Page 24 - Technology and Innovation Journal - 19-1

362 BYRD ET AL.

through surveys or openly soliciting feedback and out of the accelerator. Universities and other local
endorsements can supplement quantitative metrics. institutions have ample resources to help teams get

3) Project funding is often largely a carrot, funding, meet mentors and industry experts, apply
to incubators, and more. However, these resources
while the real value lies in the education and other
resources provided. are often in silos that can be challenging to navigate.
Accelerator programs can work to bring together
While funding is an incentive for teams to apply, previously unconnected resources and foster collabo-
programs do not necessarily need to offer financial ration within and outside of the university. Engaging
awards in order to deliver value. Providing fund- internal resources first and then combining them with
ing for technology de-risking is, of course, ideal. external resources makes the cooperating programs
However, for programs that do not have a budget collectively stronger and can yield more satisfied par-
for awards, it is still possible to remove a number of ticipants. Collaborating rather than duplicating or
commercialization barriers through low-cost edu-
cation programs, the creation of mentor networks, competing also reduces the administrative burden,
and connections to existing local resources. Instead freeing up valuable time and funding to build even
of funds, a program could highlight the opportunity more beneficial relationships.
to have an increased chance of receiving funds from 5) Challenges always emerge. Look to other pro-
other programs, such as SBIR/STTR, since teams will grams to exchange solutions and discuss how to
better understand their markets and initial target collectively be more effective.
customers. Thus, even without funding, programs The Columbia programs have not solved all of their
could still generate many of the benefits, such as challenges, but they have looked to each other as well
support for entrepreneurship, press for the university, as to other models for ideas and feedback. To make
increased collaboration internally and externally, information sharing easier and to facilitate conver-
and more. Applicant numbers may be low to start,
but as faculty come through the program, they will sations around common problems and solutions, we
hopefully see the benefits and spread the word to would like to create a network of similar programs
their colleagues. that can share materials, experiences, lessons learned,
and best practices in order to create a broad ecosys-
4) A supportive ecosystem for start-ups is tem capable of better supporting and catalyzing the
equally important as launching the start-ups. movement of university technologies from the lab
Start-ups do not develop in a vacuum. In addition to the market for the benefit of society. We invite
to funding and education, they need connections you to continue the conversation by emailing us at
to others within the local and national start-up and techventures@columbia.edu with “Accelerators” in
industry ecosystems in order to smoothly transition the subject line.