Getting Somewhere, Fast

The Louisiana Business & Technology Center at LSU Innovation Park, recognized for its continued support of underrepresented entrepreneurs, receives the Federal and State Technology (FAST) award from the U.S. Small Business Administration for the 12th time.

 

For the 12th year in a row, the Louisiana Business & Technology Center (LBTC), located at the LSU Innovation Park, has won the FAST award from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The LBTC is the only entity in the nation that has received this award every year it’s been offered through the Federal and State Technology (FAST) partnership program. The award aims to improve outcomes for underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs (also known as America's Seed Fund), such as women, minorities, and those in rural and low-income areas. Companies supported by the SBIR/STTR programs often generate some of the most important breakthroughs each year in the U.S. The programs, at $3.6 billion annually, remain the single best source of money for tech-based small businesses in the country, as entrepreneurs do not have to pay any of the money back or give up equity in their companies in return for support.
 
Vic Johnson and Roy Keller, veteran entrepreneurs who co-direct the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office (LTTO), which is part of the LBTC, said some of their success is due to collaboration and active partnerships with the SBIR program in a neighboring state—Mississippi—to continue to build a culture of innovation in what the Small Business Administration calls an “opportunity zone.”
 
“We have seen a number of Louisiana companies go on to higher levels of success and secure large federal contracts due to our SBIR program,” Johnson said. “We also have a high degree of university partnering and close working relationships with nearly every university in Louisiana to increase women and minority participation.”
 
“What the Small Business Administration is looking at as they’re evaluating these FAST awards, I think, is—did you deliver last year?” Keller continued. “That’s a big part of it, and we do.”
 
FAST awardees receive up to $125,000 per year. For the LBTC, the award will enable it to continue its statewide mission. The LBTC has the support of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards in this effort, as the Small Business Administration only accepts one proposal from each of the 50 states or U.S. territories (the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa).
 
This year's FAST award recipients hail from several states across the country, and include state and local economic development entities, small business technology development centers, women’s business centers, procurement technical assistance centers, incubators, accelerators, colleges, and universities. All organizations will provide support—including training, outreach, mentoring, and technical assistance—to small businesses developing and commercializing high-risk technologies.
 
Andrew McCandless, president of Bascom Hunter, a technology company located in Baton Rouge’s Louisiana Tech Park with plans to move to LSU’s Innovation Park, has worked with Roy Keller and the LBTC for 19 years. This past spring, Bascom Hunter won a $4 million U.S. Navy contract to mitigate interference inside satellite communication equipment through SBIR.
 
“Getting help through FAST when I first started my company and needed help turning an innovative idea into a viable product made we want to get more involved with promoting the SBIR program to others in Louisiana,” McCandless said.
 
He has since founded an SBIR Consortium to help educate the local business community about federal funding opportunities.
 
“We’re now getting more people to apply and see an improved success rate,” he explained. “FAST can really help a company in the initial stages, in winning that first award and contract.”
 

Susanna Lamers, owner and CEO of BioInfoExperts LLC, a genomic analysis company in Thibodeaux, Louisiana, was already running a successful business when the LBTC reached out:
 
“We use genomics to understand how bacteria and viruses spread in hospitals and larger populations,” she said. “Our lab is in Florida and we work with several out-of-state colleges, but it wasn’t until the LBTC reached out that I was able to tap into our local business culture. I didn’t really know what was in place in the state as far as assistance for small businesses, and I didn’t know about the Louisiana tax credits for research and development.”
 
Lamers has received two National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grants for her work to develop a software platform for hospitals to reduce rates of hospital-acquired infections.
 
“Since these grants only cover research, the tax credits have been super helpful in sustaining our business as far as commercialization and the other business activities you have to have in place until you have a product go to market,” Lamers continued. “Recently, I attended an LBTC workshop in Shreveport where I was able to connect with another med-tech company located only 15 minutes from me. Through the LBTC, I’ve met a lot of other people in the state and received valuable advice that will help our business continue to grow. I’ve lived in Thibodeaux for 19 years, and only now is my company starting to build things out locally, such as working with Nicholls State University’s environmental research program. It’s these little steps that go a long way in creating an actual culture of innovation, and ultimately stabilizing and diversifying our economy.”

Since its inception in 1988, LSU Innovation Park has worked with over 7,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs in Louisiana, assisting companies in raising more than $180 million in capital, and helped create over 10,000 jobs. More information about the FAST awards can be found at www.sbir.gov/about-fast.

 

Elsa Hahne
LSU Office of Research & Economic Development
225-578-4774
ehahne@lsu.edu