When the WMed Innovation Center first began, way back in 2000, the first organization to provide assistance was the Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC). As the Innovation Center team focused on getting the physical building up and running, the SBDC supported the first entrepreneurs by helping them develop business plans and financial models. They also helped entrepreneurs write grants and prepare for funding meetings with investors. As the years have gone by, the Innovation Center staff took on more of the one-on-one business consulting, but the SBDC continues to be a strong partner in a number of ways.
Sandra Cochrane, Assistant Dean of the Innovation Center, says, “Both the Innovation Center and the SBDC have small staffs, so it makes sense for us to collaborate, leveraging our capabilities to help each other. Together we can serve more entrepreneurs than we can alone.”
The SBDC manages the Emerging Technologies Fund (ETF), a matching fund for federal Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Research (SBIR/STTR) grants. Funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the ETF program provides commercialization dollars to companies that are awarded federal research grants. In addition, the SBDC has a Technology Team whose members can assist companies in writing SBIR/STTR grants. Several companies at the Innovation Center have received grant development assistance and ETF support over the years.
Another SBDC-managed program that is funded by the MEDC is the Business Accelerator Fund (BAF). The BAF is available to participating business accelerators in Michigan’s statewide SmartZone network, of which the Innovation Center is a member. These BAF funds are used by the Innovation Center for the delivery of specialized services to assist advanced technology companies. The Innovation Center uses BAF dollars to engage third party specialists to help advance clients’ paths to commercialization, company success, and economic impact for the state of Michigan.
Some of the most accessible programs the SBDC provides are training and education. The deep relationship between the Innovation Center and the SBDC is frequently on display with the large number of meetings the SBDC offers inside the Innovation Center. From Fiscal Fitness to SBA Roundtables, from marketing workshops to business start-up seminars, the SBDC’s knowledgeable consultants are right at home at the Innovation Center. And the Innovation Center makes meeting rooms available to SBDC consultants who need a place to meet with clients. All entrepreneurs are welcome at the Innovation Center.
Tamara Davis, Regional Director for the Southwest Michigan SBDC says, “The partnership the SBDC has with the WMed Innovation Center is one of the most valuable --- and longest lasting ones we have. It is our goal to continue to provide complementary services to the Center’s clients along with connecting our communities’ entrepreneurs to the Center.”
By working closely with the SBDC, the Innovation Center is able to help companies access valuable, free support. It’s a win-win for both organizations. The SBDC is able to access a large meeting space for its events that includes free parking, as well as smaller conference rooms for one-on-one sessions. The Innovation Center is able to bring new entrepreneurs into the building to see that is available, and to provide on-site programs convenient to existing clients. Perhaps it’s such a great partnership because, at the bottom of it all, both the SBDC and the Innovation Center are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs. With a common mission uniting them, it is no wonder that the two organizations work so well together.