Open2012 entrepreneurship-at-end-of-road
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Transcript of Open2012 entrepreneurship-at-end-of-road
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT THE END OF THE ROAD
Success and Failure in the Last Frontier
J. M. CollinsSchool of Management
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Hey, I can see the end of the road (and maybe Russia) from my front porch …
The Alaskan Economy
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 20090
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Alaska GSP, Selected Industries, 1997-2009Chained 2005 Dollars
Gov Oil Mining Manufacturing
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The Underlying Problem
Diversify the Alaskan economy
Help create a new economic engine
Oh, by the way, it has to have a small environmental footprint and create huge amounts of value per employee…
If the incidence of patents provides a proxy for creativity
Americans as a whole are three times more creative than Alaskans
Californians nineteen times more creative
North Dakotans four times more creative
West Virginians 1.6 times more creative
Relatively munificent economic and political environments.
Massive state and federal spending.
The grant writer is often the most important person in many Alaskan communities
UAF
The University as Catalyst
For entrepreneurship
For economic development
During the Past 50 yrs
The University of Alaska was granted
17
patents
Nanotech Disaster
New projects can’t be forced
Organizational support is critical
Never overpromise
There are consequences
But what did we do?
Found some interest
Especially from younger researchers
But concern about tenure
Administrators largely ambivalent
Arctic Innovation Competition
Economic Opportunity Task Force
Let’s get researchers and business folks to talk with each other
Partnered with economic development organization
Results mixed, but generally positive
Entrepreneur in Residence
Successful former student mentored current students
Met with researchers
Brought associates to campus
Entrepreneur Bootcamp
Provided students, faculty, and staff and opportunity to attend intense workshops put on by practitioners
Business Plan Competition
UAF competition
Alaska-wide competition
Recommendations
Director of Entrepreneurship should be a successful serial entrepreneur
A cross discipline, multiple entity approach to value creation should be utilized
Significant Resistance
Assumption of a zero sum game
You can’t tell faculty what to do
We don’t want to be evil corporatists
Economic development is not a proper role of the university
Outcome
An engineering-based “what can we patent and license” approach was embraced.