Technology Commercialization Symposium

ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM

Register button

EARLY BIRD RATE $145/person EXTENDED! Now until 5:00 pm Nov. 30th

LATE REGISTRATION: $195/person after 5:00 pm Nov. 22nd

The first 50 people to register received $45 off registration thanks to the generous support of the UNC Technology Commercialization Carolina Team. This offer is no longer available.

If you have questions, contact John Ujvari at sbir@sbtdc.org.

December 5, 2016 9 am – 4:30 pm / Cary, NC

Morning Putting together a winning team

  • Assess the skills you bring to the team

  • Identify gaps in your team

  • Use local resources to find new team members

Afternoon Navigating Commercialization

  • Develop a clear message for your company & products

  • Identify and research your customers

  • Map your commercialization strategy

  • Learn successful strategies from your peers

Getting There Location


AGENDA

8:30 am –
9:00 am
Registration and Networking
9:00 am – 9:30 am
Team needs from Idea through commercialization SBTDC Technology Commercialization Team
9:30 am –
11:00 am
Assessing your Team’s Internal Skill Set and Defining the Gaps Facilitator, Dr. Mike Seibert
11:00 am – 11:15 am
Break
11:15 am – Noon
Filling the gaps in your team – Local resources Moderator: Mike Carnes Panelists Jay Bigelow, Venture Mentor Service Andy Schwab, First Flight Venture Center Dr. Robert Lindberg, NC Biotechnology Center Dr. Jason Doherty, Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise
Noon – 1:00 pm
LUNCH
1:15 pm – 2:30 pm
Creating a Strong Message for your Company and Product Dr. Tim Flood, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
2:30 pm – 3:45 pm
Customer Discovery, Value Proposition and Voice of Customer Dr. Steve Barr, NC State Pool College of Management
3:45 pm – 4:30 pm Tales from the Trenches of Commercialization Moderator: TBA Panelists Freddy Cannady, Vesocclude Ann Black, Immunoreagents
4:30 pm
Closing

 

SPEAKERS/PANELISTS

 

Steve Barr NC State University Poole College of Management

Steve Barr Steve H. Barr is Professor of Management in the Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship department at the Poole College of Management. His research in decision making and commercialization of technology is widely cited and used both in academic and industry settings. He is lead faculty in the Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (TEC) program at NC State. This innovative program facilitates the transfer of technology/intellectual property into new business startups, using teams of graduate business and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math/medicine) students. This award winning program is used at universities worldwide and in corporate settings.  

Jay Bigelow CED

Jay BigelowJay Bigelow is the Director of Entrepreneurship at CED where Jay’s primary focus is organizing the expertise of the network to provide guidance, mentorship, and capital to the ≈1,600 entrepreneurial companies within the CED ecosystem. Jay has worked in two startups and 3 scale-ups where he launched new products, drove business development efforts and strategic planning. He earned his B.S in Business Administration from Drexel University.  

Freddy Cannady Vesocclude

Cannady Freddy’s career has spanned over 30 years in the medical device industry. Most recently, he founded Vesocclude, a small medical device manufacturer located in Raleigh, North Carolina. He brought jobs back to the United States by re-employing some of his skilled former colleagues. After five years of process and product development, Raleigh’s Vesocclude entered the market in 2010 with its first US and export customers. Vesocclude specializes in the advanced development and manufacturing of ligation products by a team of highly-skilled and experienced professionals who manufacture superior manual ligating clips and user-friendly loading devices for multiple medical specialties in the United States.  

Jason Doherty, PhD Startup Consulting Program, Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise

DohertyJason Doherty, Ph.D., Director of the Startup Consulting Program at the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise provides program oversight and mentorship to university faculty, students, entrepreneurs, and startups. In this role, he manages teams of MBA students who serve as consultants to university researchers and provide assistance in evaluating the commercial potential of high-impact technologies and guidance on commercialization through licensing and new venture creation. Jason is an adjunct assistant professor at the Kenan Flagler Business School, teaching in the areas of technology commercialization and entrepreneurship. As a business incubation professional, Jason has provided technical assistance to over 100 researchers and entrepreneurs and a variety of support services for over 50 early-stage ventures. He also has over a decade of life sciences research experience in academic and federal labs. Jason received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Pathology from UNC-Chapel Hill and a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences from North Carolina State University.

