Entrepreneurship Program Holds First ‘Signature Event’The first annual “Signature Event” of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program (AEP) had an ambitious scope: Commercializing Technology Innovations in a Global Context. The context was “global” because Oregon students and businesses face worldwide challenges and fierce competition. Keeping that in mind, “commercializing technology innovations” must be coordinated on a national and statewide level to compete on a global scale.
Beavers + Ducks + Vikings
Speakers and panelists agreed that colleges must set aside their rivalries and collaborate to build a competitive workforce and commercialize research discoveries. Only by working together will Oregon emerge as a player on the global business stage, they agreed.
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Portland OSU Business Roundtable members visit with an AEP student. | “The rivalries between universities once inhibited our ability to accomplish things across the state,” observed Brent Bullock of Perkins Coie, a panel moderator. “But Oregon has truly changed.”
Public + Private
OSU President Ed Ray opened the inaugural event by championing three-way collaboration between university researchers, private investors and state government. He envisioned a future in which education, research, technology, private investors, government programs and business resources are lined up like dominoes, ready to fall forward – quickly and easily – for the benefit and enrichment of all involved.
“Applied research at our universities in partnership with business and government offers us the quickest path to developing new products and services to create jobs and promote economic growth in Oregon,” President Ray said. “Basic research is the key to the innovations, products and services that will improve lives and drive the economy through Oregon, the nation and the world.”
Oregon State Treasurer Randall Edwards, the keynote speaker, has been working since he took office in 2001 to promote collaboration between state universities and private companies.
“As state treasurer, I guess I know something about money,” Edwards quipped. “Government can’t do it all. The private sector has a role to play in commercializing university research. It is time for the state and businesses to join together.”
Edwards pointed to significant steps the state has taken in the past decade to promote commercialization of university and private research:
• Millions have been channeled from the Oregon Lottery into the Resource and Technology Development Fund.
• The Oregon Investment Fund has tapped the state’s pension fund to invest $80 million in start-up companies. Another $35 million is available.
• The Oregon Growth Account has about $55 million invested in university research and spin-off technologies.
• In 2001, law makers changed the state constitution to allow universities to have partial ownership – an “equity interest” – in companies spawned by university research. OSU Vice President of Research John Cassady announced that OSU is close to signing its first equity licensing agreement, which may pay for future research and programs.
• SB 853 was signed into law the last legislative session enabling universities to develop venture development funds for the purpose of facilitating the commercialization of university research and development.
Edwards encouraged his audience to read The World is Flat – a Brief History of the 21st Century by Thomas Friedman. The best-selling book spells out how the Internet and globalization make it imperative for the state and its universities to think globally while collaborating and acting locally.
Oregon + Planet
For Craig Sheward, Director of the OSU Office of Technology Transfer, Michelangelo’s fresco “Creation of Man,” in which God imparts life to man with a touch of an extended finger, serves as a fitting analogy to the creation of commercial technology from university research.
“Getting those fingers to touch is one of the hardest things in technology transfer.”
Despite the difficulties, Sheward pointed to OSU research that holds global promise: high-yield wheat, a hand-held device that can detect the avian flu virus in just minutes, and techniques that reveal the source country of fruit shipped internationally.
“My hope is for OSU innovation to benefit not just this university or state, but the entire planet,” Sheward said.
Student + Business Winners
For all the global visioning, the student entrepreneurs were the stars of the AEP’s first major event. During the program, three top teams presented their business recommendations, based on university intellectual property, with the “Superior Agrifuels” team taking the top award for most promising technology. Students Christopher Fenot, Michael Peterson and Andrew Stratton detailed a prototype refinery that can turn canola seed oil into bio-diesel fuel and high-purity glycerin. Taking second place was Oregon Software Solutions with team members Nathanael Edwards, Michael Laport and Jessica May. Third place went to Ben Hammond, Asher Simmons and Matthew Biller of Nanomatic for their business planning surrounding a “micro-channel” nanofactory. OSU Business Roundtable member John Mohler announced the results and awarded cash prizes to the winners.
“What we did here was take these student teams and show that we can move them forward and make them more ‘investor ready,” AEP Director Jon Down said. “This event moves us forward on the development of a more structured approach to the commercialization of technology on campus.”
In another session, students made business “elevator” pitches to seasoned business professionals. Dryer sheets with perfume, U.S. hostels, high end gaming memorabilia, a student recommendation website and the expansion of a sauce and spice business were all concepts students floated past their captive business contact. Panelist Brian Oliver, Aequitas Capital Management, advised students to get to the point with the product right away. Ryan Hildebrand, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said to let him know why he should care and what it is you need. Jim Williams, Encore Senior Living LLC, suggested to ask for advice and to never ask for money up front. Ken Austin advised that the best thing to do is to have something to show people…take a picture and have it with you at all times! Pat Hraba, Waterford Hotels and Inns, commented that you need to present yourself well--from eye contact, posture and handshake to how you dress. She said that showing confidence in yourself will make selling your ideas easier.
At the awards luncheon, freshman Steven Hodges, a resident of Weatherford Hall, was honored as Student Entrepreneur of the Year. The Business of the Year award went to Dylan Boye and Blake Heiss, for their company Epoch Media Group, which turned a donated large-format HP printer into a going concern. The Portland Business Roundtable provided prize money to the winners. Students also honored Ken and Joan Austin, entrepreneurs in dentistry equipment who helped launch the AEP, by giving them a student-signed portrait of Weatherford Hall. The Austin’s also were the first winners of the AEP Outstanding Service and Leadership Award.
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