best video of a start-up

best video of a start-up

Introducing PEER

A multi-state consortium was launched recently consisting of 4 colleges, a non-profit technology economic development company named techGrowth, Inc., 16 employers and 25 stakeholder institutions. This group, entitled Partnerships for Entrepreneurship and Economic Revitalization (PEER) has the stated purpose of teaching entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, and starting and growing high impact businesses in economically distressed areas of the country, to build and sustain economic growth and independence.

The 4 initial states involved in the PEER consortium are central Maryland, the auto manufacturing portion of Michigan, the Katrina and BP oil spill ravaged portions of Mississippi and the furniture manufacturing portion of North Carolina. The Michigan, Mississippi and North Carolina communities have high unemployment rates, low high school and college completion rates, and struggling economic infrastructures.

Entrepreneurship was chosen as the focus of this consortium because of it applicability across many industries, and its “multiplier effect” on the economy. There is wide agreement on the importance of entrepreneurship for US global competitiveness (see Babson College Zicklin School of Business 2009 Executive Report), and its ability to produce high paying jobs. Once a critical mass of knowledge, technologies, skills, technology transfer expertise and purchasing power has been built up, innovation achieves increasing returns.

All of the members of this consortium see the need to expand the possibilities of its citizens by developing their innovation and business skills, leveraging those skills with new ideas such as licensing technologies from the federal research marketplace, and supporting innovative start-up companies created by people of all ages, races and genders. PEER also sees the need to infuse entrepreneurial skills into existing companies and organizations in their communities referred to as “intrapreneurship”. To be successful in these efforts, however, there is a critical need for strong business community and stakeholder commitment to making entrepreneurship (e-ship) and intrapreneurship (i-ship) integral, successful and celebrated elements in their economies, open to MANY of its citizens, not just a privileged few.

PEER has developed a comprehensive 3 year plan to leverage the entrepreneurship academic programs in Maryland, including innovative technology transfer courses, provide intrapreneurship training to incumbent workers within regional businesses, and sustain the work of PEER by developing PEER Community Innovation Collectives. The plan also includes the development and national distribution of highly interactive, high quality e-ship face-to-face, online and hybrid courses integrated with a “virtual” incubator entitled the Community Innovation Marketplace.

Many entrepreneurs don’t know …

Many entrepreneurs don’t know that there are approximately 20,000 new innovations developed in US Universities each year.  These innovations are available for license from university technology transfer offices (TTOs). These offices license about 500 of these new innovations into startup companies each year.

Entrepreneurs Save Our Economy

Our country was founded on the notion of free enterprise.  Starting and owning your own business is still the American dream.  Wall Street and big business ruined our economy.  Small technology based businesses will rescue it.