Preconference Institute

Add some focused, subject-specific study to the information available at Conference 2004 by registering for a Preconference Institute workshop. Explore important incubation topics at one or more of our seven workshops. This year we are pleased to offer five full-day and two half-day workshops to fit your needs.

Technology Commercialization: Turning Innovations into Enterprises
Saturday, April 24
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Learn about an effective technology commercialization model that can help you ask critical questions of entrepreneurs, reveal entrepreneurs’ strengths and weaknesses, evaluate an innovation’s commercialization potential, estimate costs involved in launching and sustaining a venture, and identify key milestones for start-up companies. Through this workshop you will gain critical skills to help your clients take a strategic approach to turning innovations into enterprises.
Randy Goldsmith, President and CEO, San Antonio Technology Accelerator
Sarah Seagraves, Project Administrator, Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center
Tom Walker, Executive Vice President and COO, Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center
Fee: $340 NBIA member/$395 nonmember

Critical Issues in Bioscience Incubation
Sunday, April 25
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Incubating bioscience companies has become quite a science of its own, with a unique set of rules and issues to manage. This workshop will delve into several of these critical issues, including tenant selection, advisory boards, regulatory and reimbursement issues, intellectual property, and much more. Come learn from top industry practitioners, and take your bioscience incubator to the next level.
Robert Calcaterra, CEO and President, Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise
David Lohr, Executive Director, Virginia Biosciences Development Center
Fee: $340 NBIA member/$395 nonmember

Developers' Prep Course
Sunday, April 25
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The acclaimed Developers’ Prep Course breaks down the complexities of developing a business incubator into steps that will help you create a self-sustaining program. Topics will include conducting a feasibility study and developing a business plan, locating and attracting prospective clients, achieving intended goals, and marketing an incubation program. Whether your program is in the conceptual stage or already knee-deep in development, you can’t afford to miss this workshop.
Jonathan Gorham, President, Gorham Associates
Fee: $340 NBIA member/$395 nonmember

Self Evaluation: A Tool for Incubator Success
Sunday, April 25
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Taking a step back to confirm that your business incubator is both functioning well and adapting to changing conditions is crucial to running a successful, enduring program. Without regular reflection, it's difficult to know whether important issues are slipping through the cracks. This highly interactive workshop will utilize parts of NBIA’s popular self-evaluation workbook to guide attendees through the process of evaluation, showing them why evaluation is important, how to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, and how to identify possible steps for improvement. All attendees will receive a copy of NBIA’s Self Evaluation Workbook for Business Incubators.
Jim Greenwood, President, Greenwood Consulting Group Inc.
Fee: $340 NBIA member/$395 nonmember

Driving Productive Outcomes in Technology Commercialization and Incubation
Sunday, April 25
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Many business development professionals are familiar with the technology commercialization process. But what are you doing to ensure that process flows smoothly from identifying promising intellectual property to selling products? Is it your role to ensure resources are in place to overcome predictable stumbling blocks, or do you arm entrepreneurs with information and let Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” laws rule? If you recognize the importance of being proactive, you’ve taken the first step. Now attend this workshop and discuss effective and innovative strategies that could drive your program toward its ultimate goal: successful companies built around new technology.
David Cattey, Executive Director, Business Technology Center
Brij Khorana, Chief Operating Officer, Rose-Hulman Ventures
Joel Wiggins, Director, Austin Technology Incubator
Fee: $340 NBIA member/$395 nonmember

Creating an Angel Network for Your Incubator
Sunday, April 25
8 a.m. - noon
Start-up ventures often need patient, high-risk seed capital to be successful. But angel investors, a primary source of seed funding, can be difficult to identify and organize. This half-day workshop will show you how to set up an effective angel network for your incubator clients. Learn from experts and practitioners about the philosophy of angel investing, and gain strategies for organizing and creating deal-flow for investors.
Randy Goldsmith, President and CEO, San Antonio Technology Accelerator
Carol Morrison, Manager, NeoTech Incubator
Sarah Seagraves, Project Administrator, Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center
Tom Walker, Executive Vice President and COO, Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center
Fee: $180 NBIA member/$205 nonmember

Power of Partnerships: Positioning Your Incubator as a Player
Sunday, April 25
1 – 5 p.m.
No man is an island – and neither is a successful incubation program. Strong programs tap into a range of public and private assets to ensure their entrepreneurs access to the resources they need and to secure community investment in the success of the incubator and its clients. Learn how to develop an entrepreneurial culture that optimizes your program’s impact by structuring effective relationships with diverse organizations, such as colleges and universities, local and regional development agencies, accountants, attorneys, bankers, angel investors, and more. Pull them all together, and everyone can be a winner.
Susan Matlock, President and CEO, Entrepreneurial Center
Fee: $180 NBIA member/$205 nonmember