HRSR MEMORANDUM 03-04-1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• ,1 SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS 25TH E SEPTEMBER 1995CT1ON MONDAY 6 PAGES i Twm CITIES DAVE BEAL • Local man has stake in helping p companies hatch Harlan Jacobs knows the tors around the world that offer the same combi- stints as successful entrepreneurs,who act quiet- meaning of creativity,if his i nation. ly on their own to finance . Genesis business incubator in t It's absolutely greater role start-ups. Columbia Heights is any irldi- Y unique in the Twin Cities,and They have come to play a greater role is recent color.b And let's is I the "'q' a welcome addition to the entrepreneurial world years as the more traditional sources of capital emphasis let's the word his. here,"she says. —banks,venture capital firms,various other Jacobs owns 100 word of Most often,business incubators are owned and financing institutions—have shied away front 4,/ the incubator,ow which percent operated by universities or other nonprofits,or the risks of small,early-stage companies. by developers. Jacobs and attorney Brad Lehrman 1 tsl fund ed en sense that it STAFF COLUMNIST Typically,the incubators offer shared services of Portage Capital in Bloomington,launched the —communications facilities,secretarial services Minnesota Private Investor Enterprise network • owns stakes in all seven of or links to various small-business networks— last year.The group consists of business angels, the privately held companies occupying spoon designed to help capital-pinched entrepreneurs who have met seven times over the past year in there.And in a related venture,be has plugged •hatch their companies.Hundreds of them have a banquet room at the top of the IDS Center to two of the seven—Comedicus and Ashirus popped up across the country'since the late hear presentations from entrepreneurs ogies—into more than$1 million each 1970s.But Jacobs'personal stake in the comps- capital. seeking �l of early-stage financing from business angels, nies and his role in connecting them with busi- "There's a real need for support by these coon- Candace Campbell,a fellow at the University ness angels sets Genesis apart from most of the panics,"says Jacobs."It's being filled by fncuba- I of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute and a past rte, chair of the National Business Incubator Business angels usually are older investors, Association,knows of only a handful of incuba- often retired from high-paid executive posts or BEAL colseaceor.SE► 4 WA:i' ri ~.:; C;._fit-.+d-.. -'- B. A i BEAL/Business `angels' la key role 'angels' play a Y •Visual Circuits,which is devel- "It's difficult to put this in a •conTgWEO PROM;c oping hardware and software for bottle and take it on the road,"she personal computers. says."It's not just about being a tots and business angels." •Data Machine international, smart person with money." The Genesis incubator,which is which bolds a patent for speeding Campbell calls Jacobs a good the second-largest tenant in the up data processing transactions by self-promoter,but she says that's Columbia Heights Business Center reconfiguring disk drive operating part of the recipe that got Genesis at 3989 Central Ave.,could be- systems. off the ground. come the largest if it meets Ja- Jacobs,46,is a man who thinks "He's just sort of relentless," cobs'expectations. big thoughts. she says."I think he's doing the The 2-year-old incubator has He was appointed by Sen.Rod right tang." support from the Anoka County Grams to be one of Minnesota's 34 Dave Bess is senior business editor.His Economic Development Partner- delegates to the White House Con- odium appears Sundays Mondays and ship and the Anoka County Capital Terence on Small Business this Fridays Fund,a related entity backed by year. the county and a consortium of He began wiring himself into eight banks and a utility.A third the network of Twin Cities inves- group with ties to both of these tors mostly through his experience 0 two,the Anoka County Investment as chief financial officer at Film- Club,has put money into two Gen- Tee,which was acquired in 1985 esis companies. by Dow Chemical.He says the big Jacobs estimates that the seven gains he rang up from investments Re- companies housed at Genesis now c the stocks Engineering ing have and n employ 30 people.One Genesis-in- covery Eesinecring have given cubated company,SurVivaLink, him the resources to get the up and graduated to its own site in ter and the angels'network up and H Minnetonka and has 25 workers running. and annual sales of$1.5 million. Jacobs gets his pieces of the ac- "It was very helpful for us,"By- son in Genesis companies through ron Gilman,founder and CEO of swaps.Hell pay the rent,help ,' SurVivaLink,says of Genesis.The with a business plan or provide in- , company was part of Genesis troductions and access to special- when the incubator started up in ists in return for equity. a quarters leased from General Pat- Now be wants to take his Gene- tern Co.in Blaine. sis incubator concept around the NT International,which makes minty,starting with Bemidji.He fiber-optic industrial control sys- picked that city because Jim Ben- -- - • terns and sensors,is the largest sen,a well-known backer of entre- '. company in Genesis now. preneurial ventures,moved there The other tenants: last year to take the presidency at Harlan Jacobs •Ashirus,which develops spe- Bemidji State University.Jacobs wants to take his cialty pumps for medical devices. also is looking at SL Paul and Genesis Incubator •Comedicus,a medical device Northfield as launch sites for incu- concept around and pharmaceutical development bStoFS• the country,start- company. Whoa,says Candace Campbell, big with t3smlglt ■Teknowledgy,a developer of who suggests that the jury is still interactive multimedia sales pre- out on Genesis'performance in sentations. Columbia Heights.She remembers ■October Systems Software,a coming across countless plans, developer of a system that gathers most of them never realized,to set medical data for physicians and up national networks of incuba- their staffs. ton.