NACCE 2013Developing and Managing a Business Accelerator

Midlands Technical College

18,000+ credit students annually

1/3 of area high school graduates attending college first enroll at

MTC

100+ programs of study

30,000+ corporate and continuing education students annually

$85 million operating budget

$100+ million assets

Six campuses

Fifth largest college in South Carolina

SACS re-accreditation – 0 recommendations

97% of employers satisfied with MTC grads

90+% performance on licensure exams

Economic Development in SC:

An Historical Perspective of Success

Farm Factory Future

1965-2005 2005-2020

MTC Economic Development Clusters

Advanced Manufacturing

HealthSciences

InformationTechnology

AlternateEnergy

An Evolution from

Reactive to Proactive

• Early Stage: No Interest

• Reactive Stage: Technical College System and State Schools

• Participatory Stage: Skills Funding, K-12 & HE

• Proactive Stage: Anticipating needs

Engaging the

Economic Ecosystem of the Midlands

Incubation v. Acceleration:

Setting the Stage for Change

The Business Accelerator:

A Concept

• Client Arrival: – Graduate of Business Incubator– Landing Party– Existing Business Expansion

• Client Contribution:– JOBS– Capital Investment

The Business Accelerator:

The Design

The Business Accelerator:

The Reality

The Business Accelerator:

In Action

The Business Accelerator:

Lessons Learned

• Managing Risk• “OPM”• Responsibilities of Being a Landlord• Managing Capacity and Availability• Marketing as a Business• “Just because you can do something doesn’t

mean you should…”• “Private Use Test”

The Business Accelerator:

Resource Guide

• Copy of Statute• By-Laws• Governance documents• Alternate Procurement Code• Contractual documentation• Legal Opinions

The Business Accelerator:

College Engagement

• Student exposure to “real world”• Excellent use of Faculty expertise• Increased number of interns• Access to equipment/processes• Utilization of College Resources

The Business Accelerator:

Community Engagement

• Participating in Advisory Councils• Integration within the local ecosystem• Jobs• Marketing of college and of Accelerator

The Business Accelerator:

Economic Development Engagement

• Dramatically increased visibility within business community

• Strong, vibrant representation with visiting parties

• BA clients engage potential clients• BA clients engage within the group• Selling point on all visits to Midlands of SC

The Business Accelerator:

The Future (as we see it)

• Increase the turnover of clients• Expand the Accelerator, adding multi-purpose

spaces of varying sizes• Build a larger version of Accelerator (“OPM”)• Build on Success!!!

You Can Get

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