Michael Carnes SBTDC Technology Development and Commercialization

mcarnesMike Carnes is a Technology Commercialization Counselor at the North Carolina SBTDC, a business development service of The University of North Carolina. Mike supports the SBTDC’s technology development and commercialization initiatives by providing business counseling, training, grant and equity capital formation support to NC entrepreneurs and small businesses. Mike has regional SBTDC responsibility, representing forty counties from the Research Triangle to the coast. He is known for his passion in helping businesses commercialize science and technology to solve real problems for real people. Mike also enjoys identifying and connecting entrepreneurs to statewide resources, helping them along the path to commercialization. Mike earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology in 2006, a Professional Science Master’s in Microbial Biotechnology in 2012, and a Master’s in Business Administration with an emphasis in technology commercialization and entrepreneurship in 2013 from North Carolina State University. During his graduate education, he worked with a variety of hi-tech startups helping to drive strategic decision making and business planning. Before that time, Mike used his scientific and analytic skills as a bench researcher at a large agricultural biotechnology firm and NCSU’s Department of Plant Pathology.

Tim Flood, PhD University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School

Tim FloodTim Flood, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Management Communication at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Tim teaches courses in business writing, public speaking and presentation skills, entrepreneurship and cross-cultural communication. Tim works extensively with the startup and innovation communities around the Triangle and Triad, and he has consulted with businesses from boutique startups through to Fortune 100 companies.  
 
       

Robert A. Lindberg, PhD North Carolina Biotechnology Center

Lindberg Dr. Robert Lindberg leads NCBiotech’s Science & Technology Development (SciTech) team, which supports the state’s academic research enterprise through a number of funding program and related services available to university researchers, technology transfer offices and other stakeholders. Previously, Dr. Lindberg was a member of the Center’s Business & Technology Development group and was responsible for managing several loans and grants programs, strategic partnering efforts, and programs in support of university technology transfer and entrepreneurship. He was the architect of the Industrial Fellowship Program and co-authored a strategic plan relating to a life sciences-associated economic development initiative for the North Carolina legislature. Rob holds undergraduate degrees in Music (Bellarmine College) and Mathematics (University of Louisville) and a Doctorate in Physiology & Biophysics (University of Louisville). He held postdoctoral fellowships at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University Medical Center prior to joining the Biotechnology Center in 1999. Rob also worked as Technical Sales Director for VWR Biosciences. He earned his Regulatory Affairs Certification (RAC) in 2005.

Diana Martinez SBTDC Technology Development & Commercialization

MartinezDiana Martinez is a Technology Commercialization Counselor serving the 36 counties in the Western Region (West of I-77) for the North Carolina SBTDC. In that role she provides counseling services to companies working to commercialize new technologies as well as working collaboratively with the state universities in the region to facilitate technology transfer/commercialization activities. Diana worked as a General Business Counselor in the Boone/Hickory Region for two years before joining the Technology Commercialization Team. Prior to joining the SBTDC, Diana worked as an independent consultant providing services to established and emerging biotech companies and as a Senior Commercialization Analyst for Foresight Science and Technology Inc. Before starting her own consulting firm she worked in the medical device industry for seventeen years where she gained extensive experience in business development, technology assessment, and product development. As the Biologics Specialist at both Abbott Spine and Zimmer Spine she was responsible for business development activities including technology assessments and market validation of new and emerging technologies for potential licensing or acquisition. Diana holds a B.S. in Liberal Studies with a Minor in Molecular Biology from the University of Central Florida, an M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico, and an M.S. in Technology Commercialization from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas.  

Andy Schwab First Flight Venture Center

Schwab Andy Schwab is an impassioned CEO and serial entrepreneur with extensive leadership experience and the ability to repeatedly drive companies successfully to market and exit with high performing teams. He is a high-energy, motivational leader that has mentored and advised over 40 companies throughout career spanning 30 years in diverse industry sectors including software, financial services, biotechnology and manufacturing. He has also led multiple boards and committees designed to vet business objectives, technology and executive teams for both growth and strategy. He has demonstrated successful management expertise in wide ranging roles including business development, financial, intellectual property strategy, legal, operations, and investing. Currently, Schwab is President of the First Flight Venture Center, a high-science, high-impact technology incubator located in RTP, NC where he mentors a wide range of science based startups in strategic planning, technology evaluation and other business issues. He is also a founder and director at RTP Capital, an angel network that invests in seed and early stage companies primarily in North Carolina. He received his BS degree in electrical engineering from Duke University and his MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia.

