Tuesday’s Northern Kentucky Chamber Eggs ‘N Issues event topic, “Incubators & Accelerators – A New Economy,” explained how a new generation of business leaders are encouraging growth and entrepreneurship in the region.
The NKY Chamber Eggs ‘N Issues panel discusses accelerators and incubators. From left, Rodney D’Souza of NKU, BioLOGIC interim executive director Dawn Denham, Amy Carrino of Gateway CTC and Casey Barach, a founder of UpTech (photos by Mark Hansel).
A group of four panelists helped identify what each does and how they are helping to provide opportunities for the region’s entrepreneurs.
Rodney D’Souza, director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Northern Kentucky University, explained what distinguishes a business incubator from an accelerator.
“An incubator is a way to get access to space and access to certain resources,” D’Souza said. “An accelerator, on the other hand, is a program that has a certain start date and end date. You get access to resources in terms of money, in terms of mentorship and in terms in terms of working with other people who are in similar businesses as you.”
Amy Carrino, dean of business, IT and professional studies at Gateway Community and Technical College, said advances in technology have changed how, and what, college students want to learn.
“The kids that are coming out of high school today are different, they want to be on the cutting edge,” Carrino said. “They have a hold of technology and they understand it. They want to be their own boss (and) they are very excited about being an entrepreneur.”
Casey Barach, a senior vice-president at Northern Kentucky Tri-ED and a founder of UpTech, the Covington-based business accelerator. He explained the difference between the UpTech Program and UpTech Fund, which is the company’s investment arm.
“The UpTech Program is a 501c3 that is funded by the community’s foundations (R.C. Durr, and others), and it takes a great community effort to do that,” Barach said. “On the fund side…it’s a fund like a mutual fund. I believe between the two funds we have about 50 investors, you might be sitting next to one right now, that have invested their money into the UpTech Fund. They also get a 40 percent tax credit, which also helps.”
In the first year the $3 million cap for the fund was gone in eight months. Next year, the goal is to raise the cap to $5 million.
Barach said when UpTech was formed investment capital was lacking in the region, but as that has changed, the region’s entrepreneurial spirit has begun to flourish.
“We went pretty much from zero, to 90 miles an hour in a few years,” Barach said. “Entrepreneurship is alive and well in the Commonwealth.”
Dawn Denham is interim executive director of bioLOGIC, a Covington-based accelerator and incubator focused on assistance for emerging life science companies. It is currently transitioning to a non-profit organization.
“The reason for the transition to non-profit, is so we can do these true collaborative grants and fundraising efforts and it not be an operating company,” Denham said.
The impact of entrepreneurs and start-up companies is not measured strictly by the number of jobs they create. A better gauge is the quality of the jobs that are created and the services they provide in the community. That said, the region’s incubators and accelerators have experienced a fair amount of success.
Northern Kentucky leaders prepare for the panel discussion on the region’s accelerators and incubators at the NKY Chamber Eggs ‘N Issues event at Receptions in Erlanger.
BioLOGIC has created about 50 jobs since 2009, the majority of which are scientists and PhDs in high-paying positions. The UpTech virtual incubator, commonly referred to as the Ezone, is responsible for 1,600 jobs in its 16 years history, with an average salary in excess $60,000. At last count, the 30 companies have graduated from the UpTech programs have created 137 jobs.
The Northern Kentucky Chamber Eggs ‘N Issues focuses on a different topic of interest to the local business community each month. The event generally takes place at the Receptions banquet center in Erlanger and begins with networking at 7:30 a.m. followed by a one-hour program.
For more information on Eggs “N Issues, or the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce (NKYChamber), click here .
