USC Columbia Technology Incubator Growing Entrepreneurs

SC BIZ
By Ashley Byrd
Contributing Writer

Chairs. Tables. Desks. One by one, pieces of office furniture were being unloaded from a truck and taken inside a nondescript, government-issue building in downtown Columbia.

But, don?t let the standard outward appearance of this building fool you. This is the place ideas grow; ideas that are being nurtured and turned into businesses with the potential to have a great impact on South Carolina?s economic future.

This is the home of the University of South Carolina Columbia Technology Incubator.

?Today is a good day,? Executive Director Joel Stevenson said, as the building?s lobby bustled with workers unloading three truckloads of office furniture donated by Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.

This type of activity happens all the time. Stevenson said 20 companies have formed a partnership with the incubator and respond with resources,  expertise ? or furniture ? whenever Stevenson asks.

Why the support? Mason Hogue, a partner in Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough?s corporate and securities practice group, said this program is an important component in bolstering the economy in the capital city, and ultimately in the state.

?Since Joel came here, we have supported this incubator, as well as others like it in our region. Columbia now has an infrastructure being built to grow higher income opportunities,? Hogue said.

The incubator recruits and develops startup companies in the hopes they will stay and grow in South Carolina. The companies are either the concepts of college students at USC or Midlands Technical College or existing or new companies that need an infusion of high-tech ideas and support.

The program was conceived 10 years ago under the leadership of then-USC President John Palms. He enlisted the help of people including Don Tomlin of Tomlin and Co. and Michael Reischman of the USC College of Engineering. They scoped out similar programs in the nation, including Georgia Tech?s Advanced Technology Development Center, a 225,000-square-foot facility in downtown Atlanta. The incubator?s first company, Kryotech, graduated in 1999.

The ?Columbia? in the name means the city of Columbia is a partner. It provides the 40,000-square-foot building that houses the program and its 29 fledgling companies. Today, the building is 60% occupied with startups and is the largest business/technology incubator in South Carolina. 

Thanks to the efforts of the incubator and its partners, South Carolina was named a top 10 ?Hot State for Entrepreneurs? by the National Policy Research Council in 2006.

?A serial entrepreneur?
Before leading the incubator and becoming part of the faculty of USC?s Moore School of Business, Stevenson tried his hand at starting his own businesses. After being a football star at Georgia Tech and being drafted into a short-lived career with the Cleveland Browns, Stevenson started companies that dealt with environmental waste removal, disposal, transportation and cleanup.

?I was a serial entrepreneur,? said Stevenson, a tall man with a deep, powerful voice and a contagious energy. ?All I did was start companies and sell them.?

Four companies, in fact. He sold two of his companies to private investors and one to a Fortune 500 company, and one became publicly traded.

When USC sought a director for its new incubator program, Stevenson proved to be an appropriate blend of hands-on entrepreneur with a mission to shepherd and teach others.

?The big problem I had when I was running my own businesses was loneliness,? he said. ?Here, you are not going be alone; you have access to experience and others who are trying to make it and those who have made it.?

Three types of incubator businesses
USC students who think they have a great business concept must have their ideas screened by the incubator?s Student Advisory Council. From there, applicants go to the Incubator Advisory Council. The current council of nine includes the likes of Starnell Bates, vice president of Midlands Technical College; Henri Etta Baskins, regional director of AT&T; Thomas E. Persons Sr., president and CEO of the S.C. Technology Alliance; and Joel Smith, dean of the Moore School of Business.

Student companies that are accepted ?live? at the incubator for two years and are provided with office space at $10 per square foot, free computers, phone lines, Internet and parking, as well as $1,000 in startup money. Perhaps the most important perk is having full access to the staff and facilities of USC and Midlands Technical College, including the credibility that the university carries in the community.

?I make requests for high-level introductions for our companies all the time,? Stevenson said. ?In 10 years, I have never been turned down.?

The same amenities are offered to the next two levels of incubator participants: standard and landing party. Anyone can apply to be a standard startup. Landing party companies are existing businesses or corporations that need to ?get their bearings? with the help of academic research. Either way, the companies must be technology-oriented and need the resources and brainpower of the university or the technical college.

Jill Diebert runs a landing party company, Spectrum Medical, a retail offshoot of a European medical device company. She said the incubator helped steer her Columbia-based business in the right direction: ?From business license to health benefits, we have the feel of a big business now, even though we are a small one.?

Standard and landing party companies must pass muster with the Incubator Advisory Council and can participate in the program for three years. They are subject to reviews by the panel every six months and, if they don?t progress, they are asked to leave.

The only fees standard and landing party companies pay are for additional parking spaces, more than one phone line or the cost of long-distance calls.

All incubator members must visit with staff members at least once a month, but Stevenson said that has never been a problem. Stevenson and Agata Chydzinski, the program logistician, are also available to assist.

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