Nicole Schwerbrock SBTDC Technology Development & Commercialization

nschwerbrockDr. Nicole Schwerbrock is Director of Technology Development and Commercialization at the SBTDC. She and her team assist with the formation and growth of businesses based on technological innovations, providing strategic and tactical advice to pre-venture entities, university start-ups and small businesses. The Technology Development team works with entrepreneurs, particularly those in the life sciences, to develop opportunities for technology commercialization, identify and leverage strategic resources within community and support student engagement. Nicole has direct experience with technology commercialization processes, university technology transfer and startup company formation, SBIR / STTR programs, and student engagement. Prior to joining the SBTDC, Dr. Schwerbrock served as the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellow at the UNC-Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy (ESOP), where she engaged in identifying, supporting and promoting viable technology commercialization opportunities originating from the School.  During her tenure, the School spun out four companies and submitted several successful SBIR/STTR grant applications. Previously, Dr. Schwerbrock served as an R&D scientist for both early-stage and commercial-stage pharmaceutical corporations. She served as Senior Scientist (and sole employee) for Qualiber, an ESOP spinout company as well as a drug development scientist at Sanofi (formerly, Hoechst AG; Frankfurt, Germany). Nicole is multi-lingual and -cultural, as she holds undergraduate degrees in Math and Biology (Alexander von Humboldt School, Mexico City), a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences (University of Amsterdam), and a PhD from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-CH. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Kathleen Caron at UNC School of Medicine.

Dr. Michael J. Seibert SBTDC

SeibertMike Seibert is the Director of SBTDC’s International Business Development program, and their regional center at NC State University. He is the trusted advisor to small and mid-sized businesses for managing growth by linking strategy to people and performance. He is the center’s lead strategic management practitioner with extensive experience at helping family-owned and privately held firms improve their competitiveness and profitability. In his counseling, he helps client-companies:
  • Clarify their values, vision, mission, goals and objectives
  • Understand their financial performance and business results
  • Link their strategy to people and performance
Dr. Seibert received his BS in Accounting from Widener University, MBA from Campbell University, and EdD in training and development from NC State University.  He is a Certified Global Business Professional and Economic Development Finance Professional.  Mike also serves as adjunct faculty for SKEMA at NC State University and the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business at Campbell University, where he coordinates student engagement projects for small and mid-sized businesses.

John Ujvari SBTDC Technology Development & Commercialization

image of John UjvariJohn Ujvari is the SBIR Program Specialist with the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC). His primary responsibilities include counseling clients on the effective use of this federal funding program and supporting and promoting SBIR educational opportunities throughout the state via numerous outreach efforts. These efforts include the publication of a monthly SBIR-focused newsletter, planning and execution of training events statewide, meeting clients one-on-one and reviewing proposals prior to submission. He also leads the SBTDC’s MBA summer internship program. Since joining the SBTDC in 2001, SBIR and STTR awards in North Carolina have increased 5-fold. John earned his MBA degree from Wake Forest University’s Babcock Graduate School of Management Prior to returning to graduate school, John held the position of Research Associate at Westat, a contract research firm in Rockville, Maryland. John earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia.

Chris Veal SBTDC Technology Development & Commercialization

cvealChris Veal is a Technology Commercialization Counselor at the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC). Chris supports the SBTDC’s technology development and commercialization initiatives by providing business counseling, training, grant and equity capital formation support to entrepreneurs and small businesses in North Carolina. Chris covers an area in the middle section of the state that stretches from Research Triangle Park west to Boon/Hickory and south to Charlotte. With nearly 20 years of experience in management in private industry and government, including two entrepreneurial ventures, Chris is well equipped to address the issues facing small businesses. He also spent some time as an engineer, which provides a technical element to his experience. Chris’ experience has been in a variety of industries, including textiles, aviation/airport management, photography, and construction. Chris earned a Bachelor of Science in Textile Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1994, an Associate Degree in Aviation Management in 1999, and a Masters in Business Administration from Wake Forest University in 2003. The blend of technical and business backgrounds through his education and work experience enhances his ability to assist companies with the commercialization of new technology and the business development to support such commercialization.
Register button The Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.