Target Technology Incubator Helps Student Launch Consulting Business
Contact: Rory Eckardt, 949-4401; Debbie Neuman, 866-6500
ORONO – A recent UMaine graduate has become one of the newest tenants at the Target Technology Innovation Center’s business incubator in Orono, launching a forest consulting business he hopes will help loggers, foresters and landowners in Maine make the most efficient use of their property and equipment.
Within the hub of start-up enterprises in the center is R.E. Consulting, created by Rory Eckardt of Orono, a recent UMaine graduate with a degree in Forestry Operations Science. Eckardt is currently in his second semester of the UMaine MBA program, and is already signing on clients throughout Maine. With a background in the industry, Eckardt has identified a need for improvement in the business aspect of forestry and forest product manufacturing companies.
“Forestry companies are lean,” Eckardt explains. “Many of these companies lack the resources to identify and predict changing trends, which can affect their viability in an uncertain marketplace”
Eckardt’s plan is to provide access to the tools and information that forest industry businesses can use to make knowledgeable decisions to improve their companies’ bottom lines. Eckardt focuses on market research, business plan consulting, operations and cost analyses and strategic development services, “to provide consistent and accurate information cost effectively,” Eckardt says.
While Eckardt is confident about the demand for a company like his, he says the idea of starting a business from the ground up can be overwhelming. The Target Technology Innovation Center provided the solution for his concerns.
The Innovation Center is located at the Target Technology Incubator in Orono. It provides a space where students and university faculty can find the tools they need to start a business. There are many on-site resources at the incubator, including the Maine Patent Program, one-on-one counseling and access to advanced technology equipment, business modeling software and data, as well as the ability to connect with other new entrepreneurs. The incubator also offers an extensive network that can connect students and other tenants at the facility with external industry experts or businesses that can help them launch their business. All of these tools are made available to serious students and faculty at no cost, says Debbie Neuman, director of the incubator.
The Innovation Center is a great tool for students who wish to start their business while still in college, she says. Not only does the center provide information and resources to help a business grow, but students also can receive guidance on how to find start-up capital. Additionally, a partnership with the Maine Technology Institute may provide a seed grant, for as much as $10,000 to a promising start-up company.
Incubators like Target Technology help young businesses navigate the many start-up challenges facing inventors and entrepreneurs. They also help keep business in Maine, Neuman says. “If we introduce them to what Maine has to offer,” she says, “they’ll be much less likely to leave. Eighty-four percent of businesses which started in incubators stay in the area.”
Not only does the incubator provide an opportunity for inventors and entrepreneurs to become educated in the world of business, it also provides the benefit of hands-on learning and knowledgeable support. What makes Target Technology different from some of the other business development programs around the state is that it is dedicated to supporting technology-based businesses, Neuman says.
In this case, Eckardt had an idea, and the Innovation Center helped him create the company. After taking part in several of the center’s “Lunch and Learn” seminars, Eckardt was inspired to look into starting a business. “The Innovation Center is awesome,” he says. Without it “I couldn’t imagine going into this kind of thing. It really helps to have that kind of support.”
The center was developed by the Bangor Target Development Corporation in partnership with the University of Maine, the state of Maine, and the city of Orono. Target Technology was one of the first four designated Applied Technology Development Centers to be established in Maine.
The center was completed in 2002. The business incubator comprises a third of the 20,000 square-foot facility and also houses established technology companies, University of Maine researchers, including the National Center for Geographic Information Analysis and a super computer cluster developed in partnership with the Department of Defense and Applied Thermal Sciences.
The mission of the incubator program is to stimulate the growth of early stage information technology companies, within an environment that is fostering information technology activity. UMaine sponsors the innovation program as a way to assist in the commercialization of university-based research, in addition to supporting the development of new technologies in the private sector.