Mtech Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2002

Incubator Companies Get Expert Business Assistance from MBA Students in New Internship Program at Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—Companies in the University of Maryland's technology incubator program are receiving reduced-cost, expert business help this summer in areas such as market research, evaluation modeling, and business plan writing through a new MBA internship program at the University.

The new ten-week initiative, a collaborative effort between Maryland's Technology Advancement Program (TAP) and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, gives start-up companies MBA student support for $8,000—half the cost of what most companies would pay. All of the MBAs are students at the university's Robert H. Smith School of Business.

But what really may help the companies participating in the program is the ability to gain the expert assistance they need—right when they really need it—during the sometimes difficult start-up phase.

"We are an early-stage company and we don't have the luxury of bringing in high-priced talent," said Lance Hoboy, executive vice president of Lifetime Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage drug company focused on immune system drugs for cancer and other infections. "For us to be able to bring in MBA students without this program—it just wouldn't be very likely right now."

Brett Rogers, the student joining Lifetime, will help the company create an evaluation model for its upcoming Series A funding push, as well as in making revisions to its overall business plan. Rogers will even aid the company in assembling a clinical development program for a product due to be released within the next 15 months.

The students joining these start-up companies are specialized, and are helping the firms fill very specific needs. MBA student Nick Barber, for example, who joined Chesapeake PERL, a recombinant protein manufacturing company, has a bachelor's degree in biology. In accord, he will help PERL conduct biotech-related market research this summer.

"There are so many protein production companies out there right now," said Jeff Turner, marketing manager for PERL. "We need to determine the highest payoff we can acquire in the most cost-effective manner, and Nick will help us as we research markets for product and service development, and look at who we should be targeting as customers."

Two other TAP companies, Biosurface Engineering Technologies Inc. (BioSET) and Advanced Thermal and Environmental Concepts Inc. (ATEC) plan to participate in the program. They are both currently in the process of acquiring MBA students.

"TAP continually seeks out valuable resources for its companies," said Ed Sybert, director of the program. "This gives us an opportunity to bring in bright MBA students to help our companies address specific needs in a timely way."

The start-up companies aren't the only winners in this program either. The MBA students will also gain valuable experience with start-up ventures—experience that otherwise might be hard to acquire.
"We need to get students working in entrepreneurial environments," said Brian Bartholomay, manager of special events for the Dingman Center, "so they can see how a company actually runs. They need to get a feel for the nuts and bolts of launching an enterprise."

The program is jointly funded by the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), which contributed $15,000 to the program, and the Kauffman Entrepreneur Internship Program, which contributed $10,000. Companies pay half of a student's salary during the program.

The Technology Advancement Program, part of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH) at the University of Maryland, has the longest successful track record of any incubator in Maryland, with more than 80 percent of its companies still in business five years after graduating. Its companies have received more than $314 million in investment funds, and have created over 700 full-time jobs in the State of Maryland. TAP offers space and support services for early-stage companies engaged in developing technology-based products or services with commercial potential.

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is dedicated to facilitating, supporting, and encouraging new enterprise growth. One of the oldest original entrepreneur centers in the country, the Dingman Center at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, has established itself as a national catalyst for entrepreneurship at the dawn of the twenty-first century.

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