NeoTech Incubator Initiative Receives International Honor

Angels and Eggs, an initiative of the Howard County Economic Development Authority NeoTech Incubator, received the 2003 Innovation Award at the National Business Incubation Association's (NBIA) 17th International Conference on Business Incubation in May.

Accepting the award on behalf of the NeoTech Incubator was Shirley Collier, chair of the Howard County Economic Development Authority Board. "Programs such as Angels and Eggs are key in providing incubator companies with the coaching and access to resources they may need to be successful," said Collier.

The Innovation Award, sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, honors an innovation within an incubation program that benefits client companies by either going beyond normal incubation services or introducing a creative way to implement an existing idea.

The Angels and Eggs program is designed to bring together local angel investors and incubator clients and educate each group about the needs and expectations of the other. Although angel investments typically are much smaller than venture capital investments, these early-stage funds are often what startup technology companies need to spark their growth.

The Angels and Eggs program is open to all Maryland incubator clients. In 2002, the first year of the program, more than 25% of the approximately 120 eligible companies applied.

Judges from the region's investment and business communities selected the most qualified applicants to make presentations to the region's angel community; business coaches helped the selected entrepreneurs perfect their pitches. The Angels and Eggs program also offered training for those that were not selected, including workshops on the needs of the angel investment community and presentation readiness boot camps.

Fifteen companies - eight information technology companies and seven biotechnology companies - from incubators throughout the state presented at the 2002 Angels and Eggs event at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in October 2002. The event attracted more than 50 angel investors, including many who previously were unfamiliar with the investment opportunities available with incubator clients.

The program received positive reviews from both the angel community and the incubator companies that participated. "This is a unique forum allowing companies like us to pitch to an audience of angels, which is the exact type of investor we need to reach," said Rita Sallam, vice president of Finance at Business Devices, Inc., a presenter at the October event. "I was able to glean key pieces of information that have significantly refined my presentation and my approach to angel investors."

Since the October event, angels have invested more than $200,000 in participating companies, and talks between startup businesses and potential investors continue. Through an aggressive outreach program to area angel networks, the Angels and Eggs program also helped raise awareness about Maryland's business incubation community among investors.

Business incubation programs catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. In 2001 alone, North American incubators assisted more than 35,000 startup companies that provided full-time employment for nearly 82,000 workers and generated annual earnings of more than $7 billion.

Cooperation among Maryland's business incubators and support from community volunteers and sponsors were key to the program's success. The NeoTech Incubator manages the Angels and Eggs program, but its development was a joint venture of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, the Maryland Business Incubation Association and the state's business and educational communities. Planning for the 2003 event began in April this year.

The National Business Incubation Association is the world's leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. Each year, NBIA honors the business incubators, client companies and graduates that exemplify the best of the industry. NBIA members reside in countries throughout the world including Japan, New Zealand, Canada and Great Britain.

The Howard County Economic Development Authority is a public-private partnership whose primary goal is to promote economic growth and stability by supporting existing businesses, targeting new businesses and attracting corporate/regional headquarters. It also maintains several programs aimed at the special needs of small, minority-owned and agricultural business communities. The Authority can be reached on the web at http://www.hceda.org. More information about Angels and Eggs can be obtained at www.angelsandeggs.com.