technical co-founders of his business. The unique model provides development services in exchange for equity.

You Need My Guy’s founder is Syracuse University graduate Joe Cassara. The company is in the business networking space.  According to Joe, his company was one of three selected from over 200 other competitors to join the KAYWEB family. “I’m extremely impressed with the KAYWEB leadership team, and feel that the distinctive investment structure sets up You Need My Guy for huge success”. Currently in stealth development mode, Cassara says the beta version of You Need My Guy will launch sometime in 2012.  KAYWEB Angels, LLC is an angel investment group based in New York City, providing development services and mentoring to web and mobile startups in exchange for equity. Since forming in 2011, KAYWEB has funded 6 startups. They just launched Who Is Green, an online directory of businesses that uphold the values of sustainability.

In a start-up environment that historically has seen a divide between Upstate ideas and Downstate investors, the partnership between Cassara and KAYWEB is a win for the Rochester region, hopefully leading to more of deals of a similar nature.

The JumpStart program of the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) is designed to help small NYS businesses solve concrete problems related to materials. The CCMR partners them with Cornell faculty members with the appropriate expertise.

Since 2005, JumpStart has helped 45 companies solve problems, develop prototypes and explore new markets.

The application period for Fall 2011 JumpStart awards is here! Deadline: Thursday, June 30 at 5:00 pm.

Application open at http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/industry/jumpstart/

It has been three weeks since Brad Feld visited Upstate NY, and we are still processing all that we learned from him about his experience building Boulder’s entrepreneurial community.   Below are some of the notes we took.  Lots more links to blogs and media coverage of Brad’s trip here.

Understanding Boulder as an environment for entrepreneurship

• Important to recognize that Boulder and Denver are not the same.  Boulder is small; 25% of population are students.  Boulder has a high proportion of entrepreneurs who are independent, counter-cultural in their attitudes (LOHAS, other non-SW/Internet founders). Denver’s high-growth community lacked scale and focus; Boulder became nexus due to entrepreneurial concentration and efforts of CU law school.

• Like many smaller communities, Boulder needed to recruit people to the region. Boulder had no big IT companies to start with (in recent years, MS/Google etc have bought Boulder startups and now have a presence). Big engineering/ technology firms in Denver had very limited impact on Boulder entrepreneur community.

• VC presence was not a driver for growth of entrepreneurship. Boulder-based VC firms have gone from three down to one, even as VC investment in Boulder companies increases. VCs from outside the region are comfortable investing because they have confidence in the community being able to support high-growth entrepreneurs.

Organizing for entrepreneurial community building:

• Entrepreneurial communities need to be led by committed entrepreneurs who are able to provide sustained capital and personal commitment to the growth of the entrepreneurial community

• Entrepreneurial community leaders need to focus on high-growth entrepreneurship and keep a “20-years-from-today” time horizon so that push continues through economic/political ups and downs

• The community needs engagement and leadership from local entrepreneurs who share a long-term view because they want to stay in the community and want their children to do so as well. Engagement needs to be across the full spectrum from first-timers to serial entrepreneurs and including the highly successful as well as those rebounding from failed efforts.

• Engaged entrepreneurs can contribute as mentors and/or angel investors. There should be no judgments about level of engagement or investment. Don’t worry about those who choose not to engage.

• Use the engaged entrepreneurs wisely. Give them opportunities to connect with new entrepreneurs; manage the load you place on their shoulders (24x7x365 demands can create burnout as can having to mentor more than 1-2 startups at a time)

• Having lots of local VCs is not as critical as having lots of local mentors and angels who can help make startups “VC-ready”. Larger amounts of capital will find a way to high-value companies.

• Make sure that the local entrepreneur pool is constantly refreshed by new blood from the outside. Welcome new entrepreneurs to your community. Introduce them to others, share what you like about the region and all it has to offer.

Advice for Upstate NY communities:

• Try to identify and nurture entrepreneurs within the vast numbers of college students in the region.

