Share this:
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Aug. 19, 2013 — The Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator has already filled all offices, with Boston Scientific, Clear Vision Consulting, Icon Venture Partners and Imanis Life Sciences as the newest tenants. It also has started a publicly available website as a resource for people considering entrepreneurship. In addition, the Accelerator will become a venue for special events and discussion groups led by business leaders.
The Accelerator opened just five months ago and has 16 tenants, including start-up companies and venture capitalists. Three MBA students also have been housed in the Accelerator to work with the start-ups. All offices are rented on a month-to-month basis. Besides offices, the Accelerator has shared work spaces, some still available for leasing.
New Tenants
Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 30 years, the company advances science for life by providing a broad range of high-performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of health care.
Clear Vision Consulting provides resource services and consultation to the medical device, biologics and pharmaceutical industries. Expertise includes all aspects of project and product development, quality assurance and compliance, as well as regulatory and clinical affairs. The firm has a solid track record of working with all sizes of corporations to address compliance needs on a global scale.
Icon Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on enterprise technology companies. Icon's extended team of industry experts work together to identify and support early-stage companies and founders that have the potential to be the future icons of the industry.
Imanis Life Sciences was launched in 2012 by Stephen J. Russell, M.D., Ph.D., Kah-Whye Peng, Ph.D., and Dennis Young, with a vision to dramatically accelerate progress in the fields of regenerative medicine, cancer therapy and biomedical science by providing ready access to novel reporter gene imaging technologies that can be used to follow the fate of these treatments in the body. The company's primary goal is to facilitate the widespread adoption and routine use of their proprietary NIS imaging/biosensor technology for dynamic in-life imaging of genetically modified cells, and to ensure that all potential users have ready access to a comprehensive suite of NIS products, services and facilities.
"We are not only extremely pleased with the number of businesses leasing space in the Accelerator but we are equally pleased with the quality of people, which is a mix of talented entrepreneurs, experienced business people and venture capital firms," says President Gary Smith, Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc. "Due to support received from Rochester Area Foundation and Southern Minnesota Initiative Fund, we also are pleased to announce the addition of three summer interns who will be assisting Accelerator businesses with market research and strategy development."
Some of these companies enjoyed the support of MBA student interns this summer. Three interns from the University of St. Thomas and Augsburg College worked on business analysis, pricing strategy, product development, a pilot study, business modeling and planning, and marketing and sales planning. The positions were funded through the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and Rochester Area Foundation.
Website
With the launch of a website, the Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator is offering online resources to people who are interested in forming new businesses. The site, http://www.mcbusaccel.com/, is a source for actionable information such as writing a business plan and the basics of company formation. Tenant blog posts will also be accessible, in which entrepreneurs plan to share experiences such as moving from a corporate career to starting a small company. Special events can be found on the Web calendar at http://www.mcbusaccel.com/events/. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to sign up on the website to receive email notifications about the events and other news about the Accelerator. The site also provides information about leasing space, sponsors, business advisers and service suppliers.
Forums and Special Events
Upcoming events include a dialogue with a venture capital firm on seed investment programs and a presentation by a local law firm about starting a company. Accelerator events are open to the public, free of charge, and require RSVP registration on the website or by emailing info@mcbusaccel.com.
"Our goal with the Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator is to bring together like-minded entrepreneurs, investors and advisers to share ideas, resources and expertise, and by doing so we hope to build a unique ecosystem and support the spirit of entrepreneurism in Rochester," says Jim Rogers, chair, Mayo Clinic Ventures.
The Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator provides infrastructure that enables entrepreneurism for the Rochester community. Founded by the Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc. (RAEDI), City of Rochester, Mayo Clinic Treasury Services and Mayo Clinic Ventures, the Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator provides collaborative space for new companies, venture capital firms and entrepreneurs. It also works with existing companies and service providers to support entrepreneurial ventures. It encompasses over 2,000 square feet within the skyway level of the Minnesota BioBusiness Center. The Accelerator promotes local and regional economic development through new company creation and expansion.
###
About Mayo Clinic
Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150years.mayoclinic.org, www.mayoclinic.org and newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Brian Kilen, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu
