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<br /> SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS
<br /> 25 TH E
<br /> SEPTEMBER 1995 BusINEss SECTION
<br /> MONDAY 6 PAGES
<br /> •
<br /> TWIN CITIES
<br /> DAVE BEAL
<br /> Local man has stake in helping companies hatch
<br /> Harlan Jacobs knows the tors around the world that offer the same combi- stints as successful entrepreneurs,who act quiet-
<br /> meaning of creativity,if his nation. ly on their own to finance promising start-ups.
<br /> Genesis business incubator in "It's absolutely unique in the Twin Cities,and They have come to play a greater role in recent
<br /> Columbia Heights is any indi- 4t,f a welcome addition to the entrepreneurial world years as the more traditional sources of capital
<br /> cator.And let's put the 4 here,"she says. —banks,venture capital firms,various other
<br /> emphasis on the word his. Most often,business incubators are owned and financing institutions—have shied away from
<br /> Jacobs owns 100 percent of ` ''y' operated by universities or other nonprofits,or the risks of small,early-stage companies.
<br /> the incubator,which functionsy by developers: Jacobs and attorne Brad
<br /> y Lehrman,president
<br /> as a closed-end venture capi- Typically,the incubators offer shared services of Portage Capital in Bloomington,launched the
<br /> tal fund in the sense that it STAFF COLUMNIST —communications facilities,secretarial services Minnesota Private Investor Enterprise network
<br /> owns stakes in all seven of or links to various small-business networks— lastear.The
<br /> y group consists of business angels,
<br /> • the privately held companies occupying space designed to help capital-pinched entrepreneurs who have met seven times over the past year in
<br /> there.And in a related venture,he has plugged hatch their companies.Hundreds of them have a banquet room at the top of the IDS Center to
<br /> two of the seven—Comedicus and Ashirus popped up across the country since the late hear presentations from entrepreneurs seeking
<br /> Technologies—into more than;1 million each 1970s.But Jacobs'personal stake in the comps- capital.
<br /> of early-stage financing from business angels. Hies and his role in connecting them with busi- "There's a real need for support by these com-
<br /> Candace Campbell,a fellow at the University ness angels sets Genesis apart from most of the panies,"says Jacobs."It's being filled by incuba-
<br /> of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute and a past rest.
<br /> chair of the National Business Incubator Business angels usually are older investors,
<br /> Association,knows of only a handful of incuba- often retired from high-paid executive posts or BEAL coNTINUED ON 3E►
<br /> .-: e.f-1:-.."-,:',i'' ,2" 4°;", ea..Avez 5 rr.-; 4 4.4r4 }met:>,,ag= �d
<br /> BEAL/Business `angels' play a key role
<br /> s Visual Circuits,which is devel- "It's difficult to put this in a
<br /> ♦CONTINUED FROM;E oping hardware and software for bottle and take it on the road,"she
<br /> personal computers. says."It's not just about being a
<br /> tors and business angels." •Data Machine International, smart person with money."
<br /> The Genesis incubator,which is which holds a patent for speeding Campbell calls Jacobs a good
<br /> the second-largest tenant in the up data processing tran,fictions by self-promoter,but she says that's
<br /> Columbia Heights Business Center reconfiguring disk drive operating part of the recipe that got Genesis
<br /> at 3989 Central Ave.,could be- systems. off the ground.
<br /> come the largest if it meets Ja- Jacobs,46,is a man who thinks "He's just sort of relentless,"
<br /> cobs'expectations. big thoughts. she says."I think he's doing the
<br /> The 2-year-old incubator has He was appointed by Sen.Rod right thing."
<br /> support from the Anoka County Grams to be one of Minnesota's 34 Dave Beal is senior business editor.His
<br /> Economic Development Partner- delegates to the White House Con- column appears Sundays,Mondays and
<br /> ship and the Anoka County Capital ference on Small Business this Fndays.
<br /> Fund,a related entity backed by year.
<br /> the county and a consortium of He began wiring himself into
<br /> eight banks and a utility.A third the network of Twin Cities inves-
<br /> group with ties to both of these tors mostly through his experience
<br /> two,the Anoka County Investment as chief financial officer at Film-
<br /> Club,has put money into two Gen- Tec,which was acquired in 1985
<br /> III esis companies. by Dow Chemical.He says the big
<br /> Jacobs estimates that the seven gains he rang up from investments
<br /> Re-
<br /> companies housed at Genesis now in the stocks of FilmTec and Re-
<br /> employ 30 le.One Genesis-in- covert'Engineering have given
<br /> Peep him the resources to get the cen-
<br /> cubated company,SurVivaLink, ter and the angels'network up and
<br /> has graduated to its own site in running.
<br /> Minnetonka and has 25 workers Jacobsgets his pieces of the ac-
<br /> and annual sales of$1.5 million. F
<br /> "It was very helpful for us,"By- tion in Genesis companies through
<br /> ron Gilman,founder and CEO of swaps.He'll pay the rent,help '#
<br /> with a businessplan or provide in-
<br /> SurVivaLink,says of Genesis.The
<br /> company was part of Genesis troductions and access to special-
<br /> when the incubator started up in ists in return for equity.
<br /> quarters leased from General Pat- Now he wants to take his Gene-
<br /> tern Co.in Blaine. sis incubator concept around the
<br /> NT International,which makes country,starting with Bemidji. le
<br /> fiber-optic industrial control sys- picked that city because Jim Ben-
<br /> tems and sensors,is the largest sen,a well-known bacl=er of entre-
<br /> compar.,.in Genesis now. preneurial ventures,moved there
<br /> The other tenants: last year to take the presidency at Harlan Jacobs
<br /> a Ashirus,which develops spe- Bemidji State University.Jacobs wants to take his
<br /> cialty pumps for medical devices. also is looking at St.Paul acid Genesis Incubator
<br /> . r png.Comedicus,a medical device Northfield as launch sites for incu- concept around.
<br /> and pharmaceutical development batons. the country,start-
<br /> company. Whoa,says Candace Campbell, ing with Bernie.
<br /> •Teknowledgy,a developer of who suggests that the ju'y is still
<br /> interactive multimedia sales pre- out on Genesis'perform.nce in
<br /> sentations. Columbia Heights.She remembers
<br /> •October Systems Software,a coming across countless plans,
<br /> developer of a system that gathers most of them never realized,to set
<br /> medical data for physicians and up national networks of incuba-
<br /> their staffs. tors.
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