• The way to gain critical mass locally is to connect people across the region as well as linking up with alumni and expatriates.

Syracuse based Salt City Technical is interested in working with inventors and entrepreneurs who have product ideas. Company founder Gino Duca recently announced a free consultation program for 2011.  Every Wednesday throughout 2011, Salt City Technical will offer free consultation to any entrepreneurs or inventors who would like to have their product ideas
evaluated by our staff of trained engineers. Any inventors who retain the services of Salt City Technical to assist them with their design efforts, modeling and prototype development will receive a 10% discount off their first invoice.

Are you a student entrepreneur with a business startup that you’d like to grow to the next level this summer?  If so, Summer@Highland may be just what you need.

In its fourth year, Summer@Highland is an entrepreneurship program designed to provide university-affiliated startups and first-time entrepreneurs with the environment and resources for advancing their startup initiative/company to the next level. Highland receives no equity stake in exchange for participating in the core program and teams are under no obligation to Highland after the summer.

Selected teams will receive a financial stipend and complimentary work space in either our Highland Entrepreneur Center in Lexington, Massachusetts or California (planning for location in SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco). The teams will have access to Highland investment professionals, mentors from our founder & CEO community along with further resources for injecting real-world advice, insight and perspectives into the entrepreneurial and company-building process.

What Highland is looking for in 2011

We are especially interested in having you spend the summer with us if:

- You have a leadership team with vision, passion, and drive

- Your initiative is built around a breakthrough idea that is scalable

- You’re pursuing a large addressable market opportunity with a product/service that has the potential to be highly-disruptive in its area

- Your business initiative is already showing momentum and (ideally) some demonstrable market traction (i.e., you’re well beyond concept)

- You’re operating in the technology sector – SaaS, internet/digital media, infrastructure, energy efficiency, robotics, advanced materials & semiconductors

- You can direct us to some advisors or business leaders who see your potential as you do

Particulars of Summer@Highland 2011

1. The program is open to teams with co-founders that are current undergraduate or graduate students, post graduate docs, as well as recent grads (must not have graduated earlier than December 2010). At least one participating member of the team must meet this criterion.

2. Teams need to consist of at least two co-founders and preferably aren’t larger than four members.

3. Each selected team will receive a $15,000 stipend.

4. Participating teams are required to work full time for a minimum 10 weeks in the program over the summer.  Ideally, teams should plan to arrive at their assigned Highland location on June 6^th (there is some flexibility here) and depart no later than August 30, 2011.

5. As the 2011 program will be hosted at Highland locations in the United States, to be considered all applying team members must be citizens of the United States or have all appropriate paperwork in place (independently of Highland) to participate in the program in the United States during the summer

6. While participating in the program, teams will need to reside in either the Highland Entrepreneur Center in our Lexington, MA office, or at our designated California location (currently being planned for the SoMa neighborhood in San Francisco).

7. Each participating team will have a Highland sponsor who will be the team’s gateway to advice and counsel from Highland’s investors and industry network.

8. Participating teams in the core Summer@Highland program are under no obligation to Highland after the summer.

How to apply

1. Please complete the brief online application (available at www.hcp.com/summer)

2. Attach to your application (1) resumes/bios for each team member, and (2) up to two referrals/letters of recommendation (highly recommended). The latter may be from faculty & administration, board or advisory group members, business leaders in the industry/market you’re operating in, customers & partners, or others affiliated with close knowledge of your initiative and/or team members.

3. You may also consider optionally including an introductory company presentation and/or up to three online links (videos, screenshots, etc.) that can help to further express the essence of what you’re doing.

4. The deadline to submit all materials associated with an application is end of day Thursday, April 7, 2011.

5. Selected projects will be notified by April 29, 2011.

Please direct any questions regarding the program to summer@hcp.com.

