TalTech July Luncheon - Resources for Entrepreneurs & Start-ups

Our program will cover three major resources for entrepreneurial efforts in the Capital region.

First, John Fraser and Adriane Tinsley of the FSU Office of Research will present an overview of the newly launched FSU Research Foundation Entrepreneurial Building and FSU Research Complex.  A major goal of the new program is to provide tech start-ups with much-needed laboratories and facilities which are unavailable elsewhere in the region, as well as a small-business incubator for local companies working with university-generated research.  The program already has three confirmed tenants which exemplify technology start-ups in the Pharmaceutical, Biotech, and High-Tech Fabrication industries.

Next, Ben Graybar, "Community Catalyst" and organizing member of the Tallahassee Business Resources project.  A Knight Creative Communities Institute (KCCI) funded project, Tallahassee Business Resources aims to organize and streamline business information exchange in the Tallahassee market. By collaborating with existing resources and generating original content when necessary, Tallahassee Business Resources will provide business owners with a forum for information exchange, guidance from fellow business owners and tips on how to deal with business challenges. In addition, Tallahassee Business Resources’ business mentor program is unique in the fact that it is a low cost program aimed at creating benefits for both the mentor and mentee. The program works by matching up new entrepreneurs with current successful business owners in the market. Tallahassee Business Resources’ main goal is to foster a entrepreneurial climate in the Tallahassee market by providing useful information that helps to mitigate the risk of starting a new business.

Also joining us will be EDC Chairman Kim Williams to discuss the EDC's Entrepreneurial Excellence Program, which will support high impact business incubation in the Tallahassee region. The program will utilize a $450,000 US Small Business Administration grant. The program will guide entrepreneurs through the most vulnerable stages of business development and will include an assessment course to categorize business needs followed by help from a team of researchers, technologists and business specialists to identify commercial markets and create solid business plans.