ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT THE END OF THE ROAD

Success and Failure in the Last Frontier

J. M. CollinsSchool of Management

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Hey, I can see the end of the road (and maybe Russia) from my front porch …

The Alaskan Economy

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 20090

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Alaska GSP, Selected Industries, 1997-2009Chained 2005 Dollars

Gov Oil Mining Manufacturing

$M

The Underlying Problem

Diversify the Alaskan economy

Help create a new economic engine

Oh, by the way, it has to have a small environmental footprint and create huge amounts of value per employee…

If the incidence of patents provides a proxy for creativity

Americans as a whole are three times more creative than Alaskans

Californians nineteen times more creative

North Dakotans four times more creative

West Virginians 1.6 times more creative

Relatively munificent economic and political environments.

Massive state and federal spending.

The grant writer is often the most important person in many Alaskan communities

UAF

The University as Catalyst

For entrepreneurship

For economic development

During the Past 50 yrs

The University of Alaska was granted

17

patents

Nanotech Disaster

New projects can’t be forced

Organizational support is critical

Never overpromise

There are consequences

But what did we do?

Found some interest

Especially from younger researchers

But concern about tenure

Administrators largely ambivalent

Arctic Innovation Competition

Economic Opportunity Task Force

Let’s get researchers and business folks to talk with each other

Partnered with economic development organization

Results mixed, but generally positive

Entrepreneur in Residence

Successful former student mentored current students

Met with researchers

Brought associates to campus

Entrepreneur Bootcamp

Provided students, faculty, and staff and opportunity to attend intense workshops put on by practitioners

Business Plan Competition

UAF competition

Alaska-wide competition

Recommendations

Director of Entrepreneurship should be a successful serial entrepreneur

A cross discipline, multiple entity approach to value creation should be utilized

Significant Resistance

Assumption of a zero sum game

You can’t tell faculty what to do

We don’t want to be evil corporatists

Economic development is not a proper role of the university

Outcome

An engineering-based “what can we patent and license” approach was embraced.