Frisco business incubator's first clean-energy start-up
SHERYL JEAN
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
DMN
InfiniRel Corp. is developing an early warning system - like a
car's check engine light - for solar and wind power converter
failures.
So why did the start-up just move into the North Texas
Enterprise Center for Medical Technology in Frisco?
It's part of the 7-year-old business incubator's goal to become
a one-stop shop for regional entrepreneurs. As part of the
makeover, it officially changed its name to NTEC.The public-private
partnership provides start-ups with affordable office and lab
space, management support and funding guidance. (It also has other
tenants.) It has helped nine companies get off the ground, employ
more than 100 people and raise about $40 million.
NTEC wanted to diversify, and clean energy seemed like a natural
choice given its growth potential and Texas' dominance in energy,
said NTEC executive director Larry Calton, a former banker and
accountant.
Clean technology crosses several industries, such as renewable
energy, information technology and manufacturing.
Other incubators nationwide are looking at clean tech because
it's a hot topic and there's keen interest from venture capitalists
and the federal government, said Corinne Colbert, a spokeswoman for
the National Business Incubation Association.
NTEC officials are also:
•Starting a program in which venture capital firms would commit
to reviewing potential North Texas deals. Dallas-based Sevin Rosen
Funds is the first to sign on.
•Pursuing about $2.5 million in grants to add more lab equipment
for clean tech companies, create a technology training center and
possibly start an education program for K-12 students to raise
awareness about clean technology and renewable energy.
•Looking at starting a seed fund of $5 million to $8 million
within three years.
"A lot of this is for a very real need in the marketplace,"
Calton said. "We have a dearth of funding."
Nationally, venture capital investments fell last year to the
lowest level since 1997, according to an annual report by
PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture
Capital Association. Clean technology and medical technology each
saw double-digit declines, but combined, they accounted for 25
percent of venture dollars.
The nation's more than 1,100 incubators are seeing more interest
from laid-off workers wanting to start businesses and from
politicians looking at them as tools to create jobs, NBIA's Colbert
said. The Dallas-Fort Worth area is home to about a half dozen
business incubators.
Frisco started the nonprofit NTEC to create an entrepreneurial
community. This year, the city and private investors provided about
$1.5 million to NTEC. In 2008, NTEC moved into a new
50,000-square-foot building off Eldorado Parkway paid for by an $11
million bond issue by the Frisco Economic Development Corp.
NTEC hasn't turned out any Googles yet, Calton said. But some of
its former incubator companies, including La Jolla Digital,
TissueGen Inc. and OxySure Systems Inc., have introduced their
products to market, he said.
Today, NTEC houses 17 companies - six incubator companies and 11
tenants.
The latest is InfiniRel, which was based in CEO Bert Wank's
Plano house before moving into NTEC three weeks
ago.
Wank and co-founder Patrick Gooden - two Texas Instruments
veterans - started the company in July.
NTEC enabled InfiniRel to hire local engineers and begin making
a prototype, Gooden said. NTEC is also helping it raise about
$600,000 from private investors.
"I had heard good things about [NTEC] helping companies get off
to a good start," Gooden said.
original article: http://bit.ly/ntecgreen