Center Breeds Outside-the-Box Thinking
Published Apr 15, 2007
HVCFI works closely with startup businesses to understand goals and service needs.
Although the Hudson Valley boasts an abundance of well-educated innovators and entrepreneurs, something was missing.
“There were no incubators, accelerators or business development facilities anywhere between Albany and Manhattan,” notes Les Neumann, managing director of the new Hudson Valley Center for Innovation, headquartered in Kingston.
Established in December 2005, HVCFI is a partnership between the Ulster County Development Corporation and the Hudson Valley Technology Development Center Inc. The facility currently houses six companies, with another six awaiting acceptance. Yet another group is applying for virtual affiliation – meaning they won’t physically be housed at HVCFI but will have access via teleconferencing, e-mail and other resources. Without a major research institution to launch such a facility, the driving forces behind HVCFI had to think outside the box when designing the ideal program.
“We had the unique opportunity to create something very special,” Neumann says, adding the decision was made to focus on information technology, information sciences and software, instead of the life sciences so many incubators nurture.
The mentor program, which utilizes the expertise of active rather than retired CEOs and high-level executives from around the country, is a prime example of the business-centric model at the core of HVCFI.
“They are the best of the best – that was our goal,” Neumann says of the incubator’s advisers, adding the facility has also established a world-class board of directors who visit monthly to work with the entrepreneurs lucky enough to be chosen for participation.
Neumann says that in a typical incubator, it takes about four to six years to spin out a company. With rigorous investigation on the front end, he says HCVFI can do better.
“We feel we can accelerate them in a much more condensed time frame – like maybe two or three years. For the companies we accept, we go overboard to help them become successful in an accelerated amount of time. There’s just nothing like this anywhere else.”
Story by Cindy Sanders
Current Weather Conditions In Albany, NY (12205)
Cloudy, and 29 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
