Ben Franklin Technology Partners: “A Trailblazing Stroke of Public Policy”
A guest editorial by Don Smith, Vice President of Economic Development, MPC Corp.
Despite gloomy pundits, Pennsylvania remains a promising economy with many technology visionaries poised to bring about tremendous change. According to the Association of University Technology Managers, Pennsylvania ranks fourth in the nation in the number of startup companies and experienced a 135 percent increase in the number of startups from 2001 to 2006 compared to 23 percent for the nation as a whole. Technology-based firms are leading the charge, thanks in no small part to the Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP).
In order for the Commonwealth’s economy to continue to move forward, we must stay committed to supporting and nurturing our technology infrastructure and the entrepreneurial energy in Pennsylvania. In trying economic times, it is tempting but ill-advised to go for the quick fix. Lasting economic transformations like those taking place in San Diego and North Carolina’s Research Triangle are 20- to 40-year processes. A foundation must be built and has to mature before eye-popping numbers are seen.
25 Years of Growing the Economy
In 2008, we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of BFTP, one of the country’s leading organizations dedicated to building these foundations and fueling the technology economy. The formation of BFTP a quarter-century ago was a trailblazing stroke of public policy-the first effort to shift the state economy from heavy industrial to technology. Gov. Thornburgh’s foresight and bold decision to set Pennsylvania on this path 25 years ago has led us directly to the benefits we’re seeing today.
As director of economic development for the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon, I focus on helping the universities and the business community to translate research into commercially viable companies. Today, we are tracking 300+ technology companies whose origins are in these two universities-many of which have launched in just the past 10 years.
Transforming Ideas into Commercial Successes
Such a rate of formation holds great promise for future growth, but universities can’t go it alone. That’s where BFTP is such an important partner. BFTP works with universities to help transform great ideas into thriving companies by providing seed funding, linking companies to external sources of capital, delivering critical business expertise, managing and supporting incubators, seeking out and supporting translational research and partnering with other economic development organizations.
BFTP alumni companies like Automated Healthcare and Vocollect have gone on to create tremendous wealth and hundreds of high-paying jobs. Innovative companies like Aethon, SeeGrid and RedZone-all beneficiaries of BFTP funding and business assistance-are at the core of a growing cluster of robotics companies in the southwestern region of the state.
In northeastern PA, BFTP partners with Lehigh University’s Center for Optical Technologies to grow the optics cluster being fueled by alumni of Agere Systems and Lucent Technologies. In the greater Philadelphia region, BFTP partners with Penn and Drexel to stoke the fires of the burgeoning nanotechnology cluster through its innovative Nanotechnology Institute. In the central part of the state, BFTP is helping grow the Innovation Transfer Network-a program that supports a dozen smaller colleges that are full of great ideas but short on IP and tech-transfer expertise.
Bridging the Funding Gap
Ideas are great, but it’s capital and experience that move new technologies to market. Emerging companies don’t just go from zero to venture capital. There’s a wide middle ground-and that’s another critical role that BFTP plays. They provide critical early-stage investment and business expertise and make the companies more attractive to venture capitalists so they can become larger employers and valuable contributors in the Commonwealth. The numbers bear out: Over the past three years, BFTP-assisted companies have raised more than $1.1 billion in funding.
At Pitt and Carnegie Mellon alone, we’ll conduct nearly a billion dollars in funded research this year. But we need BFTP and other tech-based economic development agencies to draw those technologies out so they get commercialized here in the Commonwealth-so the brains behind those technologies commit to launch and grow companies here.
Building a Foundation for the Future
Not all of these startups will succeed, but some will really take off. And most will provide great feed stock for future companies who will then turn to tremendous resources like BFTP to help them down the path of success. The partnership between BFTP and the Commonwealth’s research universities has been and will continue to be a dynamic force for PA’s future. The ever-changing market conditions and landscape for research funding warrant a concerted effort to recognize the vitality of that partnership and deepen and renew it in the years ahead.
Happy Anniversary, BFTP, and thank you for continuing to adapt and evolve to be so amazingly relevant for 25 years.
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