Profiles

Over the coming weeks, RIAN will be publishing a series of profiles looking at selected venture development organizations around the country that exemplify how different approaches tailored specifically to their regional assets and entrepreneurial needs are all yielding the same results: impressive figures for job creation and successful innovation-based startup companies in their regional economies.

Each profile will provide quick information on

  • Why the VDO was established – the specific problems the VDO was created to address and regional strengths to exploit
  • The programs and approaches the VDO is using to create opportunities for greater success for innovation startup and small businesses
  • The results of their efforts – how each VDO is moving the needle for their region and for the field of innovation support
  • Lessons learned by the VDO along the way, and
  • Insights and advice from the CEOs and RIAN staff to help improve other new and existing VDOs around the country.

The first profiles will provide detailed glimpses into ten very different VDOs: some statewide, some with much tighter service areas; some focused on smaller communities, some in large metropolitan areas; some with large budgets, some with fewer resources; some making direct investments, some wouldn’t touch direct investments if the cash were handed to them.

Here’s a list of the profiles in process (in alphabetical order) and their website links for a first glance at some of the leaders in VDO practice:

VDO Region Profile Website
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania View Profile Visit Website
CONNECT San Diego and southern California Visit Website
i2E Oklahoma (statewide) View Profile Visit Website
Innovation Works Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania View Profile Visit Website
North Dakota Center for Innovation North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota View Profile Visit Website
TechColumbus Columbus and central Ohio View Profile Visit Website
Technology 2020 Tennessee Valley Corridor (touching parts of four states) View Profile Visit Website