One of the surest signs of spring in Upstate NY is the invitation for entrepreneurs and investors to get together for the annual Peak Pitch event hosted by High Peaks Venture Partners.  This year’s event is scheduled for March 17-18 at Hunter Mountain with an investor-only dinner on March 17 and skiing/venture pitches set for March 18.

From the invite email…”the format is a mashup of a day of spring skiing with the elevator pitch / traditional venture business plan competition, where investors – wearing green ski bibs – pair off in the lift line with an entrepreneur – wearing a blue bib – and then the entrepreneur has the length of the chairlift to make their pitch before skiing to the bottom and doing it again. It’s been a lot of fun each year – great networking for the investors at the dinners the night before, and a handful of successful funding connections made. We have already had a successful exit from a company we met at the first Peak Pitch back in 2007. It’s been amazing to see the commitment of some of the entrepreneurs, too – a handful of them in the past had never skied before but then took a day of lessons in advance just so they could come out and meet the VCs.”

The event is free to all participants.  For reservations, contact Christy Douglas or Rahul Gandhi at (518) 720-3090.

The Syracuse Student Accelerator is a unique collaboration between The Tech Garden, the region’s business community, and six area colleges (Syracuse University, Le Moyne College, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Onondaga Community College, Cayuga Community College, and SUNY Morrisville).  The Accelerator has one aim:  identify entrepreneurial individuals within the 50,000 students who attend these institutions and provide them with the opportunity to pursue their ventures in Syracuse with intensive mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs and local professional service providers.  What began as a semester-long experiment with 10 student entrepreneurs in the Fall of 2008 has quickly grown into two linked courses drawing 100 students each (What’s the Big Idea? and Idea to Startup) and a summer seed accelerator program called the Syracuse Student Sandbox which last year attracted more than 50 applicant teams.

This week’s announcement that Syracuse University has received $1.7 million to create a fund for Sandbox teams is yet another indication that SU alumni are strongly supportive of such efforts and willing to put their money behind it.  The benefits to both the university and the surrounding community are also becoming apparent.  Student companies like Brand-Yourself and Enormo.us are beginning to breathe new life into downtown by launching fast-growing meetup groups and organizing events like the upcoming Emerging Talk conference.  Alumni are more excited about engaging with them, and proudly telling others that if you get a degree from Syracuse, you won’t need a job because you will be in a position to create jobs.

The Accelerator serves just 10% of all the college students in Upstate NY.  There seems to be plenty of room for similar collaborations across our region and the results could be truly transformational.

Brad Feld, serial entrepreneur and nationally prominent early stage VC investor, will be the keynote speaker at The Upstate Venture Association of New York Ithaca Capital Forum.  The event will be held Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at the Country Club of Ithaca.

Brad Feld is widely credited with leading the transformation of Boulder, Colorado into one of the fastest growing tech entrepreneurial hubs in the country. In addition to founding Feld Technologies, Intensity Ventures, Mobius Ventures and his current firm Foundry Group, Mr. Feld has co-founded the highly acclaimed TechStars seed accelerator program now offered in Boulder, Cambridge, Seattle, and NYC.  He is the author of tech startup blogs at www.feld.com and www.askaVC.com.  He is co-author of the recently published Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup, a collection of advice that comes from individuals who have passed through, or are part of, this proven program.

The Upstate Venture Association of NY Ithaca Capital Forum at the Country Club of Ithaca will begin with registration and a networking reception at 5:30pm.  The program begins at 6:30pm, during which Mr. Feld will present the Keynote Address on building entrepreneurial communities.  Following the address there will be a Q&A with Mr. Feld, and a networking cash bar.

The event offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to personally network with Mr. Feld, Upstate and NYC capital providers; legal and accounting firms; and others interested in venture and private equity transactions.  The Ithaca Capital Forum is a part of the Brad Feld Upstate Tour February 2^nd and 3^rd, with events in Ithaca, Syracuse, and Rochester.  For tour information see http://uvc.org/brad-feld-visit.