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Congratulations to CleanTech Bioplastics Company, SOLEGEAR

Thursday, 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

Research Parks: An alternative to giving up equity

Wednesday, 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

Start-up Accelerators: Is it worth it for start-ups to surrender equity?

Wednesday, 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 »

A Tour of Discovery Parks Vancouver’s Commercialization Centre

Friday, 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

Embrace Failure

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

This is one big reason why we don’t do as well as our friends in the US.

They will bet the farm on a good technology, a clear marketing focus and great people so that if they win, they win big. And they lose big too. They accept ‘creative destruction’ and move on.

We tend to settle for lower goals, lower risks, lower returns and faster exits. With some glorious exceptions, we don’t have big technology firms because we are punished for failing rather than supported for trying.

Who has not learned enormous lessons from big failures? Perhaps we need a very public forum for those who rolled the dice and lost to tell us how they blew it and what they are doing next? I am sure our culture might even find government grants to support this in the name of free speech? Facebook for Failures? Twitter for Turkeys?

Posted in Commercialization, Start-Up | No Responses »
Tags: Innovation, Research Parks, Science & Technology, Startups, technology

Politics – the Achilles heel of the tech industry in BC

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Many of the big decisions that affect this industry, and most others, are made by government.

Government is supposedly run by the elected politicians (with all due deference to the professional civil service). So, why is that so many tech companies just ignore the political process or hope that they can leave it all to their lobby groups such as BCTIA, LSBC, WINBC etc. I know that there are a handful of hardworking, smart and generous tech executives who do most of the work trying to convince government to see that this industry offers us our best future.

Why do so many tech companies opt out of the political process? Look at it as part of your marketing budget with a very specific target market!

Posted in Government, Research Parks, Start-Up | No Responses »
Tags: British Columbia, Government, Research Parks, Science & Technology, Startups, Vancouver