With the need to create new jobs on everyone’s lips from the Nation’s Capital to Trenton to Mount Holly, you might think that the 10th anniversary of an effort that consistently spawns new jobs at the rate of 30 to 50 a year would have drawn more notice.
  But the 10th birthday of the Burlington County College (BCC) High Technology Small Business Incubator, which was officially dedicated on December 1, 1998, has come and gone and we’re not sure if anyone noticed.
  The Incubator, which is the $2.5 million, bricks-and-mortar home to 29 companies and the “virtual” home to 9 more, represents one of the College’s most successful (and maybe under-appreciated) service initiatives to the business community. 
  With 20,000 square-feet devoted to assisting start-up businesses with new product development and manufacturing, the Small Business Incubator serves as a catalyst for economic growth in the Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester County region by creating new jobs, products and services. 
  Led by Director Paula Fett, the Incubator “offers promising start-up companies a nurturing environment for growth.” 
  Each tenant company has access to resources, support in developing business and technology plans, and opportunities to exhibit at conferences and venture capital showcases. 
  “Tenants can tap into a rich network of business resources, invaluable to start-up company’s development, including: legal, venture capital, governmental, scientific, licensing, patent, grant funding, marketing, and e-commerce resources,” says Fett.
  The Route 38 location of BCC’s Mount Laurel Campus offers Incubator tenants “complete access to a nationally recognized community college, and its undergraduate technical and scientific programming,” adds Fett.
  Fett is one of SNJBP’s “People to Watch” in Burlington County this year because of her pivotal role in job creation in the region.
  With job growth everyone’s number one priority for 2009, Fett is positioned to make a big impact because she also serves as the President of the New Jersey Business Incubator Network (NJBIN). Her dual position allows her to oversee all the incubators in the State of New Jersey and assist young entrepreneurial companies through their early stage development with critical support and coaching from experts.
  Prior to joining the BCC Business Incubator, Fett owned and managed accounting and payroll companies fro more than 10 years and also served as the Executive Director of the Trenton Technology Center.
  Fett sees the College’s Enterprise Center as a key “added feature” of the Incubator site.  “This 90,000 square foot corporate conference and training facility delivers leading-edge technology training solutions to businesses anywhere in the world via videoconferencing and teleconferencing,” says Fett. “No other incubator in the region has anything like it,” she adds.
  The Enterprise Center features a 575-seat auditorium, breakout rooms, a 3000 square foot exhibition hall, a focus group suite, flexible and fixed conference rooms, computer classrooms, and a television studio. “Plus, the Enterprise Center offers training programs and business opportunities to help our tenants keep their businesses competitive,” says Fett.
  The Incubator’s services for tenants include assistance with:
  •  On Site mentoring to include coaching, education and programs
  •  Finance and Accounting
  •  Marketing and Development
  •  Funding
  •  Access to Government Agencies Assistance/Applications and Certifications
  The Incubator is so successful that it has a Waiting List that averages five companies. Because of the demand, the Incubator has created an Advisory Council that assists the college with:
  •  Initial review of prospective tenants’ business plans and applications
  •  Periodic reviews of tenants’ progress in developing their business
  •  Development of strategies to improve chances of for tenant success
  •  Help in developing business assistance workshops and forums
  The most recent addition to the Incubator is a $4.1 million Life Sciences wing which is targeted to biology and chemistry start-ups, with an emphasis on pharmaceuticals, medical technology, photonics, and nanotechnologies
  Fett points out that “firms in these markets have a higher probability of generating revenue to the College through warrant agreements.” She adds that the “trend in these markets is for large firms to contract with small firms for basic research because lower overhead.”
  And because “the commercial market does not provide a meaningful supply of laboratory space for start-ups” the incubator is well positioned for success, Fett believes.
 
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Pictured: Paula Fett and Isabel Thompson