By Allan Maurer
ATLANTA – The Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech has merged with the university’s VentureLab and the Georgia SBIR program and is opening its membership to technology entrepreneurs in Georgia at all stages of development.
Stephen Fleming, the new vice provost at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, who calls the move “Rebooting ATDC,” tells TechJournal South the changes are designed to “Serve a much bigger audience effectively.”
ATDC, known in the past for its rigorous selection process, will now offer many more options to entrepreneurs at more stages of development. “The rigorous process used in the past had a purpose and value but the world is changing,” Fleming says.
The new membership process essentially involves “spelling your name correctly,” Fleming quips. But he points out that “Not everyone needs real estate in midtown or an hour a week consulting with startup catalysts. Some of these entrepreneurs have done it three times already.”
Getting actual 600 to 1200 square foot real estate at ATDC’s downtown Atlanta site will still be more selective, he notes. “It’s a fixed commodity and has to be rationed in some way,” says Fleming.
“But we’ll be splitting some of it off to attract earlier and smaller companies. They may only need a 25 square foot cubicle with a walk in door or an open cubicle with a locker, so we’ll make much smaller spaces available.”
The changes will also make ATDC services available more locally so that members in Duluth or other areas do not have to travel to midtown for mentoring or coaching.
Since 1999, the state-funded ATDC Seed Capital Fund has made equity investments in Georgia startup companies alongside angel investors and traditional venture firms. With this new merger, ATDC will also manage the Georgia Tech Edison Fund, an innovative investment fund established in 2007 which draws its resources from charitable donors who are interested in helping expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem surrounding Georgia Tech.
ATDC will continue to offer traditional “bricks-and-mortar” incubation space on entrepreneur-friendly terms, both in midtown Atlanta and Savannah. The center will be expanding its recent “SeedSpace” offering of small single-office leases in Technology Square for the earliest entrepreneurs and will provide a variety of co-working spaces to promote casual interaction among entrepreneurs.
Recognizing the sprawl of the Atlanta metro area, ATDC will offer programs outside the Perimeter where dense clusters of entrepreneurs can benefit from its services. ATDC will also take full advantage of social media to build connections with entrepreneurs across the entire state of Georgia.
“ATDC has always been a focal point for entrepreneurship in Georgia,” said Sig Mosley, president of Imlay Investments and member of ATDC’s board of advisors. “With these moves, ATDC now is aligned to support the specific needs of the new startup environment. The open door policy is a strong, positive shift and reinforces ATDC’s leadership role in the startup community not just within the Atlanta metro area, but throughout the entire state.”
Broader knowledge base
The merger of the three units will bring together a broader knowledge base to provide comprehensive services to Georgia’s technology entrepreneurs.
“By working at the very earliest stage with university spinouts — not just pre-revenue but pre-incorporation — we have learned a great deal about the coaching required by brand-new entrepreneurial teams that are still establishing their business model,” said Roberto Casas, previously assistant director of Georgia Tech’s VentureLab. “To date, we’ve focused on startups based on Georgia Tech intellectual property. By merging with ATDC, we’ll be able to offer similar services to any Georgia startup, whether connected to Georgia Tech or not.”
ATDC, the former Georgia Tech VentureLab, and the SBIR Assistance program are part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) at Georgia Tech, which helps Georgia enterprises improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. Stephen Fleming, the former head of Georgia Tech VentureLab, was recently promoted to vice provost of Georgia Tech overseeing all of EI2. He will serve as the initial director of the new ATDC.
“Despite the economic downturn, it’s still a great time to build a startup company in Georgia,” said Fleming. “The last four years have seen an explosion of groups and organizations supporting the early-stage entrepreneur. With this expansion, we’re rebooting the franchise of ATDC as the hub of technology entrepreneurship in Georgia. We hope to work with everyone, at any stage, along any path, to accelerate more technology startups and weave them into the economic fabric of Georgia.”
All employees of ATDC, Georgia Tech VentureLab, and the SBIR Assistance Program will be retained in the consolidation. The new ATDC organization will continue to assist Georgia Tech faculty members and other research staff in forming new companies, and will continue to provide assistance to any Georgia small business seeking SBIR funding.
Fleming says the ATDC has two open positions listed on its job board for life sciences people on its staff of 15.
Fleming blogged about the switch at www.academicvc.org and includes reasons for why the changes are being made now.
Online: www.atdc.org
© 2009, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.
