Rochester, NY, May 28, 2010 – High Tech Rochester’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) program was one of three EIR programs recognized as an industry best practice at last week’s International Conference on Business Incubation, held in Orlando, Florida. The other two organizations recognized in this category were Cleveland JumpStart, and the Oregon Technology Business Center. In addition, HTR’s EIR program is featured in a new book from the National Business Incubation Association entitled “Best Practices in Action: Guidelines for Implementing First-Class Business Incubation Programs (Revised 2nd Edition).”
“We are honored to have our EIR program recognized as one of the best in the nation,” said James Senall, president of High Tech Rochester. “This program has been a hallmark of HTR for many years, and has directly contributed to the growth of many local companies. We are eager to continue to expand and evolve this program going forward, to generate an even larger impact on job and wealth creation here in the Rochester region.”
HTR began its EIR program in 2002, with a goal of improving startup
company success by connecting experienced entrepreneurs with fledgling
new firms. EIRs are typically successful entrepreneurs who have cycled
out of their most recent companies, and are interested in giving back to
the community by helping new companies. Since the program was started,
HTR EIRs have assisted dozens of local startups, through coaching,
mentoring, and in some cases, by taking the reigns as full-time CEOs –
such as at New Scale Technologies, Adarza BioSystems, Diffinity
Genomics, and SiMPore.
The International Conference on Business Incubation is an annual event
hosted by the National Business Incubation Association, the world’s
leading organization advancing incubation and entrepreneurship. NBIA has
over 1,900 members worldwide, and this year’s conference drew attendees
from more than 40 countries.
About High Tech Rochester
HTR is a non-profit economic development organization that serves as a catalyst for entrepreneurship and innovation-based growth in the Greater Rochester, NY Region. HTR manages two startup business incubators – the Lennox Tech Enterprise Center and the Rochester BioVenture Center – and works with small manufacturing companies to help them become more competitive, through operational improvement and new growth strategies.
HTR serves as the NYSTAR-designated Regional Technology Development Center for the Rochester / Finger Lakes region, through which it operates programs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). Learn more at: www.htr.org
