Written by Mark on April 5th, 2012
Awesense Wireless, Mavi Innovations, Nanocritical, Nova Bio-Rubber Green Technologies, Shailah Interactive, SterileCare, viDA Therapeutics and Views IQ are up and running.
Posted in President's Blog | No Responses »
Written by Mark on May 30th, 2011
All eight companies in The Generator have provided Q1 reports and it is looking great! Most are hiring more people and meeting the expectations set out in their business plans. Discovery’s challenge will be finding them space for their expansion!
Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Written by Mark on December 21st, 2010
Find out who won the inaugural competition for free space in Discovery Parks Vancouver’s Generator Competition
Posted in President's Blog | No Responses »
Written by Mark on October 27th, 2010
Discovery Parks has launched the competition for free office and cubicle space in Discovery Parks Vancouver. Go to www.generatorchallenge.com for details and submission requirements. Or phone me, Mark Betteridge, at 604-861-4623. Good luck
Posted in President's Blog | No Responses »
Written by admin on June 17th, 2010
A big congratulations is in order for Discovery Parks tenant SOLEGEAR Bioplastics Inc.
After four years in the R&D phase, SOLEGEAR Bioplastics is ready to market its clean tech plastic.
The product, named POLYSOLE®, is a 100% natural bioplastic made for use in the automotive, electronics, pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries. The clean twist: this corn-based, plastic innovation is non-toxic and is biodegradable once disposed.
The company, located in the Gerald McGavin Building, owned and operated by Discovery Parks at UBC, plans to raise $3 million to fund its sales and marketing efforts.
Find out more about SOLEGEAR Bioplastics at http://www.solegear.ca/.
Posted in Commercialization, Start-Up, Tenant News | No Responses »
Tags: automotive, bioplastic, Cleantech, Commercialization, consumer goods, electronics, Innovation, pharmaceutical, plastic, R&D, Startup, UBC, Vancouver
Written by admin on May 26th, 2010
Research parks and commercialization centres provide a real alternative for start-ups with high growth potential. They have benefits and drawbacks, and depending on your needs, they may or may not be the answer for your start-up.
Pros:
- Graduated rent payments
- Fully-equipped workstations (telephones, internet and furniture)
- Wet labs
- Dry labs
- Shared meeting rooms
- Cold rooms
- Darkrooms
- Autoclaves
- No equity surrendering
- No strings attached
Cons:
- No accounting services
- No access to legal counselling
- No special access to industry mentors
- No access to a line-of-credit
Again the itemized drawbacks pale in comparison to the benefits – or do they? If your organization is housed in a research park, how have you gained access to services provided by the accelerators?
The answer is complex and very personal. However, both options offer welcoming environments that want to see technology innovators succeed in the knowledge-based economy.
What solutions has your start-up found to this housing question? Where did you decide to grow your business: an accelerator, a traditional research park or neither?
Posted in Research Parks, Start-Up | No Responses »
Tags: Accelerators, business incubators, equity, Research Parks, Startups
Written by admin on May 19th, 2010
Technology start-up companies lack almost everything but an idea. Money is short, office and lab space is a luxury, and accounting is an activity thought about at tax time. But for entrepreneurs willing to offer up a slice of their company equity, there is a trade-off available.
Within research parks, there exists a breed of investors who focus on science and technology start-up companies. Akin to angel investors, these are small-scale venture capitalists whose short-term programs have pros and cons.
Pros:
- Free rent
- Free accounting
- Free access to legal counselling
- Free access to industry mentors
- Access to a line-of-credit
Cons:
- Up to a 50% equity stake in the start-up company
The itemized pros outnumber the cons – or do they? Is your start-up housed in one of these accelerators? Why were you and your partners willing to trade an interest in your company? Was it rent, mentoring services or something else?
I’m interested in how you made that decision and what your experience has been. Leave a comment or send me an email at info@discoveryparks.com
Posted in Start-Up | No Responses »
Written by admin on May 7th, 2010
Posted in Commercialization, Research Parks, Start-Up, Video Post | No Responses »
Tags: British Columbia, clean tech, Commercialization, Discovery Parks, Life Sciences, Mark Betteridge, New Media, Research Parks, Small Startups, software, Vancouver
Written by admin on April 15th, 2010
Research parks are an important bridge between innovators tucked away in university labs and entrepreneurs looking to commercialize radical, new ideas. Research parks create opportunities for tech innovations to be commercialized and make a real impact on the world by providing affordable, collaborative workspaces to technology sector start-ups.
But research parks can’t do it all. In many instances, there is still the need to teach innovators how to move their ideas from conception to commercialization.
To help close the gap between educational institutions and BC’s technology sector, Discovery Foundation’s recently launched Technology Education Program helps educators prepare students and entrepreneurs for the new marketplace reality.
Discovery Foundation has engaged industry and commercialization leaders BCTIA, Wavefront, ACETECH, SFU Time Centre, and BCIT for the Discovery Foundation Technology Education Program. Programs such as ACETECH’s Discovery Foundation Market Entry Program for technology entrepreneurs and the Vancouver Greentech Exchange’s The French GreenTech Connexion help connect students and entrepreneurs with the skills needed for commercialization.
Programs like these help innovators move their inventions from the bench to the marketplace with input from research experts and major players in the technology industry. It’s a dynamic partnership that will help diversify BC’s economy to include knowledge capital.
Posted in Commercialization, Research Parks | No Responses »
Tags: ACETECH, BCIT, BCTIA, Discovery Foundation, Research Parks, SFU Time Centre, Wavefront, Xcelerate Program
Written by admin on April 6th, 2010
Research parks work because within each parks’ proverbial walls there are many early-stage companies vying for commercialization.
Traditional thinking would dictate that this type of proximity would lead to competition—which is healthy—but in reality, it fosters innovation.
Why? Simply put: collaboration.
Small start-ups looking to commercialize are better off being surrounded by organizations in a similar position. Learning from each other’s successes and failures, tweaking strategies and sharing great ideas, these companies help push each other to marketplace success. But finding the money to move from a garage to an established science and tech hub can be quite the hurdle.
Discovery Parks knows smaller start-ups need a home—somewhere they can afford, somewhere they can grow, somewhere they can collaborate.
That’s why we opened the Commercialization Centre.
Smaller, early-stage companies shouldn’t have to break the bank to afford office and lab space. In fact, in the Commercialization Centre, they can develop their ideas in an environment surrounded by organizations that understand how difficult those early years can be.
Posted in Commercialization, Research Parks | No Responses »
Tags: Collaboration, Commercialization, Discovery Parks, Innovation, Research Parks, Vancouver
