Agribusiness  October 14, 2014

State awards grant to UNC BizHub Collaborative

GREELEY — A new business incubator developed by the University of Northern Colorado and the East Colorado Small Business Development Center has received a $150,000 grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

The new UNC BizHub Collaborative will partner with higher education, communities and businesses to provide a range of services to entrepreneurs and startups in a 13-county region of Eastern Colorado.

The counties include Cheyenne, Elbert, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Kit Carson, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld and Yuma, plus the eastern portions of  Adams and  Arapahoe.

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Richard Pickett, executive director of the East Colorado SBDC, will lead the collaborative.

‘It is going to be different in that we will not have physical space for clients but instead provide all services virtually, which means we can service a much larger area,” Pickett said in an email.

Gov. John Hickenlooper praised the effort.

“This new incubator structure is a great example of the forward-thinking, innovative ideas that occur when collaboration across industry and regions take place in Colorado,” he said in a prepared statement.

The first year of the grant will provide $75,000 in funding for the collaborative to begin operating with the first clients expected in early 2015. The main focus will be on new businesses within agricultural tourism, health and wellness, and oil and gas. Remaining grant funding will be provided in 2015 and 2016 if conditions are met.

Pickett said because the incubator will be able to deliver services virtually, it will afford the same services to businesses on the Eastern Plains as those offered to businesses along the Front Range. He added that partnering with higher education, the communities and industry will allow the incubator to provide a much stronger offering to its business clients.

The partnership expands research and real-world opportunities for faculty and students. Faculty will provide expertise, with possibilities of interaction with entrepreneurs to inform their existing research. Internships will be offered to students, who often work side-by-side faculty researchers.

The startup project to form a collaborative incubator is part of UNC’s focus on innovation. Last spring, UNC’s provost Robbyn Wacker announced the first round of projects out of 74 submitted to receive funding. Another university initiative, Innovation Development and Enterprise Advancement, is underway to help UNC researchers bring their innovations to the marketplace.

More information on the BizHub Collaborative will be provided during an open house from 5 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the Financial Education Center, second floor of Kepner Hall, 800 17th St. in the UNC campus. Free parking is available in the UNC K lots adjacent to Kepner Hall beginning at 5 p.m.

GREELEY — A new business incubator developed by the University of Northern Colorado and the East Colorado Small Business Development Center has received a $150,000 grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

The new UNC BizHub Collaborative will partner with higher education, communities and businesses to provide a range of services to entrepreneurs and startups in a 13-county region of Eastern Colorado.

The counties include Cheyenne, Elbert, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Kit Carson, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld and Yuma, plus the eastern portions of  Adams and  Arapahoe.

Richard Pickett, executive director of the East Colorado SBDC, will lead the collaborative.

‘It…

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